Dear Ex Wife, Please take me back novel Chapter 192

ATHENA

"I'm so sorry about my stupid brother. His obsession with Alex got out of hand. He shouldn't have done that. If you want to kill him, you have my blessing," Ian says, and I smile.

I do want to kill Arnold. But I've had enough blood on my name, and knowing Alex, he will just cause chaos.

He's just like his father. I mean, we haven't heard from John or know where his wereabout are since we got the formula. But knowing Eli paid him a visit, I'm pretty sure he is on the other side.

And by otherside, I mean the world of flowers where no living soul exists.

"Your mother will be so upset when she hears that," I say.

"My mother loves me. She’ll understand." He passes me a cup of coffee, then sighs.

He looks like he’s deep in thought, pretty much his signature look. Alex once told me Ian is different from us. I didn’t understand it then, but now… I’m starting to see it.

He processes feelings differently. Where we feel something at a ten, he feels it at a thousand.

It explains the way he loves his patients, how fiercely he protects his friends… and how completely devoted he is to Sloane. He barely leaves her side.

But Alex’s words echo in my head like a warning,

“If he can feel that deeply with love, what happens when it’s hate?”

“What has you so gone?” Ian’s voice snaps me back.

I smile faintly at him.

"I just have so much to think about, you know. Unlike me, your life is per"

I stop myself.

Stupid and Insensitive.

Well done, Athena. Ten points for idiocy.

But Ian just shakes his head with a soft smile.

"My life isn’t perfect yet. But once Sloane wakes up, it will be. She and Mum... they're everything to me. Losing one would cripple me. Losing both... would end me."

He says it so calmly, like it's a fact, not a fear.

Then he takes another sip, his eyes still distant.

"Why do you look spooked?" he asks, finally glancing at me. "They're strong women. Nothing will happen to them. My God, Athena, since when did you become so sensitive?"

I roll my eyes, forcing a smile to my lips. “Sensitive? Me? Never.”

Ian snorts. “You’re literally blinking like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m just tired.”

“You’re full of shit,” he says casually, sipping his coffee. “You’re spiraling, and it’s obvious. You get this weird twitch in your eyebrow when you're overthinking. You look like you're decoding an alien language.”

I chuckle despite myself, reaching for a croissant from the plate between us.

I choke on my coffee.

“Alex,” I warn, swatting his chest with the back of my hand. “Stop threatening everyone you see.”

He catches my hand mid-swat and kisses my knuckles. “Then stop being so cozy with my friends. I'll be a pain in your ass if I end up killing them all. I’ll have to follow you everywhere.”

Ian groans dramatically. “Please. For the love of sanity, stop. Some of us still need therapy from the last time you two got touchy in public.”

“You weren’t even there,” I mutter.

“I heard things,” he deadpans. “Walls are thin. And so is my will to live.”

I snort, trying to hold in my laugh, but it escapes anyway, light and loud. Alex watches me with a crooked smile like I'm the only thing in the room worth noticing.

My phone buzzes on the table, the screen lighting up with a message from Isabelle.

I grab it quickly, still smiling… until I read the words.

"Athena, where are you? It’s Sloane."

My heart stops.

I sit up straighter, and the grin wiped clean off my face. The warmth drains from my limbs as I read the message again.

“What is it?” Alex asks, instantly alert.