The Unwanted Wife's Return (Ex-Husband Wants Me Back) novel Chapter 143

The Weight of Guilt

ELIJAH’S POV:

A FEW HOURS BEFORE:

“Oh God, please let Mommy come back to us…”

I heard the soft, trembling voices of my children through their bedroom door. My hand froze on the hallway wall, my entire body going still as I listened.

“Please keep her safe,” Amelia whispered, her voice so small and fragile it broke my heart. “And help Daddy find her. Amen.”

“Amen,” Andrew muttered in response, but his voice was flat, emotionless and angry.

I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against the cool wall, trying to steady my breathing. All day, Andrew had been furious with me. He’d barely looked at me, barely spoken to me. And I couldn’t even be angry about it because I was just as angry at myself.

Actually, I was more angry at myself than he could ever be.

Maybe if I had been out there searching alongside the police instead of stuck at home with the kids, we could have reached that location before Hannah was moved. Maybe if I’d gotten there just ten minutes earlier, I could have saved her.

Maybe if I had never dated Janet in the first place, none of this would have happened. She wouldn’t be so consumed by hatred and jealousy that she’d kidnap her own sister.

Maybe if I’d just left Hannah alone years ago. If I’d agreed to only be a father to the twins and continued being miserable with Janet, maybe Hannah wouldn’t be in this nightmare situation right now.

I could have handled the situation between the two sisters better. I should have been honest with Janet earlier, back when we first started dating. I should have confessed that I never truly loved her, that I doubted I ever could love her the way she wanted. But instead, I’d led her on.

I knew how desperately Janet had wanted to be Mrs. Martinez. I knew about the respect, the wealth, the privilege that came with that name. I’d known it all along and I’d still strung her along like a coward.

She’d been amazing at first, especially since I’d wanted her for so long. But after I realized it was always going to be Hannah, after I understood that my heart had chosen Hannah from the very beginning, I should have ended things immediately.

But there had been nothing. Just empty rooms.

I rubbed my face with trembling hands and walked toward my bedroom, my legs feeling weak and unsteady. I leaned hard against the cold hallway wall, my knees threatening to give out beneath me entirely.

My chest rose and fell in uneven, ragged breaths that refused to steady no matter how many times I told myself to just breathe normally. My head felt too heavy for my neck to support. My heart felt too broken for my ribs to contain.

The weight of everything I had done wrong, everything I had failed to do, settled over me like I was being buried alive.

Hannah was paying the price for my mistakes. For my childishness. For my cowardice.

Oh my love. I’m so sorry.