Winning Back His Ex's Wife's Broken Heart by Hayley

Chapter 62 Richard's pov.

After the karaoke night, something inhad changed. I hadn't expected to feel this way again, but here we were, picking up where we'd left off all those years ago. Only this time, there were no expectations, no pressure. Just... us.

The next weekend, I decided to take her hiking. It felt like a good idea. We needed sfresh air, something different from our usual city dates.

I figured it'd be nice, simple, maybe a little adventure to keep things interesting. Plus, I'd read somewhere that outdoor activities are supposed to bring people closer together. Not that I was researching anything... okay, maybe I was. Just a little...well...a bit too much.

I met Sarah in front of her place, and she cout dressed for the trail, wearing a smile that made my heart do an odd little flip.

"So," she said, grinning as she threw a small backpack over her shoulder. "You sure you know where we're going?" I chuckled, shrugging. "Absolutely not. But that's the fun part." She laughed, shaking her head. "Great. Just don't blme if we get lost." The trail was quiet and green, tucked away just on the edge of town. I hadn't been out here before, but the trees looked tall and inviting, and there was a nice path winding up the hillside.

We started walking, Sarah was beside me, her pace easygoing, like she was happy just to be there.

"So, been on a lot of hikes?" she asked, givinga playful nudge.

I shrugged. "A few. Not exactly Bear Grylls or anything." She laughed, and I realized just how much I loved hearing that sound. It had been a long tsince I'd seen her like this-relaxed, carefree.

And it felt good, just being in her company, no need to say much, just listening to the crunch of leaves underfoot.

Even though our parents were rich, she had always been simple, even in high school and college, she preferred taking the bus than driving her -then- Porsche.

I don't think I would ever forgive myself for not actually seeing her, until it was too late.

We walked a while in comfortable silence, admiring the trees and the quiet of it all. Occasionally, I'd point out srandom plant, pretending I knew what I was talking about, and she'd roll her eyes or snicker.

"Really?" she teased. "You know about plants now?" I raised an eyebrow, playing along. "Of course. This one here is... uh... definitely a tree." She laughed, shaking her head. "Expert knowledge right there." After about half an hour, the path started to split off into different directions. I glanced around, trying to look confident, even though I had no clue where we were going. "Left or right?" I asked, glancing back at her.

She bit her lip, squinting at the paths like she had a map in her head. "Uh... right?" "Right it is," I agreed, nodding like I knew what I was doing. We took the right path, and after a few minutes, it narrowed down, twisting into a thicker part of the forest.

The trees grew closer together, the air cooler, and I had a nagging feeling that maybe right wasn't exactly the... *right* choice.

"Are we... lost?" she asked, glancing up atwith a grin that was a mix of amusement and something else- maybe a challenge.

"Lost? Us?" I scoffed, trying to keep a straight face. "Never." But then the path seemed to just end, and we stood there, surrounded by trees and silence. She crossed her arms, givingthat look, the one she once gavewhen she caughtsneaking a midnight snack after promising I'd cut down on sweets.

Okay, we were a bit of an acquaintance back in high school, a bit, but her simplicity and clinginess threwoff. "So... genius hiker," she teased, "what's the plan?" I scratched my head, laughing despite myself. "Um... we just... turn around?" "Oh, is that your expert advice?" She laughed, poking fun atas we stood there, our "adventure" turning out to be nothing more than a bunch of wrong turns.

I rolled my eyes, smirking. "Or we could sit here and wait for a rescue team. Your call." "Or," she said, grinning as she looked around, "we could just... wander." I looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Wander?" "Yeah." She shrugged, her expression playful. "Why not? Sometimes it's more fun to not know where you're going." She had a point. I'd always been the one to plan everything out, to have a route, a backup plan, and a backup to the backup.

But here she was, just wanting to take it as it came. It was different, and it madefeel... lighter somehow. "Alright, lead the way," I said, motioning her forward.

With a triumphant grin, she started walking, and I followed. The trees around us were thick, and we had to duck a few branches here and there.

I could feel the quiet around us, the kind of peaceful silence that you only get out in nature, and it madefeel calm. Almost like we were the only two people in the world.

As we kept going, Sarah kept pointing things out, laughing at sof the weirdly-shaped rocks and trees that looked like they'd been twisted into knots.

She'd make up little stories about each one, and her laughter was contagious, makinglaugh too.

At one point, she stopped, looking up at a small tree with low-hanging branches.

"Look," she said, her eyes wide with excitement. "A perfect climbing tree!" "Are you serious?" I asked, half-laughing, half-genuinely curious.

She shrugged, givinga mischievous grin. "Why not? Unless you're too grown-up for a little fun." "Fine," I said, stepping forward and eyeing the branches. "But if I fall, you're carryingback." She burst out laughing, crossing her arms. "Deal." I reached up, gripping the lowest branch and hoisting myself up. The tree was sturdy, and before I knew it, I was halfway up, feeling oddly proud of myself. "Not bad, huh?" I called down, looking at her.

She gavea thumbs up, her face lit up with laughter. "Impressive. Very... grown-up of you."

But then, as I was shifting to a higher branch, my foot slipped, and had to grab on tight to avoid falling. My heart thumped, but when I looked down, she was stifling a laugh. "Hey!" I called down, pretending to be annoyed. "You're supposed to be supportive." "Sorry, sorry," she said, holding her hands up, but the grin on her face gave her away.

*** After a while, I climbed back down, and we sat at the base of the tree, catching our breath and just... talking.

The conversation flowed easily, like it used to when we were younger, and I felt myself forgetting about all the things that had gone wrong between us.

"Remember the twe tried camping that one summer?" she asked, leaning back against the tree.

Not just us. Sfriends included. I chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, and I forgot the tent poles. We ended up sleeping in the car." She laughed, shaking her head. "And you kept insisting it was 'all part of the adventure."" "It was," I argued, smirking. "Just a... less comfortable adventure." She rolled her eyes, but I could see the warmth in her expression. "You always did find a way to make things fun, even if they were a complete mess."

I felt a pang of regret, a reminder of the things that had gone wrong. But then she he smiled that ssmile that had always madefeel like maybe I wasn't such a mess after all. And at that moment, sitting there with her in the middle of the forest, I realized just how much I'd missed this.

We eventually found our way back to the main path, laughing as we stumbled out of the trees, covered in leaves and twigs.

As we walked back down the trail, Sarah reached out and took by took my hand, her fingers warm against mine. I Her looked down, surprised, but she just gavesoft smile. "This was fun," she said, her voice quiet.

"Yeah," I replied, feeling a warmth spread throughthat had nothing to do with the afternoon sun. "It really was." We walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence, her hand still in mine.