Broken Beyond Repair: To Win Back my Ex-Wife

"Mom?" A faint voice awakens me. When did I go to sleep? I open and close my eyes quickly, hiding my eyes from the intense morning light. I open them again after a few seconds and notice Jayden standing in front of me, perplexed. When I raise my head, my neck aches, and I realize I'm in the living room. My neck hurts like hell. I'm sitting on the floor, arms crossed on the couch, wearing yesterday's clothing.

"Mom? What are you doing sleeping here?" Jayden inquires, and I'm at a loss for words.

"Um... I had some work to do and ended up sleeping here." I'm unsure, but he nodded. I exhale a breath of relief.

"It's Sunday today. So we're going out for breakfast." He moans. I'm not in the mood to go out for breakfast, but it's our Sunday ritual, and I can't say no. He'll be irritated.

"Girls are so lazy." He says, and I stare at him wide-eyed.

"What exactly did you say?" I pretended to be angry. He smiled mischievously as he gazed at me.

"You and Ari are both so lazy, Mom." I instantly wrap my fingers around his arm and draw him to me, he says. He ends up on my lap, and I begin tickling him. His laughter permeates the room, brightening my mood and making me smile from ear to ear.

"Say you're sorry." I insist. I know it's childish, but I'm only thirty-one.

"S-sorry." He says this between laughter, and I come to a halt. I burst out laughing, and he pouts. "Now, come on. I'm starving." He continues to pout.

"Is Ari awake?" I asked him and got up from the floor, holding him in my arms. He shook his head.

"That's exactly what I said. Girls are lazy." He states. I narrow my eyes at him, and he apologizes instantly. I make fun of him.

"Go wake her up and request that she brush her teeth. I'll go get your clothes." I say as I put him down. He nods and dashes into their room. I go to my room and get ready. I choose children's clothes. Jeans and T-shirts will suffice. After getting ready for myself and the kids, we headed to the cafe nearby, where we typically go. I take my seat after making sure they're both comfortable.

"Hello, Hazel." Paisley, our regular waitress, introduces herself.

"Good morning, Paisley." I give her a kind smile. She greets the children, who return her greeting. She requests our orders, which we comply with. Jayden requested pancakes, Aria requested egg toast, and I asked for coffee and pancakes.

"Mommy?" Aria says as we begin to eat, I was drinking my coffee and nodded at her.

"A man was in our house yesterday. Who was he?" My heart skips a beat as she asks. Jayden pulls the water glass towards me as I choke on my coffee. I consume it.

"H-he... H-he's an old friend." I lie.

"Oh." She says as she continues to eat. My heart rate accelerates dramatically. What if they discover he's their father? Will they abandon me for him? No, no. They wouldn't do it.

"Mommy, I need to use the restroom," Aria murmurs in my ear, jerking me out of my reverie. I nod and assist her in getting out of the chair. She's so familiar with the area that she walks there without me. Jayden and I briefly talk about a girl at his play school.

Aria has yet to return after a few minutes. We finished our breakfast and are now waiting for her. What happened to her? As a mother, I was concerned that she was taking so long, so I stood up and began to make my way to the restrooms, but then I noticed her tiny figure returning. As I see who accompanies her, my heart races for the second time since we arrived at the cafe.

"Mommy, I met your friend near the washrooms." She says this while pointing at Hudson. She's holding his hand, and he's staring at me. I remain silent and nod to her.

"Hello," Hudson murmurs, his gaze fixed on me.

"That's Jayden. He is my brother." Ari tells Hudson.

"Hi, Jayden," Hudson says as he looks at him. Jayden smiles at him.

"Um... Well, um... Let's get started. I've got some work to do." I take Ari's arm and drag her away from him. I almost feel awful for him when I see the hurt on his face. I hurriedly paid the bill and gave a tip before gathering my belongings and the kids and leaving without looking at him.

I buckled the kids into their seats and moved toward the driver's seat, but I was stopped. When I looked up from the ground, I saw Hudson. I tried to walk around him, but he grabbed my wrist and spun me around.

"Hudson-" I begin, but he cuts me off, as he always does.

"We have to talk, Hazel." Please get in touch with me." He says as he passes me his business card. I yank my hand from his grasp and shatter the card before hurling it at his chest. I moved to my seat, turning away. I close the doors and turn on the engine.