CHASING MY EX-WIFE

CHAPTER 94

Arabel's POV

I find Daisy in the courtyard with Ashley, watering her flowers. The moment Daisy sees me approaching, she drops the little watering can and rushes towards me. “Mommy!”

Laughter erupts from my lips. “Baby!”

“You are difficult to see, Bella,” Ashley says, rolling her eyes at me. “All because of one man.”

I glare at her, and she laughs, raising her hand in surrender. “I didn't say anything.”

“Yes, you did.”

“No, I didn't.” She protests and pulls me into a hug as soon as I drop Daisy to the floor.

“Where is Caleb?” I ask, looking around. “Still at work?”

“Yes, you came to see him?” She asks with curiosity, and I shake my head.

“I came to see you for something and to pick up Daisy.” I inform her, pulling her from the garden while she gestures to a passing maid to assist in watching Daisy, who has returned to watering the flowers.

“Daisy said she wants to study horticulture. It makes me wonder how she got to know such a big word,” Ashley says with a surprised expression.

I shake my head. “Daisy always wants to study one course today and another tomorrow. Last month, she told me she wanted to become a doctor because her dad was ill.”

“Really?” Ashley laughs, and I join in.

“The other day, she mentioned wanting to become a model.”

“Wow,” she laughs again as we get to the lounge. She drags a seat out for me, and I sit in, remembering what Richard asked me just twenty minutes ago. “Is everything okay?”

I nod intermittently, looking up with a smile.

“Richard?”

“He's fine too.”

The news of Alex's relationship with Eve jumps into my head, and I inform her. “Alex turned out to be the impersonator.”

Confusion flashes across her features. “What do you…” She trails off and clamps her hands over her mouth to suck in the gasp. “What?!”

I nod. “Turned out, you were right. Before I arrived home yesterday, Richard discovered that Alex had impersonated him. Eve and Alex are married, but in Richard's name.”

“Christ!”

“It's unbelievable, but it's the truth.”

“Oh, God. Just how desperate are these people? Love shouldn't be forced!”

I nod in agreement and sigh.

“Are you okay, though?” Her hand touches my shoulder, and her eyes reach my face.

I shake my head, practically hearing the loud drumming of my heart. Worry skirts the edges of my mind, making me bite my lips and think about it again.

“Richard asked me to marry him.” I finally announce loud enough for her to hear.

Her mouth drops open, and she suddenly shrieks, shooting to her feet. “Are you serious?!”

Without a smile, I nod.

I have no idea why I feel awful about this. Why the excitement that ought to be there isn't. Why do I feel so down when I shouldn't?

This is why I was unable to reply to him immediately. How could I have replied to him when it was unexpected?

Not only is he in a situation where we have to remind him of every single thing, But we also have a lot to sort out first.

We aren't even dating yet.

Seeing how unhappy I am and my sour mood, she asks with concern. “Are you okay? You look sad? Don't tell me you rejected him.”

“Ash, I can't…” I facepalm myself, feeling so silly.

She pushes herself closer and grabs my hands. “I know how you feel, but you shouldn't let the past define your future. I know Richard has hurt you in the past, and you definitely have to remember one scene or another. But you have to believe me when I say he loves you. Remember the first time he saw you, and I mentioned how he was staring at you? I knew right from that moment that he liked you when I didn't even know you were his ex.”

I shake my head. “I don't know what to think. The moment he asked me, I felt awful and angry. I couldn't even reply to him. I don't know why I still feel this anger or why I feel sad when I ought…”

“Bella,” Ashley says, interrupting my rambling. “I know how it feels. You should be angry, but it's time to let go of all your anger.”

“We aren't even dating yet.” I say deliberately.

“I know. You two know each other already. There is simply no point in doing that…”

“Asking me to marry him is too sudden, Ashley!” I retort, feeling my anger come back to life.

“You were with him through his tough times. You cared for him; you showed him kindness by sticking with him till he recovered fully. What do you expect?” Ashley asks, but I don't get where she is going with this. “He loves you. You love him. You have a child for him. Daisy needs her father. What else do you want? The past is in the past. I believe he would have realized his mistakes as soon as you left, even if Eve hadn't done what she did.”

I furrow my brows. “Why would you say that? If he didn't catch her cheating, he wouldn't…”

“You are an exceptional woman, Arabel. Beautiful, sweet, kind, and phenomenal. Any man who loses you loses a real gem. Richard loved you from the beginning, but he pretended not to love you because of her. You know that, Bella. He loved him. He is a man of his word, and that led him to betray you. If he hadn't promised to marry her, perhaps he would have wanted to give your love for each other a try.”

Did he love me? Was he honest with what he said about loving me?

Ashley doesn't even know he already confessed to me about how he had loved me secretly. I found it difficult to believe then, but now that I think about it, it seems believable.

I shake my head again, this time slowly, to wave away the confusion in my head. “Ashley…”

“Bella, you love him, don't you?” She demands grimly.

I deliberated over the question, even though I already know the answer. I love Richard. From the very first moment I saw him, I loved him despite the circumstances, despite how he treated me. Despite how he ignored me, making me feel unwanted simply because his mother chose me for him.

Even when he asked me for a divorce, my love for him was what made me mad at myself.
At him.
His mother and everyone else I knew.

I still loved him.

It broke me. It shattered every single ounce of strength in me. I still love him. I hated myself for my feelings.

I now understand that the feelings I've had all along were mutual. It wasn't one sided. He made it feel one-sided for a reason.

As much as I try to think about everything, I still don't want to believe Richard loved me from the very beginning. I don't want to believe he loved me even when he ignored me. I don't want to believe his love for me made him sleep with me, which resulted to conceiving Daisy.

“Silence is an answer too,” Ashley shouts with excitement. “I've got a wedding to plan.”

“I'm not getting married, Ashley…”

“Yet.” She cuts me short again, making me shake my head with a smile crawling its way to my lips. “I also have positive news.”

My head jerks up to see her beaming with pride and excitement. “What is it?”

When she hesitates and the smile does not leave her face, I grab her hands and ask again. “Stop with the suspense, girl. What is it? Is it a fashion house?”

She shakes her head intermittently as a lone tear slides down her eyelid. As soon as the tear falls, she swiftly wipe it away before making her announcement. “I am pregnant.”

“What?!” I jump up and shout before grabbing her for a big hug.