After I left, they begged for Forgiveness

Chapter 23- The Ex Return

Knock. Knock.

The sound echoed through the silence like a bullet through glass.

Valeria flinched, eyes snapping to the front door.

Huh?

Her voice barely came out. “Who could that be?”

She stood, wobbling slightly from the cold floor. The half-crushed papers, open letters, and wine-stained drafts scattered like battlefield debris beneath her feet.

Quickly—frantically—she bent down, using her hands and feet to shove the mess toward the side of the room, forming a haphazard pile.

She yanked an old bedsheet off the armchair and threw it over the heap like a burial shroud.

Her heart raced as she caught her reflection in the dusty mirror.

Pale. Weak. A shadow of the woman who once hosted governors and board members in cocktail gowns.

She adjusted her wrinkled blouse, smoothed her hair with trembling fingers, and grabbed a bottle of mint spray from the cluttered table.

A few quick spritzes into her mouth—desperate to mask the lingering stench of whiskey.

Another knock. More ins