Beyond the Divorce

Chapter 8 Unexpected Company

I forced myself out of bed the following day. The dark circles around my eyes were horrible, and Matthew noticed them. He asked in surprise, “

The following day, I forced myself out of bed. My dark circles were horrible.

Matthew saw my haggard face and asked in surprise, “Are you sick, Coco? Why do you look so pale?”

“You kept me up all night,” I retorted, not in the mood for pleasantries.

He was stunned but hugged me with a shy grin. “No more drinking for you. Exercise is better instead since it helps with sleep.”

I heard his

back. “What’s wrong with you? Maybe I should take you to the hospital.”

away and lied, “It’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep well. You should take Ava to kindergarten. I’ll be fine once I

me back on the bed, pulling the blanket over me. “Then get some sleep while I send Ava to school. If you don’t feel

they left. Finally, they closed the door behind them, and I left the bed to run to the window. I

community. My eyes teared up as I wondered if only everything could return to how it was before. Afterward, I changed

facing the entrance.

I returned home empty-handed for three consecutive days. I couldn’t even see Matthew because I overlooked one crucial detail. He often used the underground parking, which had a

only realized this on the

of the building with his phone. He seemed to be

didn’t leave in his car, so I knew he wasn’t going far. He crossed the road at an intersection ahead and entered

the perfect palace for elites in the surrounding commercial district to hang out and discuss business

there and glanced at the floor-to-ceiling windows, wondering