A Divorce He Regrets (Raina and Alexander) novel Chapter 161

RAINA

It had been a few days since the incident with Eliza, and Faith was a mess. Her usual radiance was dulled by the appearance of a lost and broken person. I did what I could; I tried to be there for her, holding her hand through the storm. But I could see in her eyes that she was losing herself.

I sat down next to her on the couch and listened as she let out a trembling breath. "I believe him," she whispered, voice cracking under the weight of her doubt. "At least, I want to. But why did it have to be her, Raina? Why Eliza, out of all people?"

That question hit me hard too. Why Eliza? What could she possibly want with Dominic when Alex had always been the one she chased after? It didn't make sense, and the thought gnawed at the back of my mind.

Faith dug a spoon into a tub of ice cream, shoveling another bite into her mouth before I snatched it away.

"Faith, enough," I chided her gently. "You have a newborn to think about. Caleb doesn't need his mother pumping herself full of sugar like this."

She reached for it again, and I held the tub out of her reach. "Let it go," I said firmly. "Think of Caleb. He needs you—healthy, strong, and focused."

Faith collapsed back against the pillows, her arms dropping as if in defeat to her sides. "I'm trying, Raina. I really am. But every time I close my eyes, I see them together." Her voice cracked then, and tears streamed down her already red, puffy cheeks.

Before I could say a word to comfort her, Dominic walked into the room. The minute Faith saw him, she tensed up, her entire body rigid.

"Faith," he whispered, and his eyes flooded with regret and longing.

Her face burning with shame, she turned hastily to leave, but just as she turned, Dominic took her wrist, his voice cracking in a whispered beg; "Please, don't walk away.”

Alex let out a heavy sigh. "They'll be okay, Raina. They just need time."

"Perhaps," I muttered, pacing the hallway. "But I am not going to sit back and watch Eliza win. We need to do something, Alex. We cannot let her break them."

He was silent a moment before answering. "What do you suggest? It's not like we can wave a magic wand and fix this."

I recalled what Alex told me when we broke up; how things were with Eliza, how hard she had tried to get together with him. She had connived and involved even his sister in some sick play to make him hers, but it did not work—not even when she falsely claimed he came on to her.

I could still hear the bitterness in his voice as he told me how he'd shut her down. "I told her I was too heartbroken to get my cock up for anyone else," he'd said, his voice alive with dry, scornful irony. "And I had proof."