Winning Back His Ex's Wife's Broken Heart

Sarah's POV

"Hello Mum, how are you doing?" I asked, genuinely wanting to think about anyone else but myself. My current situation in my marriage was weighing me down. Being in a loveless marriage or at least where the love was one-sided was a pain in the ass. I had to struggle every day to be noticed by my husband.

Granted our marriage had been a contract marriage – an agreement between his father and my grandfather -, with no promise of love but yet I found myself yearning for my husband to notice me. Richard had always been my crush right from high school but he had just never noticed me, always been too cool from day 1 to notice the nerdy girl in the corner. Even though I was more girlish now with curves and a D-sized cup, he still didn't see me. I guess it was once a nerd, always a nerd.

"Sarah?"

Mum's voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I sighed. "I'm sorry Mum, what were you saying?"

"Are you okay? You sound worried." Sometimes her ability to read me even from far away was scary but that was one of the many things I loved about her. Lucia Williams was the perfect blend of sweet and spicy, a disciplinarian with an air of sweetness and a tender heart.

"Honestly, no." Then I proceeded to tell her about how things were. Starting from our wedding night when I thought he would at least touch me and I had been bursting at the seams with nerves. I didn't have to be so worried, he didn't even spend the night at home.

I heard a long sigh on the other end and then another before letting out a sigh of my own. I was honestly getting tired of being stuck in this unfavorable arrangement. Going into it in the place had seemed pleasant because I had feelings for Richard and thought with time, he would feel something for me as well. Perhaps I had been binging too much on those romcoms on Netflix. But was it such a big ask for my husband to love me?

"Have you tried seducing him?" she asked and I frowned. Seducing him? Even though I was no longer the shy little nerd I was in high school, I still wasn't the girly woman either. The only thing that had changed had been my big circle glasses that always slept on my nose and now I tried to apply makeup once in a while.

"Don't answer that, you wouldn't know what to do." She sighed again and I could picture her frown. "All right, here's what you'll do." I listened closely as she instructed me on what to do to save my marriage while I gobbled it up. I know this much desperation was bad but I couldn't help it. Perhaps if I could choose who to love then I wouldn't care what he did.

"I'll leave the house now. Will call you when I get to the store."

Some fifteen minutes later, I got out of the car and told Desmond, the driver where to pack the car. Walking into the store, I speed-dialed Mum and waited for her to answer the call while I eyed the different aisles of lingerie and underwear. One of the shop attendants walked up to me with her boobs on display and a bright smile on her face. "Welcome to Sexy Secrets. What can I help you with today?" she asked and I gave a nervous smile.

"I would like to get something sexy," I told her and she nodded, an air of confidence about her. "Could you help me?"

"You can call me Laura, follow me."

I followed Laura through the different aisles and by the time I was headed for the dressing room, I had a handful of see-through things that seemed like they wouldn't cover anything but I guess that was the whole point.

"I will be out here if you need anything." She announced just as Mum was calling me back.

Thank God.

"Hey Mum, I was just headed for the dressing room."

****

I cleaned the edge of the plate and sat down in one of the chairs exhausted from being on my feet all day. After successfully emptying most of the aisles in Sexy Secrets, Mum brought up the idea that I should cook Richard a nice meal. I had done it once before but after he didn't even so much as look at it, I stopped and left the cooking to Rafael, the Italian chef he hired way before I showed up in his life.

I rubbed my sweaty palms as the clock made a sound, my nerves suddenly getting the best of me. The worst thing that could happen now was that he wouldn't show up or he would show up and he wouldn't eat. Frankly, I wasn't too hopeful and that was because if it hadn't worked the first time I tried it, why would it work now?

Because now, you brought in the big guns, you are wearing sexy lingerie. What man can resist that?

Mum's voice rang in my mind and I hoped she was right about this like every other thing in my life she had given me advice on. I got up and walked to the stairs deciding to go and get changed into the lingerie.

Our room or at least my room since he never bothered to sleep in it was a master bedroom with a queen-sized bed and two standard pillows with throw pillows scattered everywhere. My wardrobe was a walk-in closet filled with every designer brand of shoes, clothes, bags, wristwatches and so on that money could buy. Sadly, all that money couldn't get me my husband's love. If only I could trade my Louboutins for a fraction of his love, I would in a heartbeat. I never asked for any of them anyway.

