My Ex-Husband Begged Me to Take Him Back - Chapter 79

Chapter 79: The rebirth?

Dylan’s expression froze. His ears seemed to ring with James’ words. ‘What? Love with Ava! Nonsense.’

The idea seemed impossible. He had never thought of falling in love with Ava. But why was his heart racing so wildly?

He shook his head, discarding the thought. “It’s impossible,” he hissed. “I am not in love with her.” But his heartbeat betrayed him, thundering in his chest, refusing to settle.

James, however, wasn’t buying it. “Really?” he shot back, incredulity lacing his tone. “You were furious when you found out Ava was drugged. You called me in a panic to find the culprit. That’s not something you’ve ever done before. So, when did you start caring about her? If it isn’t love, what is it?”

Dylan felt the heat rise to his face. “She is my wife. Protecting her is my duty,” he reasoned. “I won’t tolerate anyone bullying my wife.”

James sighed in dismay and muttered to himself, ‘You still don’t want to accept it!’ He didn’t say it out loud.

“Okay, I don’t want to argue with you at this late hour of the night,” James muttered. “I’m hanging up now.”

The call ended with that.

He leaned back, pressing his fingers to his temples as if he could push these unwelcome thoughts away. But as he closed his eyes, flashes of Ava’s face returned to him: her seductive look, her shivers as he tried to help her and her hurtful look when he sprayed the cold water on her. Even though he denied having feelings for Ava, he could not ignore the restlessness rushing through him.

‘Am I really falling for Ava?’ The doubts rose in his mind. ‘But she is the daughter of my enemy. How could I fall in love with her?’ he wondered, caught between his resentment toward her family and the unexpected pull toward the woman he never meant to care for.

Dylan slumped deeper into his plush chair, the pounding in his head becoming unbearable. It felt as if a relentless hammer were striking away at his skull. He fumbled through his desk drawer until he found the familiar bottle of medicine.

Swallowing a pill dry, he leaned his head back. Tiredness seeped through every fiber. Dylan could not keep his eyes open. Before he even realized it, he fell asleep on the chair, drifting deeper into the world of nightmares.

This time, he found himself in his study right in his chair. He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the erratic rhythm of his heart, while sweat trickled down his forehead. His eyes moved to the empty coffee cup on the table, realizing the pain in his chest started right after he had drunk the coffee.

His vision swam as he turned to see a woman standing by the table, her features shrouded in shadow. Panic surged within him as he struggled to grasp her identity. “What did you mix in the coffee?” he gasped.

The woman lifted a small vial, her voice distorted and echoing as if submerged underwater. “Do you know what it is? It’s the same drug that killed Thomas. I’ve mixed a few drops of it in your coffee.”

Dylan moved his head left and right as he tried to wake up, but an invisible force held him captive in this dream. He tried to see the woman’s face, but her face remained obscured. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recognize her.

Desperation clawed at him as he reached for his phone. But just before his fingers could wrap around it, the woman snatched it away. He glared at her, his breathing quickening.

“Give me my phone back,” Dylan managed.

“Okay,” the woman replied mockingly, and with a flick of her wrist, she let the phone drop to the floor. “Come and take it.”

Dylan staggered to his feet, determination driving him forward despite the searing pain radiating from his chest. Just as he took a few steps, he collapsed, the pain in his chest intensifying further. Dizziness hit him, making her vision swim.

The woman approached him, her laughter echoing in his ears like the tolling of a death knell. She squatted down in front of him, her face hovering just inches from his.

Dylan asked through gritted teeth. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because I hate you,” she said coldly. The malice in her tone sent a chill spiraling through him. “Your wife and your father-in-law are dead already. And soon, you will join them.”

Dylan’s breath came in sharp gasps as he jolted awake, his body tense and drenched in sweat. The remnants of the nightmare clung to him like a shroud, each detail still vivid in his mind. He surveyed the study with wide eyes, with a mix of horror and curiosity, his gaze dropping to the floor where he had seen himself crawling in his dream.

The lingering sensation of that desperate struggle made his skin prickle. How could a dream feel so hauntingly real?

“No, this is not just a nightmare,” he mumbled, convinced that it was a reality he had experienced. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the same nightmares so vividly over and over again. He didn’t know how it was possible, but he was certain that he had been reborn.

It felt absurd, but he couldn’t ignore what he was feeling.

“Maybe fate has given me a chance to rectify my mistakes,” he whispered, wiping the sweat beads from his forehead.

As he thought about his past, a surge of confusion swirled within him.

His belief that Thomas had orchestrated the accident that took his parents away had twisted his heart with vengeance. He had fixated on the idea of taking over the company and seizing the Williams’ assets, envisioning a moment where Thomas would kneel before him, pleading for mercy. But he had never wanted him dead.

In his fervor for revenge, he had turned a blind eye to Ava’s suffering, allowing others to bully her. Dylan’s hatred for Thomas had consumed him, clouding his judgment and causing him to neglect his own wife.

But now, realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. Someone had killed Thomas and Ava, and that same person had killed him as well in the past life.

“Who is that woman? Maybe a spy!” He closed his eyes and tried to recall what had happened in his past life, but all he could conjure was the chilling image of the faceless woman, her laughter still echoing menacingly in his mind.

Dylan snapped his eyes open, dread pooling in his stomach like a lead weight. It felt as if the woman’s hands would come out from the darkness of his nightmares and draw him back into that suffocating situation, where he had fought for his life.

“This woman is going to hurt us again,” he thought, fear clawing at his insides. “I need to find out who she actually is. I can’t let the history repeat itself.”