My Ex-Husband Begged Me to Take Him Back - Chapter 82

Chapter 82: The fierce arguments

Ava steadied herself, inhaling deeply to gather her thoughts and calm her racing heart. She couldn’t let him suspect that she had been investigating the accident of Dylan’s parents. If he got a hint, she was afraid he would tamper with the evidence.

She met his piercing gaze with a resolute stare, shrugging his hands off her shoulders.

“No one said anything to me,” she countered coldly. “No one needs to tell me anything. I can see myself. From the day we married, have you ever gone to see my father?”

She sneered coldly. “He invited you to dinner so many times, but every time, you made up excuses to decline. And you never let me go alone, either. Out of fear of angering you, I stopped even trying to visit him myself. What else am I supposed to think about your actions?”

She cocked her head, pinning him with her razor-sharp eyes. “Isn’t it obvious you hate us? And the recent attack on the company – well, papa suspects that you are targeting us because you still blame him for that accident.”

Dylan was momentarily speechless as he took in her fierce, unshakable demeanor. Her words were like shards of glass, piercing his heart. For the first time, he had truly questioned his assumptions about Thomas’s involvement in the past accident. He suspected that his vendetta against Thomas might have been misguided.

That accident wasn’t a simple case of someone killing his business partner to take over the business. It was more complex than Dylan had ever imagined. Something more sinister might hidden behind the whole incident, and Dylan was determined to find out everything.

“I was wrong to target Williams Holdings,” he said, his tone softening. “It wasn’t because of hatred toward your father—I was angry when I learned you hired the goons to attack Gianna. I felt betrayed, and I acted recklessly.”

He held himself back, reminding himself that he couldn’t reveal the truth yet. The less she knew, the better it was for her. He would tell her everything once he resolved the mystery.

“Yeah!” She rolled her eyes, throwing her arms in the air exasperatedly. “You believe everyone but me. Because of some baseless lie, you were ready to destroy the whole company. You didn’t care about knowing the truth. And for what? To defend Gianna? She is the one you trust—she is the one who matters to you, not me. I am so sick of all this.” Her voice cracked, brimming with raw pain and resentment.

She jumped out of the bed.

Dylan also got out of bed and stood in front of her, desperation creeping into his demeanor. “I know I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that. I am ready to make up to you. I’ll resume the contracts.”

“Thanks, but we don’t need your pity,” she said defiantly. “We’ve already secured a better, more trustworthy investor. We don’t need anyone so determined to tear my family apart.”

Dylan felt her words hit harder than any physical blow. The distance between them widened, filled with resentment and mistrust. The realization that she trusted an outsider sparked anger in him.

His eyes suddenly turned icy cold, replacing any trace of the warmth he had shown moments before. In an instant, he seized her arm, his fingers digging into her skin with unrestrained force. “Is that man, Nicholas, more reliable than me?”

Ava winced in pain. His grip was so tight that she had the impression that he was going to crush her bone into dust. But she glared back at him, not showing her weakness. “Yes, he is more trustworthy than you,” she bit out. “He helped us when we were in trouble. When everyone else turned their backs, terrified of what you might do, Nicholas helped us. He kept us afloat when you were too busy tearing us down. Why shouldn’t I trust him?”

She sneered and added, “You hate me, don’t trust me, and yet you expect me to rely on you!”

“I see!” Dylan’s face grew stormy, jaw clenched. “He helped you once, who knows with what intentions, and you hand him your loyalty without a second thought. But you deliberately forgot the favors the Brooks did to keep the Williams Holdings running. Those projects bleeding money? I invested in them, kept them going.”

Ava’s defiant expression barely faltered, but Dylan’s words hit like thunder.

There were a few projects under Williams Holdings dedicated to helping the poor and orphans. These initiatives, while financially burdensome, stood as a testament to Thomas’s unwavering commitment to social responsibility.

Dylan, despite his deep-seated animosity toward Thomas, found himself grudgingly respecting this facet of the man. It was a side of Thomas that Dylan couldn’t help but admire, and he never insisted on discontinuing those projects.

“But you chose to trust Nicholas,” he hissed, his face scrunching up, “forgetting about the fact that he is a Baker, our common enemy. Doesn’t it cross your mind that he might have ulterior motives?”

“Humph!” Ava let out a dry snort, resentment coursing through her. “The Williams and Bakers aren’t enemies. Even if they have resented us in the past because of our connection with the Brooks, they will stop messing with us now that we are divorced.”

She crossed her arms across her chest, meeting his intense gaze without flinching. “Besides, Nicholas has nothing to do with the Bakers and family animosity with the Brooks. He is helping me because we are friends, not because he has some hidden agendas.”

Dylan’s eyes narrowed, a mixture of frustration and disbelief playing across his face. “How can you be so sure of that?”

“Because I can see it,” Ava asserted confidently. “Just like I see that you are not worthy to be trusted.”

Dylan’s face contorted with frustration as her words struck him with brutal honesty, each sentence laced with hurt and betrayal. He lost his composure.

“Ava!” Dylan growled, tugging at her arm forcefully, making her stumble to him. “Are you saying an outsider is more trustworthy than your own husband? Do you even have some respect for me?”

Ava quirked her lips into a bitter smile. “What? Did that sting?” She straightened, her finger pressing firmly against his chest. “That ache in your chest? That’s just a taste of what I felt every single time you put Gianna above me. Every time you doubted me, you tore apart this marriage, piece by piece. You broke what little love and trust I had left for you. And now…”

Her voice trailed off, a touch of sadness flickering in her eyes before she pulled herself back. “Now there is nothing left in my heart for you.” She took a step back, distancing herself from him. “Don’t think I’ll forgive you for all the ways you’ve hurt me. I’ve made enough mistakes by trusting you. That won’t happen again.”