The sound of a car coming up the driveway reached my ears and I raced to the door of my room excitedly, fumbling with the lingerie. It was showtime.

Sarah's POV

As I made my way downstairs to meet Richard, my nerves got the best of me like a teenager going on her first date. I never thought any man would see me like this ever but here I was about to stand in front of my husband like this. I wondered what he would see as I made my way into the living room where I could hear footsteps. I wondered what he would think of me, how he would react, and what the outcome of this whole thing would be.

Would things go south or would he find this whole thing endearing and pull me closer? "Welcome home honey, I made dinner," I said, walking into the living room, my heart in my throat. Would he kick me out of his life because of this?

"Good evening, Mrs. Williams, I'm here to return the keys of the car."

I shrieked at the same Desmond swore and covered his eyes, his cheeks red from embarrassment. "Why are you here? Where is Richard?" I asked, unable to keep the annoyance out of my voice. I pulled the robe closer to my body, irritated that my efforts seemed to have gone to waste.

Desmond dropped his hands and I blanched at the look of pity in his eyes. Richard wasn't coming "Mr. Williams asked me to drop off the car because he will not be coming home tonight."

I nodded, forcing my brain to process the words. "That's all right. I'm sure he has a lot of work to do." Shaking my head, I turned on my heels trying to keep the tears at bay. This was so embarrassing. "You know where to leave the keys. Have a good night then," I whispered and turned on my heels. Damn you Richard, I'm done trying to get your attention and your love.

"Ma'am?" he called and I sighed, ignoring him. "Ma'am should I help you clean up?" he asked and I stopped at the stairs staring at him. I almost cursed when I saw the meals sitting pretty on the plates. Was I supposed to throw all that away?

I shook my head and looked down at my outfit. Even if I was going to clean up, I had to change out of this thing. I sent Desmond a smile and raced up the stairs to change out of the lingerie. Thank God I had the good sense to wear the robe over it. My head hurt just thinking about Desmond seeing me in just the lingerie.

I stripped and quickly slipped into one of my rompers. Well, it was Richard's loss if he didn't get to taste all the deliciousness, I had prepared for him. Tears were threatening to fall but I refused to give in. I would die first before I let Richard make me shed a tear.

As I made my way back downstairs a few minutes later, I felt tears prick my eyes but I didn't give in. The whole embarrassing scenario played in my head like a tape on repeat as I made my way to the kitchen to clean up. Was this what women went through to make men fall in love with them? Surely it wasn't this hard?

I froze, at the dining room area frowning as I stared at the now freshly cleaned table. Where did all the food go? Hearing shuffling from the kitchen, I made my way there and paused at the doorway.

"You didn't have to stay Desmond; I could have handled everything myself," I announced my presence as I walked up to him. He was at the sink washing plates and I found myself gawking at those toned hands of his with his muscles clenching as he worked.

He turned to face me and I blushed when I saw the knowing smile on his face. I had been caught staring. "I wanted to help you, it's the least I could do." I frowned at his words wondering why he was saying that. It wasn't like he had anything to do with Richard not coming home tonight.

"I will be leaving now," he said pulling me out of my thoughts and I looked up to see him walking away empty-handed. With a raised brow, I walked towards the freezer. There was no way I would let him leave this house without something to take home, especially after helping me out with the cleaning.

"Why won't you take anything?" I asked as I brought out one of the bowls of rice he had packed. I reached for two other bowls containing salad and plantains and then I closed the freezer.

I turned at the same time he stood behind me and we bumped into each other. I flushed; my cheeks red as I reached for one of the paper nylon bags on the counter. I had so many after buying so much groceries for tonight. "I can't let you leave without taking anything." I stepped back to pack the food, all the while aware of his eyes on me. "Here you go, eat that for dinner or breakfast but take it."

He smiled and opened his mouth to speak but I gave him a look. "Thank you, Mrs. Williams. Have a good night." I nodded and stood there watching him walk away, thoughts of how wrong the night had ended running through my mind.

That should have been Richard and I; all those moments in here should have been between Richard and me. I groaned loudly and walked out of the kitchen stomping my foot to the living room.

