My Billionaire Ex-Husband Chase Me Back - Chapter 458

Chapter 459: Heart To Heart Talk
While the others were watching Korean drama and Dax was occupied with something on his iPad, Henry remained silent in his seat. He felt mixed emotions as he witnessed an unfamiliar scene unfold before his eyes.

He had never witnessed this kind of closeness and warmth in their family before. In the past, it was either his parents fighting or him annoying his sister.

For some unknown reason, Henry felt his heart tighten increasingly as he remembered their past, and slowly, he began to feel terrible.

To distract his mind, he focused on the salad in his hand. However, his eyes occasionally stole glances at the little man across from him. After a while, he turned his gaze to Bella.

His hands clenched slightly as he said, “Sister Bella, can we talk for a moment? Just the two of us?”

Bella didn’t answer him right away. She put her salad bowl on the table and nodded slowly.

“Can you walk?” she asked while staring at the thing covering his chest and upper stomach—a broken rib brace.

“Sure,” Henry said and stood up. “Although I have this protector on my chest, I can move my legs… so I can walk by myself, albeit slowly.”

“Alright, let’s walk outside,” Bella said. Before leaving, she asked Dax to stay with her mother and then followed Henry out.

The sky was cloudy that afternoon, and the air felt pleasant. They walked away from the stone house towards the edge of the lake.

After arriving at the park bench facing the lake, Bella sat on one end and asked Henry to sit down, too.

Sitting on the other end of the park bench, Henry looked at Bella for a moment before he looked forward, following her line of sight.

“Sis, your son looks handsome and smart,” Henry said.

“Of course… He is my son and Tristan’s. He gets the best genes from us,” Bella proudly answered.

Silence again.

Henry still tried to string the words he wanted to say to her.

While Bella? She started to feel impatient with Henry as she waited for him to say something.

A few minutes passed, but he still did not say anything, causing her to turn her gaze to him.

“Do you just want to enjoy the view or want to talk?” she asked in an annoyed tone, shocking Henry.

He hurriedly cleared his throat and said, “Bella, I sincerely want to apologize to you for what I did in the past.”

Finally, Henry spoke with a heavy and trembling voice. His eyes, which looked at the lake, felt warm, holding back tears.

After being silent for a few more seconds to calm his heart, he continued, “I feel bad because from when we were little until now, I couldn’t be the best big brother for you. I always hit you with the excuse of wanting to discipline you. Even recently, I tried to hit you. I feel ashamed of myself for never making your life peaceful. I—”

“Damn it, Henry Donovan!” Bella snapped, annoyed at his words.

Henry was surprised to hear her anger. He turned his gaze to her and was even more shocked by her intense glare.

“If you want to remind me of that terrible past, stop it now, or I’ll send you back to the hospital,” Bella said with anger and annoyance in her voice. “I mean it!”

Henry closed his mouth tightly while nodding quickly. He didn’t want to make her even angrier.

After seeing Henry, who seemed to understand her request, Bella took a deep breath. She looked forward again, trying to calm her emotions. She suppressed her thought of sending him back to the hospital with another broken bone.

“Speak now! Or I’ll go back…” she said without leaving her gaze from the calm lake ahead.

“Sister Bella,” Henry’s voice trembled. “I want to apologize to you. And please trust me that my apology is sincere. I hope you can forgive me and forget what happened in the past.”

Bella turned to look at him, saying nothing but looking at him expressionlessly.

“I promise you, I will change. I will no longer be a bad, useless person like Henry Donovan in the past,” Henry continued.

She could see the fear and honesty in his eyes and silently sighed before saying, “Henry, I forgive you!” Those were the only words that could leave her lips. It felt like she couldn’t talk nicely to him yet.

“Thank you, sister,” Henry smiled at her before he looked back at the lake. He was hiding his eyes, which were holding back tears.

“I will now focus on recovering faster so I can return to work sooner. I will prove to you that I can change. That I am a new man. This is my promise to you, sis,” he added.

Bella smiled slightly, hearing the enthusiasm in his words.

“Brother, please don’t prove it to me or others, but to yourself. Your enemy is not me or others but yourself. If you can defeat your ego, then you can succeed!”

Henry was stunned to hear her words. He nodded and agreed, “Yes, I will do that, sis. I will do that…”

“Good! I know it won’t be easy, but if you can work with a calm heart and mind, your path to success will be smoother,” Bella said sincerely while turning her gaze back to him.

When their eyes met, she continued, “You know I have a large stake in the Donovan Group, right?”

Henry nodded.

“Even though I’m the biggest shareholder of the Donovan Group, I won’t go back there to sit as the management and lead the company.”

A thin wrinkle appeared on Henry’s forehead. He wanted to ask “Why,” but when he saw her speaking, he stopped to ask.

“If you show your sincerity in learning to work with others, you will one day become a good leader. And when that time comes, I won’t hesitate to let you sit at the top, leading the Donovan Group to return to glory, like when Grandpa built the company.”

Henry’s eyes beamed, surprised and confused to hear her words.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Sis, why don’t you want to lead the Donovan Group? I heard from Grandpa that you have that ability. You are smart. And also, you are the largest shareholder in the company…”