The Ex-Husband of Alice Langley

1

ALICE LANGLEY
Six weeks ago
It's late, and the clock ticks past 11 as I pace the worn floorboards of my cramped apartment, my frustration spiraling into desperation. The city outside is eerily quiet, but inside, my mind is roaring, racing with thoughts I can't control. I can't believe it. Taylor lied—she flat out lied to me, strung me along with promises that I clung to like a lifeline, and now... now everything I was counting on has disappeared, just like that.

I press my palms to my temples, trying to soothe the pounding headache forming there, but it's no use. The book—the one thing I was banking on to pull me out of this black hole of debt—is gone. Without it, there's no career launch, no financial stability, no future for me. And worst of all, no future for Luca. My chest tightens at the thought of him, my sweet little boy. I can almost feel him slipping away from me, slipping through my fingers like sand.

I'm going to lose him. The realization hits like a punch to the gut, and I feel the tears start to well up. I want to collapse, to scream, to break down and sob right here on the floor, but I can't. I don't have time for that. I have to see Luca before it's too late. I need to hold him, to tell him I love him, to promise him that somehow, someway, I'll fix this, even if I have no idea how.

My legs move before my mind does. I grab my jacket, barely registering the cold night air as I hurry down the stairs of my apartment building and flag down the first taxi I see. I give the driver my ex-husband's address, my heart pounding faster with each block we pass. The city blurs by, streetlights casting long shadows across the seats, but I'm too lost in my own panic to care. I fumble with my phone in my lap, checking the time again and again, as if it might slow things down, as if I could somehow pause the inevitable.

When we finally pull up to his building, I throw a few crumpled bills at the driver and leap out of the cab. I rush to the door and start ringing the bell—once, twice, then again and again in quick succession, like that'll make him open the door faster. My breath comes in short gasps, each second that passes making my anxiety spike higher.

"Hold on! I'm coming!" I hear his familiar voice from inside, but it's muffled, sluggish with sleep.

I swallow hard, nerves twisting my stomach into knots. When the door opens, my ex-husband stands there in the dim light of the hallway, rubbing his eyes with a deep frown etched on his face.

"Alice? What the hell are you doing here?" he mutters, voice rough from sleep, clearly not expecting me to show up in the middle of the night.

I'm shaking now, the weight of everything crashing down on me all at once. "I need to see Luca," I blurt out, my voice breaking. "Please, I need to see him." The desperation in my tone is palpable, my hands trembling as I grip the doorframe.

He stares at me for a long moment, his brows furrowed in confusion and irritation. "It's the middle of the night, Alice. You can't just show up like this."

"I know, I know it's late," I rush to explain, my words tumbling over each other. "But I—I don't know what to do. I'm going to lose him. Everything's falling apart. The custody battle, the debt, all of it. I just... I just need to see him, okay? Please." My voice cracks, the tears I'd been holding back now threatening to spill.

Hunter stands in the doorway, his expression shifting between concern and hesitation. "He's not even here, Alice," he says quietly, rubbing the back of his neck like he's not sure how to break it to me. "He's with my mom right now. You know how she's been begging to spend more time with him. I kept saying no because of the custody stuff, but... well, you know my mom. She doesn't take no for an answer."

That small, familiar crack of humor in his tone should comfort me, but instead, it only makes the knot in my chest tighten. I let out a sigh, nodding because I do know. "Yeah," I mumble, looking down at the floor. "She's relentless. Probably had you wrapped around her finger in under a minute."