Tears pricked my eyes again but I held them back, dialing my mother's number as I took a seat on the arm of the chair. It rang a few times and then went straight to voicemail. I tossed the phone on the chair in anger and fell on the chair, angrily punching the chair. "I hate you so much, Richard." I groaned as I let the tears roll down my cheeks.

Sarah's POV

I walked into the kitchen the next morning and did a takeback when I saw Richard rummaging in the freezer for something. "What are you doing?"

He jumped which caused him to hit his head on the freezer top and then glared at me while rubbing his head. "What are you doing?" he threw my question back at me and it was my time to glare at him.

"Where were you last night?" I asked, shocked at how strong my voice came out when I was a bundle of nerves on the inside. I had never said more than two words at a time to Richard before and now I didn't even know if he'd hit me for being so gutsy. "You didn't come home last night."

He eyed me for a while and then hissed, turning his attention back to the freezer which seemed more attractive than me at that moment. The nerve of this man. Had it been any other day, I would have let it slide and walked away to go and cry in my room or the bathroom but not today. After last night, I was tired of being so silent and not speaking up for myself. Maybe if I had done this sooner, things would have changed.

"Since when did my not coming back home become an issue?" he retorted and I blanched. I hadn't prepared myself for his reply, at least not that one but I stood my ground.

"Maybe I'm done keeping silent," I whispered and he studied me silently, those beautiful blue eyes of his twinkling. Damn him for being so fine, so fine that I didn't care that he had stood me up last night. I wasn't sure stood up was the right word for what happened since he didn't even know I had been waiting for him but what gives? A husband was supposed to come home to his wife at least on some nights. I could count on one finger the number of times he had made it back home in time for dinner. And even then, the times he had eaten dinner out of those times were barely equaled five. Eyeing him, I wondered if there was another way to get through to him without being fussy.

Taking two steps in front of me, I stood in front of him, close enough to smell his fragrant cologne that on another man would have been wrong but suited him, and placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on his chest. My heart was beating wildly in my chest and I wondered if he would push me away before I even got a chance to speak. But he didn't make a move to stop me and neither did he peel my hands off his skin like they disgusted. He just stared.

I blinked back tears as I came to a realization. He wanted to hear what I had to say. "I know this marriage didn't start as well that, a real marriage but perhaps we can make things work?" I took a deep breath as I finished speaking and stepped back, giving him space and time to process what I had just said.

It took a few minutes before I could get a reaction and it wasn't the one, I had been expecting. Hell, I expected him to scream at me, push me away, or even walk away angrily but when he started walking towards me with a dangerous look in his eyes, I gulped and took a few steps back. I had put my foot in my mouth and now he was going to kill me. If this was how I died, could I at least say bye to my mother first? I was still expecting her call after last night to check up on how things went.

"So, you want us to be a real couple? You want me to hold you like this..." he paused as his hands came around my waist and I shivered at his closeness. Oh God, we had never been this close before. His touch sent electric shocks through my body, delicious sensations and I never wanted them to stop. "You want me to fuck you, for you to scream my name every night and then wake up in my arms the next morning?"

Usually, I would have blushed and pulled away but I don't know why his words had the opposite effect on me. I felt myself inching closer to him, wanting to feel some more of his body heat close to me. I was so entranced by his words I didn't realize when he took a step back or when he pulled his hand away from my face until I felt water splash on my face.

"Only in your dreams dear wife," he said those last words like they tasted bitter on his tongue. "This is a sham of a marriage, always has been and will be."

I opened my mouth to respond and then closed it back when nothing came out.

He smirked, the smile at the corner of his lips wicked and menacing. "Some minutes ago you had so many things to say. Cat got your tongue?"

I opened my mouth again to speak but footsteps from behind me interrupted me.

"Good morning Mr. Williams, Mrs. Williams," Desmond greeted as he walked into the kitchen and I remained where I was, unable. I was trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"We are stopping at the donut shop two blocks from the office and then we're heading for Martins' office immediately. I have some urgent work for him to do for me." Richard informed him as he walked past me after sending me one last smile.

I turned and watched them walk away, my head swimming with different thoughts. I was still trying to make sense of what had taken place here. One minute everything had been going fine and then the next minute, the rug had been pulled out from underneath my feet.

"What just happened?" I asked the empty kitchen, my voice bouncing off the walls.