Chapter 122 A Drunken Kiss
four, its rhythm loud in my throat, refusing to calm.
“I did ask for time to sort things out with Ashley. It’s you who stopped trusting me,” Rowan responded.
“You won’t resolve anything, Rowan You always think too highly of yourself. It’s not that you’re incapable of love. It’s just that your heart belongs to Sophie and Ashley. You can never ignore them or fully return my feelings
“I don’t want to cause a scene and run what we’ve had for the past decade Find your peace, and allow me to find mine,” I said.
The sadness I had managed to suppress returned quietly. Those had been the best ten years of my life. How could I possibly reflect on them now without feeling anything?
Chapter 133 An Impulsive Brawl
Bowen and I stood facing off in a tense standoff when pudenly, a figure appeared at the top of the stairs it was James
Sponges hurried down and delivered a forceful punch to Rowan’s face.
“You scoundrel!” he shouted angrily.
The scattered fruit and my tousled hair must have presented a chastic scene to anyone who stumbled upon it
Unexpectedly, Rowan refrained from retaluring Hecollapsed heavily to the ground, touching the bleeding earner of his Ip before getting backup
Ignoring james completely, Rowan fixed his game on me and said, “I won’t retaliate since he hit me on your behal
Imanagedawrysmile and asked, “Why bother?”
Rowan’s aberthair tousled slightly, partially covering one eps. His emotions were unreadable as hesed, “Youence slow catches you off guard and deepens over time. I’m warting to understand what you meant.!!
Still seething, James shot back sharply, “Who are you trying to disgust with that sentimental crap? Keep your romantic nonsense for your girl, alright? Be a man and own up to your choices!”
It was only then that lawan tumed his gaze toward James, his eyes cold and distant.
“What are you doing here? Are you staying at her place?” Rawan asked as he pointed in my direction, his expression growing more threatening.
James bepan, “Yeah, and what I am? You
I could tell james was trying to provoke Rowan on my behalf. They were men and surely understood how possessive men could be.
But I Intervened. “He’s only staying here temprarily. You should head back there’s nothing more. Your duties back at your company in the country must be calling you Don’t
Then, took James by the arm and led him quickly up to the third floor, back to my apartment, and closed the doce behind
“Are you still hung up on him, ky?” Janes added. His eyes reflected disappointment as he sank into a chair.
“It’s not about being hung up on him. We’re dhorced, and it just want to acid unnecessary doma: I’dblanempel if anyone got hurt,” I replied, rubbing my temples, which were throbbing with pain.
If Rowan lost his temper, things could run by, and wanted no part of it. As irritation simmered within me, a strong, fishy smell watted over me, making me gag Frushed to the
bathroom
Moments later, James‘ voice, enged with contem, came through the door. “y, are you okap? ”
“L. I’m fine—“Ichnked out before throwing up once I’d settled, I managed to rise and opened the door, asking. “Jarnes, did you cook lish?”
His face fell as he nodded in response. “I made sedood chowder Does the smell bother you?
James lingered close by, watching me intently as I washed my hands. Eventually, he questioned, “vy, are you pregnant?”
Hroze Jean had made everything so complicated Living together only increased the chances of others decoreering my pregnancy.
Ten minutes later, James and I sat in silence on the couch, has brow furrowed in deepence for what felt like an eternity.
Finally, he asked, “Do you intend to raise this child alone? Are you not going to bell Rowan
“I want the child, but not the marriage.” I sighed horvily, “Please, James, promise me you won’t breathe a wood of this to anyone, including Jean She’s married to Chester now, and I can’t let Rowan findout.”
“No way!” James burst out, clearly grated. Heaped to his feet, stomped to the door, and stored out.
Shocked, I hurried after him. To my astonishment, Rown hadn’t left. He lingered downters, casually smoking beside his car
As I went down the stairs, I saw mes charge at Rowan and land a powerful punch to his toe. The raw intensity of his rage caught me off and
“Are you aching for a fight? Rowan yelled, soothing with fury. His cigarette lay abandoned on the ground as he followed up with a brutal kick med at fames.
James‘ voice thundered through the air. “Who do you think you are, hurting her like this? Just because she loved you? She loved you for a decade, and even after the divorce, you’re still tormenting her, you damn jek”
He took the blow without so much as a blink. Regaining his balance, he inged forward and down by the collar, roaring. “I should never have been afraid to crash your
wedding and steal her away from you
Rowan forcehilly shook off james‘ grip, his anger barely contained. “Do you think crashing the wedding world have changed anything? She didn’t choose you then, and the won’t choose you now. Damn it
He overwhelmed by the scaling chaos. The two men were locked in a brawl, and 1 heated to step in as I had done before, especially now with a child to protect. Any harm to us could have disastrous consequences.
“Then why didn’t you appreciate her? Do you even realize that she “James nearly revealed the secret
1 gathered my courage and dashed forward, wrapping my anns around James” waist. “I don’t love him anymore. I really don’t!”
A weighty silence settled over us the instant the words left my lips, james glanced down at me, his eyes reflecting empathy mingled with lingering resentment. Meanwhile, Rowan
are a surprisingly calm expression as it he had foreseen my words..
‚ just go!” I sail firmly, avoiding his pare
As Bowen climbed into his car, 1 heard the door slam shut behind me, its force carrying the weight of his simmering anger.
Maments later, James broke the silence. “He’s gone.”
“Promise me this stays behens,” I said, casing my held on his wast.
Downplaying impuste moment, I added perily,” you don’t want me getting involved with him because of our child, keep this under wraps. Don’t let anyone know!
Chapter 122 An impulsive Brawl
James paced with frustration with hands on his hips before agreeing. “Fine,”
Feeling a rush of relief, I smiled. “Good. Let’s get back inside. It’s late, and I’ve got work tomorrow.”
With that, I headed upstairs ahead of James. The night had left me emotionally drained. My thoughts drifted to Rowan’s intense and unrestrained kiss earlier.
It felt like I was the love he’d missed his chance with. But earlier that day, he’d gifted a car to Ashley, letting her leap into his arms and wrap her arms around his waist.
I realized that his mixed emotions toward me stemmed from my sudden withdrawal of love, our divorce, and his difficulty in accepting that I was no longer under his control. He had mistaken possessiveness for genuine affection toward me
Finding comfort in these thoughts, I eventually fell asleep as dam approached
The following day, I showed up at work with heavy bags under my eyes. Charles took notice of my weary look and summoned me into his office.
“Rough night?” he asked.
“Something came up last night, and I stayed up longer than I should have,” I confessed truchtally.
Charles shook his head resignedly. “Try not to stay up late. Anyway, there’s something I need to discuss with you. Linda has requested a transfer to the marketing department, so she’ll be handing off her duties in business development to you,
“You’ll be stepping into her role. How do you feel about that? Do you think you’re up for it?”
Linda naturally held a higher position and earned a higher salary than mine.
“What made her decide to move to the marketing department all of a sudden?” Lasked, surprised.
“She’s keen on diving into online marketing. She’s been deeply involved in managing distribution channels, but she’s grown tired of it and feels it’s time for a new challenge,” Charles explained.
I couldn’t shake the sense that there was more to Linda’s choice. I suspected she wanted to be nearer to Ashley, the young woman who bere such a striking resemblance to her younger sister.
apter 173. The Mistress