The Unwanted Wife's Return (Ex-Husband Wants Me Back) novel Chapter 23

To the Beginning of Everything 

3RD POV: 

The children rushed in before formality could catch them bounding with the kind of energy only kids could have after such a long day. Amelia clung to her mother’s arm, tugging gently. “Mommy, do we get dessert first?” 

“You’ll eat dinner before dessert,” Hannah responded smoothing Amelia’s hair, though her smile betrayed her exhaustion. “And don’t even try to convince Lucas otherwise.” 

Lucas gasped theatrically. “Excuse me, I am the fun uncle. Dessert is a constitutional right in my house.” 

Maya rolled her eyes as she followed, carrying. “Don’t rile them up. They’ll keep us here past midnight.” 

They took a seat at a corner booth, one sectioned off from the main dining hall by high-backed chairs and a glass partition. The kind of place meant for privacy, though every once in a while, a curious diner would steal a glance at Hannah, as if trying to reconcile the woman in front of them with the breathtaking show they’d seen splashed across their social feeds earlier that night. 1 

Hannah slid into the booth and exhaled, finally letting herself sag a little into the cushions. For hours she’d been composed, polished, untouchable. Now, under the amber glow and surrounded by the people she trusted most, she allowed her shoulders to soften. 

Lucas clinked his glass of sparkling water against hers before food even arrived. “To the woman who just silenced an entire industry with chiffon and sass,” he said. “May they choke on their jealousy and never catch up.” 

Hannah laughed, covering her face for a moment, as though embarrassed by his flair. “You’re ridiculous.” 

“And fabulous,” he added. “But mostly right. Hannah, you killed it tonight and the evidence is there with the stares you’ve been getting all night after just one big reveal. I’ve never been prouder.” 

Her assistant, Kara, still in her neat blazer despite the late hour nodded from the edge of the table. “He’s not wrong. The press is already buzzing. I’ve had four requests for interviews in the last hour alone. Even D’ Mangelo is asking if you’ll grant her a sit-down.” 

Hannah’s brows arched, surprised, though she didn’t let pride spill too far across her face. “That was fast.” 

“News spreads faster than fire when it’s about you,” Lucas said with a smirk, swirling his drink. 

Dinner arrived slowly, course after course roasted chicken with thyme, delicate pasta draped in cream, platters of vegetables and warm bread. The children, of course, only had eyes for the fries that accompanied their meals, much to Lucas’s horror. 

“You are sitting in one of the best restaurants in the city,” he said, pointing an accusing fork at Amelia, “and you’re eating fries?” 

Amelia shrugged, dipping one in ketchup without guilt. “They’re good.” 

After about thirty minutes had gone by, Hannah leaned her chin on her palm and sighed with a small smile, whispering, “I don’t even know how to describe this feeling,” Lucas leaned forward, resting his hand over hers. 

“Don’t describe it,” he smiled softly. “Live it.” 

She met his eyes, and something unspoken passed between them: gratitude, trust, the bond of two souls who had carried each other through storms. 

By the time dessert arrived and more fries for the kids, the table was alive with chatter. Kara shared stories of her first day working under Hannah, the kids giggled over Lucas’s exaggerated tales of his high school theater days, and Maya, usually quiet, admitted with a blush that she had recorded the final runway moment on her phone, just for herself. 

When the night finally wound down, Hannah leaned back in her seat, her eyelids heavy but her heart light. She gazed at her children, already yawning, and whispered to herself, “This is what I fought for.” 

Lucas heard her. He smiled faintly, though his chest tightened. Tomorrow would test her more than she knew. But tonight..tonight she had won. 

He raised his glass one last time, his voice soft, sincere, free of theatrics. “To Hannah. To the beginning of everything.” 

And under the warm lights, with laughter fading into the late hours, Hannah let herself believe it.