Wooing My Ex-wife Again Novel by Natalie Winter

Anastasia

I had barely reached for the doorknob when somebody bumped into me.

“Ouch.” 1 heard a wince as I rubbed my

forehead.

I looked up to see Angelica looking at me with a smile. A very bright smile.

“Hi, Anastasia. It is so good to see you.”

I tried to not raise an eyebrow. How could she be so happy to see me when I was secretly hoping I didn’t run into her today?

“Hi”

I managed and noticed she was wearing a silky white night gown and had draped a long coat over

IL.

She was getting ready for bed and her hand was on the doorknob of the room that once used to be mine.

I tore my gaze away from it and headed towards the stairs.

“Sorry, but it is getting late. I have to head back home soon.”

Her bright smile wavered a little..

“Oh, I see. I was hoping you would stay back for dinner at least. You are back after so long. I hoped we would chat a little.”

I tried not to wince again. Why would I want to chat with her?

And how was she so cheerful and happy upon seeing me? I was already fighting the flashes of past memories bombarding my mind as I hurriedly climbed down the stairs.

“That is…nice of you Angelica. But I have to leave. Later, maybe.”

I reached the base of the staircase and began to walk towards the main door but she had climbed down the stairs and was beside me.

“I understand your hesitation to wish to be here. Trust me when I say I don’t want any bad blood between us.”

I sighed. I did not want to have this conversation with her.

Lea was waiting for me

“The past is in the past and let us keep it at that, Angelica.”

I wanted to head towards the garage but recalled this Julian had driven me here, I did not want to

make him drop me home again so I decided to give my father a call.

“Hello Dad, could you send someone to pick me up from the Silvermoon pack?”

My father picked up the phone in the first ring.

“Of course, I thought you were back home already. But I will send a dri nonetheless.”

“Thanks Dad”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Angelica was hearing our conversation and she saw ne disconnect the phone.

“Well, you have to wait until your driver comes here either way. So would you at least like to have

some tea/coffee?”

A few maids and servants passed by the hall, carrying bedsheets, and doing their chores.

So far, Angelica had been nothing but nice to me. And this was her house now. I had already been rude to her but now I had nowhere to go.

Besides, it was not her fault that the Moon Goddess paired her with Julian or that Julian forgot his promises to me.

1 let out a sigh and attempted to smile.

“Coffee would do”

She smiled and went to the kitchen while she asked me to sit on the couch though I could see her from this angle.

Angelica pulled out a pan and measured the milk before pouring it in and turning the stove on.

“So, how has life been?”

She asked and I shrugged.

“The usual. Trying to pay bills, surviving, raising my daughter.”

She placed the small coffee powder jar with a slight thud as her mouth formed an O.

“You have a daughter?”

I nodded, “Lea. She is four and is a very bright child”

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10:37 Mon, Aug 26 – U

Angelica smiled and opened one of the cupboards to place two cups on the kitchen counter.

“Indeed, after all, she has you as your mother.”

I smiled.

“So you never went back to study overseas like your carlier plan?” I asked, wanting to steer the conversation away from Lea and the obvious follow up question of who her father was.

Lea was mine and mine alone.

Angelica brought the cups of coffee and handed me one while taking a seat beside me.

“No, after I moved in here there was a lot of stuff to do. Julian felt overwhelmed to be able to do everything on his own. And I did not have your expertise or skill. I tried but I believe I made the work more difficult for him than easy.”

She chuckled and I quietly took a sip of coffee.

When I did not reply, she continued,

“The pack used to be at such great heights, Ana. Everybody kept saying how you were a pro at dealing with difficult tasks, even outmatching Julian in some cases. My fated mate tag dissolved into thin air pretty quickly and I was left with nothing but a mammoth task of living up to your name.”

I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

Usually, when the woman your man left you for said such things, you feel a certain sense of accomplishment and even validation even if you don’t need it.

But her words made me queasy.

Just like the first time we met under this same roof, she had extended a hand and I had walked from her.

It made me question once again if I was the bad person here.

“I…I am sure you must have learned things.”

I supplied.

away

She scoffed and took another sip of coffee. “I tried. And I try every day. But let me tell you, running a pack is hard. Our elders really make it look all flowery and sweet with ballroom dance, mate bond, and being together forever but it is just meetings after meetings, pack treaties, putting the welfare of your pack above your own desires, and a whole lot of other tasks that they never tell you.”

JG.

“With time you excel at it. Just keep doing what you do and I…think Julian must be helping you too.”

At that, she fell a little silent. Her eyes dipped to the floor and she studied the carpet for a few minutes.

An awkward silence fell around us and I focussed on the coffee to stop myself from asking the question burning in my head.

My gaze flicked to the wall clock hanging on the wall opposite me and I saw that fifteen minutes had passed already.

I hoped the driver would be here in another five. This discussion was making me uneasy and Lea was definitely not going to sleep tonight without hearing two bedtime stories.

“He does. In his own way. But you know how stubborn he is.”

I did not know what to reply to that.

So I only took another sip of coffee and placed the cup on the table.

Angelica leaned forward and asked, her voice dropping down to a whisper.

“Is there a secret button that you pushed off his to get him to listen to you?” I looked at her in shock.

“What do you mean?”

know, you

“I mean, you have been with him in bed for so many years and I just wanted to know if there are things you guys explored that might help me in….”

I got up from my couch and blurted out.

“Listen, Angelica, I don’t want to talk about Julian. In fact, I hate being here, and I cannot pretend to be happy with you being here. So let us just stop this pretend game and be who we are.”

The door behind us flew open and I turned in relief, thinking that the driver was finally here.

But another face was staring at me in surprise.