My Ex-Husband Begged Me to Take Him Back - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: The truth that Dylan refused to admit.

Justin shook his head. “I’m not arguing with you, sir. But I think you need to talk to her properly,” he insisted. “Ava madam was always good to you. She took care of you without a complaint. No matter how you treated her, she didn’t demand anything in return. And yet, all of a sudden, she is acting like you’re her enemy. Don’t you think you are responsible for that? Your cold attitude toward her pushed her away.”

Dylan’s anger flared again, his jaw tightening, and his fists balled so tightly that his knuckles cracked under the strain. “So, you’re saying it’s all my fault? That I mistreated her?” His frustration was palpable. “Yes,” he barked, his loud voice echoing inside the office. “I ignored her—deliberately. And you know why? She is nothing more than a pawn to bring Thomas Williams to his knees!”

Justin didn’t flinch, meeting Dylan’s heated gaze with a steady one of his own. “I don’t think that’s true,” he countered, unwavering. “If she really meant nothing to you, why were you so angry when you saw her with Ethan? Why are you still here, at the office, instead of at home? The ‘troublemaker,’ as you call her, isn’t there anymore. You should be glad. You should be able to go home, relax, and get some sleep. But you can’t, can you?”

Dylan’s expression stoned, Justin’s words reverberating in his ear.

“You might not want to admit it, sir, but you like her,” Justin pressed on, his tone softening. “You want her in your life, more than you want to admit. Remember how you rushed to her aid the moment you heard she was in danger? If you truly didn’t care about her, if she was just a tool in your scheme against Thomas Williams, you wouldn’t have ordered me to break Mr. Moore’s hands.”

Dylan’s stoic façade faltered for a split second as Justin’s words struck a nerve, but he wasn’t ready yet to agree that he cared for her and that he longed for her.

“This is not true,” he retorted, his words sharp and defensive as if trying to convince himself more than anyone else. “I punished that bastard Moore because he dared to lay a hand on my wife. It wasn’t about her. It was about protecting my family’s name, and our reputation. Whether I like her or not, she is mine as long as we’re married, and no one else gets to touch her.”

Justin sighed, shaking his head, disbelief washing over him. He could clearly tell Dylan had feelings for Ava, but he wasn’t accepting it. Dylan’s anger, his impulsiveness, his protectiveness toward Ava—all of it pointed to feelings he refused to admit.

“Why did you abandon the business trip the moment you found out she was in the hospital?” he pressed on. “You left an important deal on the table; the whole trip was a waste. Are you still saying that you don’t care about her at all?”

Each of Justin’s words landed like a punch to Dylan’s gut. The truth stung, but Dylan wasn’t ready to face it. His patience snapped, fury boiling inside him. He didn’t want to acknowledge it—didn’t want to accept that Justin might be right.

“No,” he snapped; his eyes flared with anger. “I don’t care about her! Why would I care about the daughter of the people who killed my parents? I married her only for revenge.” He slammed his fist on the table, his knuckles turning white. “And until I’ve achieved what I need, she stays with me. She can’t betray me. She has to be loyal—loyal to me until this is over.”

Justin was helpless. No matter how hard he tried to reason with him, it seemed Dylan would ignore everything because of the vendetta he had against Thomas.

“But she is innocent,” he urged desperately, trying for the last time to see if he could convince him. “You can’t punish her for something her father might have done. What if, one day, we find out that Thomas Williams had nothing to do with your parents’ accident?”

“Stop speculating!” Dylan roared. “We found evidence against him.”

But even as the words left his mouth, they rang hollow. Doubt seeped into his mind. He tried to push it away, but it lingered, like an itch that wouldn’t go away. His eyes narrowed as memories from a recent nightmare clawed their way to the surface.

‘Mr. Williams is innocent.’ These words seemed to echo in his head, worsening his headache.

What if the evidence they’d gathered against Thomas had been fabricated? The thought was like a stone dropped into the pit of his stomach.

His chest tightened as if the very air around him was thickening and weighing him down. His breaths were labored, shallow gasps escaping him as he struggled to pull in the air. The room seemed to close in around him, his hand flying to his chest.

“Sir, are you alright?” Justin panicked when he noticed Dylan’s face turning pale. He hurried over to him, trying to help him. He immediately regretted arguing with him. Dylan’s parents’ deaths were always a sensitive matter, and Justin was well aware of it. He regretted bringing it up. “Shall I take you to the hospital?”

“Water,” Dylan rasped.

“Yes, here.” Justin grabbed the glass from the desk, handing it to him. “Drink some.”

Dylan took the glass with shaky hands, sipping the cool water slowly. His breathing gradually steadied, and the flush of color began to return to his face. He leaned back into his chair, exhaustion etched deeply into his features. His chest rose and fell heavily from the exertion, his eyes closing.

“I’m sorry,” Justin apologized softly, lowering his head with guilt. “I shouldn’t have said all that. I crossed a line, and I won’t question you again.”

Dylan remained silent, his head still resting on the back of the chair, his eyes closed. He was lost in the battle raging inside his mind. “You should leave now,” he murmured after a long pause. “It’s late.”

“No, I won’t. I won’t leave you alone here. Let me take you home.”

“Justin, are you also defying me now?” Dylan’s eyes remained shut, but a trace of irritation slipped into his voice.

Helpless, Justin nodded slowly. “Alright,” he relented hesitantly. “I’ll leave. Call me if you need anything.” With that, he left.

Dylan remained seated in his chair, his mind a jumble of past and present events.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ava finally closed the laptop and yawned, stretching her arms up over her head. It was already midnight, and she finally decided to sleep. Just as she went to bed, her phone rang. As she took the phone, her eyes widened to notice Dylan’s name.

Ava’s exhaustion melted away in an instant as she sat up in bed, wide-eyed, staring at her phone. “What on earth is he calling me for now?” Her thumb hovered over the screen, hesitating for a moment before swiping the screen to answer.

“Hello?” She pressed the phone against her ear warily.

“Open the door,” came Dylan’s commanding voice.