"You asked," Ayla said in a calm voice. "I heard you. But that doesn't mean I have to answer."
Troy felt like she just stabbed a dagger into his chest. He was in excruciating pain.
Standing in front of her, he kept telling himself that he could accept things as they were. If Ayla only wanted to stay beside him like this for the rest of their lives, he would take it. But deep down, he still longed for the past. He wanted things to go back to how they used to be. He wanted to see the love and warmth in Ayla's eyes again.
The more it hurt, the more restless he became. And the more restless he felt, the more he wanted to argue with her. "You dumped him! Aside from that chance meeting a few days ago, has he ever tried to get back with you? Has he even come to see you once in the last three months?"
He looked at her. "A breakup shows his attitude. If Draven didn't try to keep you, it means this relationship wasn't that important to him. Whether you stayed or left probably made no difference to him. If he really loved you, how could he let you walk away without doing anything?"
Troy clenched his teeth, his jaw stiff with pain. He almost wished he could tear open his chest and show Ayla his heart. "Do you even know how I feel right now?" he asked in a hoarse voice. "I want to pull you back to my side with everything I have. I'm doing this because I love you!"
Ayla's expression turned cold. "I was the one who asked for the breakup. He respected my decision and accepted it. What's wrong with that? Do you think it would be better if he kept trying to stop me from leaving?"
Troy gave a short, bitter laugh. He looked at her carefully. "You really don't understand men," he said. "Men are full of energy with nowhere to release it. We like to compete. We like to control things." He paused before going on. "And Draven is my brother. I know him very well. He's good at putting on an act. Just like me, he's the kind of person who will do anything to reach his goal. But look what happened. He gave up on you so easily. You think that because you asked for the breakup, you were the only one who gave up on the relationship? No. Draven gave up too.
"Why are you turning me away for a man who doesn't even love you that much?" Troy said, his voice tight with pain. "Even though we're divorced, I still don't want to give up. Everything I've done is to win you back. But you refuse to see me. How can you be so cruel to me?"
He grabbed Ayla by the shoulders. The pain of wanting someone he could never truly have made his voice grow rough and hoarse. "Stop lying to yourself. You still can't forget Draven, but he clearly doesn't care about you. He didn't even try to hold on to you. A man that cold—what is there for you to miss?
"I'm the one who cares about you the most. Just give me one more chance. I'll change. I swear I will. Haven't you seen how much I've been trying lately?" His voice cracked with frustration. "So why do you keep rejecting me?"
A sharp pain suddenly shot through Ayla's chest.
It hit so fast and so hard that her brows knitted together.
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