Chapter 51: Chapter 51

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. She stood up, not wanting to talk to him.

She had no energy left for another drama. She’d already dealt with enough today. But before she could leave the table, Dave quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her.

“Merri, please. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have cheated on you. I love you, Merri. Please, let’s fix our relationship,” Dave pleaded, holding her hand tightly.

“Are you out of your mind? What happened between us is done. There’s nothing left to talk about, and you can’t fix something that’s already ruined. Besides, I’m married now, Dave. So please, know your place.” She said it firmly and tried to pull her hand away, but he didn’t let go. Her eyes widened when Dave suddenly pulled her into a hug.

“Please, Merri. Give me a chance to make it up to you. I can’t live without you,” Dave whispered into her ear.

She tried to push him away, but he was stronger.

“Let me go, Dave!” she hissed, still pushing him, but he was stubborn. He wouldn’t let her go.

"No! I won't let you go unless you tell me you'll listen to me," Dave said firmly.

She was about to step on his foot when someone suddenly yanked Dave away from her. Her eyes widened and she gasped as Evan appeared out of nowhere and punched Dave in the face.

"Fuck you! Didn't I warn you not to go near my wife? How dare you touch her?" Evan roared, landing blow after blow as Dave fell under him.

She immediately wrapped her arms around Evan from behind, pulling him off before he could kill him.

"Let me go! I'm going to kill that bastard!" Evan shouted, trying to break free from her hold.

"No… you must not do that. Evan, please stop," she said, her voice cracking as tears spilled.

Evan froze, then grabbed her shoulders and forced her to face him.

"Why? Do you still love him? Is that why you're defending him?" he demanded, pointing at Dave.

She shook her head. "No…"

"Then why, Merri? Why did you come here? Did you have a date with him?" Evan accused, running a frustrated hand through his hair, furious, jealous, and hurt all at once.

She immediately shook her head. "No, I didn’t come here to meet him. We met by chance. Please calm down, Evan. I will never cheat on you," she explained.

Evan took a deep breath, placed his hand on his waist, then glared at her.

"Do you know I left everything behind just to come back to you? Only to find you meeting your ex?" Evan said, and she could hear the jealousy and pain in his voice.

"Evan, I told you, I didn’t come here to meet him. I just wanted to clear my mind. A lot happened today," she cried as she spoke.

"You don’t deserve Merri. Because of you, she suffers a lot. Look at her, did you see the mark on her face? The wound on her lips?" Dave suddenly said, still holding his chin, his face covered in blood.

Evan froze, staring at her before quickly taking her hand.

"What happened? Who hurt you?" Evan asked, his voice no longer angry. It softened, worried, gentle, as he scanned her face.

She looked away. "It's nothing—"

"Your father did it, Evan," Dave said, and her eyes widened.

How did he know? Was he stalking her? Evan's gaze instantly snapped toward Dave.

"Don’t accuse my father like that—"

"I’m not accusing him. I’m telling the truth," Dave said firmly. "You can't understand us, poor. Merri still chose to marry you despite all the criticism she gets every time you two go out in public. I'm sure your father disapproves of your relationship, and what he did today proves it. If you can’t protect her, then please return her to me. She’s my life, sir. Please… give her back to me."

She glared at him. She never expected him to say such words, never expected him to care that deeply. This was once the man she dreamed of spending her life with. But now? She didn’t feel love, not even a little. Only pity.

Evan tightened his grip on her hand. "I may not be a perfect husband, but that doesn’t mean I don’t deserve her. You better find someone else, dude. Because I’m not letting her go," Evan declared, then pulled her out of the coffee shop.

When they reached outside, Evan was silent, and she didn’t have the courage to speak either. Then Evan opened the front seat door.

“Get in,” Evan said to her.

She nodded and immediately obeyed. She got inside the car while Evan walked to the other side and opened the driver’s door. Shortly, they were already in the middle of the road.

Silence filled the car. No one dared to speak, until she couldn’t bear it anymore.

“Why did you come back?” The question slipped from her mouth before she even realized it.

“What do you mean by that?” Evan asked, glancing at her.

She bit her lower lip, but immediately squeezed her eyes shut when a sharp pain struck her.

“Aw!” she reacted.

“Is Dave’s statement true? That my father caused this?” Evan asked seriously. She looked away and played with her fingers.

“Answer me, Merri,” Evan commanded.

“And why did Elaine end up getting hurt? What exactly happened before I came in?” he added.

She sighed. “If I tell you my side of the story… would you believe me?” she asked, unable to help it.

Evan glanced at her when the car stopped at a red light.

“Of course I would believe you,” Evan replied without hesitation, making her feel a small sense of relief.

“Now tell me. What exactly happened?” Evan pressed when she went quiet. She closed her eyes and began telling him everything.

She watched Evan’s face the whole time, trying to figure out if he believed her or if he would still choose to believe Elaine.

“I apologize for what she did. In the future, you should just avoid her. And regarding my father, I’ll deal with him myself. You don’t need to worry about it,” Evan said after a few minutes.

She lowered her gaze. She wanted to ask him if Elaine was telling the truth, that he still loved her, and he was only keeping her around to teach her a lesson. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Was it because she was afraid the truth wouldn’t be in her favor?