My Ex-Husband Begged Me to Take Him Back - Chapter 49

Chapter 49: I’ll never divorce Ava.

Dylan stood silently by the door, his face impassive. His hand brushed against the doorknob, but he made no move to open it. He would never let her go to that man. If he needed to, he would lock her up for the rest of her life.

“If you keep cursing me, I’ll never open the door.”

“Huh!” Ava scowled, her frustration growing by the second.

“You used to say you loved me,” Dylan muttered, the cracks in his icy demeanor starting to show. “Now you hate me. “It seems that your love for me is cheap. You lost it in just one year of our marriage.”

“One year?” Ava sneered, her heart twisting at his words. In her past life, her blind devotion to him had cost her everything—her father, her family’s fortune, and even her own life, along with the life of their unborn child.

In this life, she wouldn’t lose anything.

“You think it’s only been a year,” she shot back fiercely. “You have no idea of the pain I’ve endured every single day. Do you even realize how many nights I stayed up waiting for you, making dinner, hoping you’d come home on time?”

Her voice cracked, but she forced herself to continue. “Every night, after a long day at work, I was exhausted, but I still made sure to cook for you. I dressed up, thinking maybe you’d notice, maybe you’d appreciate it. But you never did.”

Her heart clenched at her naivety. Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. “I longed for just a little warmth, a small sign that you cared. But all you ever gave me was cold indifference, like I didn’t matter.” Her voice faltered for a moment, her chest heavy. “You took everything from me—every bit of love I had for you, and you crushed it. Slowly, day by day, you made me regret loving you in the first place.”

Dylan stood silently with his head bowed. For the first time, he truly felt the sting of her pain and realized how blind he had been to her struggles. He had never tried to see how she had been doing, never realized her efforts to make his life easy and comfortable.

Ava had given so much, while he had offered nothing but neglect and indifference. His hatred for Thomas had consumed him, and in his anger, he had taken it out on Ava, who loved him wholeheartedly. And now, hearing her say she no longer loved him hit him harder than he expected.

“Now that I want to leave, why do you want to hold me back?” Ava’s words seemed to pierce his heart, bringing him back to reality. “What is the point? This won’t change anything.”

He couldn’t stand the idea of losing control—losing her. His fists clenched as his restlessness turned into a cold, burning anger. “I don’t care if you love me or not,” Dylan snapped. “You are mine, and you can’t escape me. Accept it, or I’ll keep you locked up.”

Dropping those words, he turned and stormed out of the house, the heat of his rage following him like a shadow.

“Dylan!” Ava called after him, panic rising in her chest as footsteps continued fading into the distance. “Dylan, wait! Come back! I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Please open the door.” Her voice, once filled with anger, now shifted to desperation.

She pounded the door, but all she got was deafening silence in response.

Her anger flared back. “You moron,” she yelled, her earlier pleading tone turned back into fury. “I hate you; I hate you…”

Dylan stared into his glass, the amber liquid swirling. Ava’s words still seemed to echo in his ears. He couldn’t take it that she hated him now. The grim lines on his face grew deeper as he downed the drink. The burn as he swallowed did little to distract him from the deeper pain.

He picked up the bottle and filled his glass yet again, drinking it in one breath. He grimaced, the alcohol barely numbing the ache inside.

James, watching from his seat, leaned forward, concern etched on his face. “What’s troubling you this time? Is it Ava again?”

Dylan rubbed his brow, resting his elbow on the bar counter. “I ignored her all this time,” he mumbled. “For over a year. I never cared enough to see what she was going through. And now… now she hates me for it.” His gaze shifted toward James, his eyes clouded with guilt. “For the first time, I feel like it’s all my fault.”

If he had taken a little care of her, Erica and Gianna wouldn’t have bullied her. He couldn’t even blame them for it. He had been too blinded by his own anger and hatred to see her pain.

“Do you think I was cruel to her?” Dylan asked with a mixed emotion.

“Well.” James shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. We all thought you didn’t care about Ava. It was always Gianna you cared about, and all of our friends thought you’d end up with her. You resented Ava for forcing you into this marriage, didn’t you? It’s natural for you to ignore her. But now…I’m starting to wonder.”

He tilted his head, narrowing his eyes as he studied Dylan’s troubled expression. “Are you falling for her?”

The question struck a chord he wasn’t ready to confront. He didn’t answer, instead, he swirled the drink in his glass, his mind racing.

Falling for her? He wasn’t sure.

Dylan’s jaw tightened. How could he fall for someone like her?

‘No, that can’t be it.’ He shook his head, trying to dispel the thought. It wasn’t love. He only felt responsible for what Ava had gone through. Nothing more.

“No, this is not possible,” Dylan asserted. “I don’t love her.”

“Really?” James raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “Then why are you so disturbed? If Ava means nothing to you, then why are you so worked up over her suffering? It was her choice to marry you. If she has been facing hardships in this marriage, that’s on her. You shouldn’t feel guilty. Hell, if you’re this conflicted, maybe you should just think about divorcing her. You better marry the woman you love.”

The word divorce always stung Dylan like a thorn. His expression turned stormy. “Gianna is my responsibility,” he hissed. “I promised my dying friend I’d take care of her, protect her. I’m keeping my word. But that doesn’t mean I ever planned to marry her. And I’ll never divorce Ava.”

He pushed himself up on his feet and stormed out of the bar, leaving James sitting in stunned silence.

James let out a low whistle, shaking his head in disbelief. “Man, you’re completely clueless. You’ve already started liking Ava, and you don’t even know it. Fuck, man!” He signaled the bartender to refill his glass. He needed a drink himself after that mess.