Hello, Ex! I Finally Found My Worth! - Chapter 204

Chapter 204: Just Hear Me Out
Ivy rushed out of her office, her heart hammering against her chest. She needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

Emma needed her. But as she stepped into the hallway, she abruptly halted, her breath catching in her throat.

It was Hunter.

He was seated at the reception, his posture tense, his eyes lifting the moment he heard the door open. Just as he raised his eyes, their eyes met.

Ivy clenched her jaw and turned to her secretary, Selena, who stood by the desk with an apologetic look. “He refused to leave,” Selena explained hesitantly.

Ivy let out a quiet sigh, not even sparing Hunter a glance. “Cancel all my appointments and reschedule them for tomorrow. I’m leaving.”

Selena frowned, immediately picking up on the urgency in Ivy’s tone. “Are you okay, Ms. Anderson?”

Ivy shook her head. “It’s not me, you don’t have to worry. Just cancel and reschedule,” she muttered before heading straight for the exit.

Hunter stood immediately, his heart twisting at the way she dismissed him so easily. She didn’t even look at him. Didn’t acknowledge him.

Was she still so mad at him?

He knew he had hurt her, but the way she had just walked past him as if he was nothing—it shattered him. It made his heart break.

Still, he wasn’t going to let her go like this.

Without thinking twice, he rushed after her. His steps quick, his desperation pushing him forward.

Just as Ivy reached her car and pulled the door handle, Hunter grabbed her wrist. “Ivy, wait!”

Ivy jerked her wrist out of his grip and spun around, her eyes blazing with anger and something else—something raw and broken.

“Let me be, Hunter!” she snapped, her voice sharp and cutting. “I don’t have time for this! Just let me be and get out of my face! I don’t want to ever see you again; haven’t I made myself clear?” she asked almost on the verge of tears.

Hunter exhaled deeply, his jaw tightening as he held his hands up in surrender. “Ivy, please,” he pleaded, his voice lower, softer. “I swear, I’ll let you be. I won’t bother you anymore if that’s what you want. But just… just hear me out first.”

Ivy clenched her fists, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. She didn’t want to hear him. She didn’t want to listen to whatever excuse or apology he had come up with. Not now. Not after everything.

She didn’t want to hear him not because she was still hurting but because she feared she might forgive him if she listened to him explain.

But the desperation in his eyes, the quiet pain in his voice—it made her hesitate. Perhaps she could summon all her strength and walk away after he was done apologizing?

She wouldn’t let him or whatever he’d say weaken her resolve. He hurt her and she needed to protect herself from him.

Ivy folded her arms across her chest, her expression unreadable as she stared at him. “Be fast,” she said coldly. “You have five minutes to say whatever you have to say,” she said coldly but despite her cold exterior, her heart was bleeding inside.

Hunter swallowed hard, his heart hammering in his chest. Five minutes. That was all she was giving him. It wasn’t much, but it was more than he had before.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. “Ivy, I know I hurt you,” he began, his voice laced with regret. “And I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I need you to know that—”

Hunter exhaled deeply, his eyes locking onto Ivy’s as he spoke. “I need you to know that I never went through with the bet. Though my intention was to get you to bed because of how rudely you spoke to me that day but my love for you was genuine. I meant it when I said I love you, Ivy Anderson. Even before you gave me your hand of friendship, I had already fallen for you while trying to get you to fall for me. I fell for you after I realized how true you can be and that despite that cold exterior you try to put up is a beautiful emotional lady,” he admitted, his voice thick with emotion. “I wanted to tell you, but I just couldn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to hurt someone whose love was as pure and true as you and more than that, I was scared. Scared that if I told you, you’d never forgive me and you’d be hurt. I know that doesn’t excuse what I did, but you have to believe me—I never wanted to spy on your restaurant. That was out of it.”

Ivy’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t say anything, just watched him with guarded eyes.

“My only problem was the way you talked to me that night at the club,” he continued. “Other than that, my conscience would never have let me do that to you, especially after seeing how hard you work. You built that place from the ground up, and I respected that. I still do.”

He ran a hand through his hair, swallowing hard. “Despite everything I put you through, you still helped me with my case. You had every reason to turn your back on me, but you didn’t. And for that, Ivy… I’m thankful.”

Ivy’s eyes flickered with something—pain, maybe. But she didn’t let it show.

Hunter took a step back, his shoulders sinking slightly. “I know you want me out of your life, and I’ll make sure to stay out of your face, just like you asked. But, Ivy…” He hesitated, then shook his head with a small, sad smile. “I just hope you don’t let the pain I caused stop you from finding true happiness. You deserve to be happy even though I’m not the one giving you the happiness and I hope that one day, you’d be able to forgive me and move on from all the pain I caused.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away, each step feeling heavier than the last.

Ivy stood there, staring after him, her chest tightening. She clenched her fists, willing herself not to cry. She had told herself she was over this—that she was done with him.

So why did it still hurt? Why did all he said make her feel terrible? Why was she feeling conflicted? She had told herself she wouldn’t let whatever he’d say get to her but here she was, feeling all the emotions overwhelming her.

She shouldn’t be thinking this. She should be with Emma now. She told herself as she managed to drag herself into her car and drove off.

Ivy gripped the steering wheel tightly as she drove, her knuckles turning white. The city lights blurred past her, but her mind wasn’t on the road—it was on Hunter.

No matter how much she told herself she wasn’t going to think about Hunter or what happened, there was no helping it.

His words replayed in her head like a haunting melody, stirring something deep inside her.

“I meant it when I said I love you. My love for you was genuine.”

Her chest tightened. She wanted to scoff, to push the thought away, but the sincerity in his eyes, the raw emotion in his voice—it made her feel vulnerable.

A shaky breath escaped her lips. Why did hearing that hurt more than everything else he had done? She wanted to hate him, to cling to her anger because it was safer—because if she let herself believe him, she’d shatter all over again and might just turn the car around and accept him.

But no. He had lied. He had betrayed her trust. He had made her feel like a fool.

But… he had also made her feel alive.

Her eyes burned as memories flooded in—his teasing smirk when he stole fries from her plate, the way his eyes softened when he looked at her, the warmth of his touch when he held her close everytime for no reason at all.

For the first time in years, she had let someone in. She had trusted him and he had ruined it.

Her chest ached as a war raged inside her. A part of her desperately wanted to turn the car around, to run back to him, to bury her face in his chest and let herself believe, just for a moment, that things could be different. That maybe, just maybe, he had fallen for her along the way like he had said.

But the pain was still there, raw and unhealed. Could she really forgive him? Could she trust him again?

Her vision blurred as she blinked back tears.

Then, Emma’s broken voice echoed in her mind.

Ivy inhaled sharply, forcing herself to focus. Emma needs me. She’s hurting. I can’t let her go through this alone.

Her emotions twisted painfully, but she pushed them down. Hunter could wait. Her feelings could wait. Right now, her best friend needed her.

Gripping the wheel tighter, she pressed down on the gas. Whatever was waiting for her at that hospital, she had to be strong. She’d deal with her own broken heart later.