The Wife You Buried Is Back from Hell novel Chapter 869

“You’re not well. And what if Jake is still out there somewhere? What if something happens to you?”

Alexander tried to brush her hand off his arm, but he had no strength. He could feel the warmth of her palm through his sleeve, a comforting heat that only deepened his guilt.

“Don’t worry about me,” he said, his voice thick with fatigue. “I can handle my own problems.”

“Alexander, can you please stop being so stubborn?” Danielle’s brow furrowed. “You’re not alone in this. You have me, and you have Niki. We’re worried about you. Can’t you think about us for once?”

At the mention of Niki, he froze. He remembered her small, worried face, her soft voice asking if he was sick. He remembered the hope in her eyes when she asked him to stay. In that moment, the walls he had built around his heart crumbled. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were filled with a profound weariness.

“I…” he began, but the sound of the bedroom door opening cut him off.

They both turned. Niki stood in the doorway in her pink bear pajamas, rubbing her eyes. “Mommy? Daddy? Are you fighting?”

Danielle immediately let go of Alexander and rushed to her daughter’s side. She knelt down, her voice gentle. “No, sweetie, we weren’t fighting. We were just talking. Did we wake you?”

Niki shook her head, her eyes fixed on Alexander. “Daddy, are you leaving?” she asked, her voice small and hopeful. “Can you stay and play with me?”

Niki tugged on her hand. “Mommy, does Daddy not like me anymore? Is that why he won’t play with me?”

Danielle knelt and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. “No, sweetie, that’s not it at all,” she said, her voice firm. “Daddy loves you very, very much. He just has something very important he has to do. I promise, as soon as he’s finished, he will come back for you.”

—

In the hallway outside, Alexander leaned against the cold wall, gasping for air as the familiar tightness seized his chest. He pulled out his phone, wanting to call Rebecca, but he didn’t know what he would even say.