Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Elizabeth had no outlet for her anger. Thinking about how her parents had pushed her to this point step by step, she finally spun around and snapped at Ava: "Mom, why all the questions? I told you before — I can handle my own problems. But you keep sticking your nose in, again and again. I really want to know, what exactly are you two thinking?"

Ava had never been spoken to like this by Elizabeth. Caught off guard by the outburst, her eyes instantly filled with tears. She choked out, "What else can we think? What else can we do? You know the situation the Perez family is in. Owen and Zane have always had their eyes on the CEO position. Your father has been stuck in that wheelchair all these years, still playing the role of your grandfather's good little son. If I don't fight to make sure you come out on top in this family, sooner or later, the two of us will get trampled underfoot. And on top of that, things in Seabrook are shifting fast..."

Tears welled up in Elizabeth's eyes too. She cut Ava off, head down: "Okay, Mom, stop. I know — I know you're doing this for me. But can you try to see it from my side? I've got the company's problems piling up, I'm carrying the whole family on my back, and on top of all that, I have to handle every social obligation outside the house. Do you have any idea how much pressure I'm under?"

Ava's mind suddenly jumped to Ethan. She wiped her tears and choked out, "That damn Ethan, what did he have to run away for? If the Cole family hadn't fallen apart, you and Ethan could have been together..."

Elizabeth was completely exhausted.

Even though David had eventually stepped in to sort out the eighty million dollar situation, it meant she now owed him an enormous favor.

"Mom, stop it. I'll call him one more time."

Seeing Elizabeth pick up her phone again, Ava said slowly and deliberately, "Call him. Call him right now. And if David still doesn't show up, you divorce him!"

Elizabeth let the words go in one ear and out the other. Divorce was definitely coming — just not now. She was going to build the Perez Group into something great on her own terms, and then, like Scarlett, walk away from David with her head held high.

The next second, the call connected.

Even though Elizabeth could barely contain her fury toward David, she followed what he'd told her to say and spoke softly: "I miss you."

David could picture her gritting her teeth right through the screen. He said with a grin, "See, I knew it. We're legally married, after all. Sure, we haven't exactly done everything a married couple does, but there's still something between us. You miss me — honestly, I miss you too. So tell me, do you want to see me right now?"

Elizabeth's hatred had hit its peak. Thank God David wasn't in front of her, or she genuinely would have strangled him.

"Yes! I really do want to see you right now!"

The words had barely left her mouth when David's laughter came from the doorway: "Honey, I'm here. Surprised? Were you expecting this?"

Elizabeth gripped her phone tight. She stared at David standing there with that big grin on his face, froze for a few seconds, then opened her mouth and let out a roar: "David, you're unbelievable! You jerk — I'm going to kill you!"

She didn't care whether she could actually take him. She threw her phone down and charged straight at him.

But David didn't move. As Elizabeth came rushing at him, he turned to Ava with a shameless grin: "Mom, you know what they say — absence makes the heart grow fonder. Look at how much Elizabeth missed me. Things might get a little... adult from here. You might want to head upstairs."

Before he even finished, Elizabeth was already on him.

Ava stood there with her mouth hanging open. Especially after hearing what David said, her mind started racing: Had her daughter actually slept with David? But then again — probably not. They'd gotten the marriage certificate, sure, but David had never once spent the night at the house.

While Ava was still trying to make sense of it all, David opened his arms and pulled Elizabeth into a hug.

Elizabeth struggled furiously and yelled, "Let go! You jerk, get your hands off me right now!"

But David leaned close to her ear and said quietly, "Elizabeth, don't think I can't tell. You've run into some kind of trouble and you need me to fix it, right? Stop fighting. If you actually want me to help, calm down in my arms for a minute, and then we'll sit down and talk it through. But if you keep yelling at me like this, I'm walking out right now — and you can call me again when you've cooled off."

At this point, Elizabeth knew exactly what mattered more. Getting back at David could wait. But the deal with Hill Enterprises couldn't. Every major family in Seabrook was circling this opportunity, and if she let it slip by, there might not be another chance.

She took a deep breath and, somehow, pushed her anger down. Her body slowly relaxed.

David felt the shift and smiled. "That's more like it. Come on — open your arms and give me a proper hug."

Elizabeth looked up and rolled her eyes at him. "David, don't push your luck. Let go of me. Now."

David knew when to quit. He released Elizabeth, walked over to the sofa and sat down, then smiled at Mason in his wheelchair: "Dad, come on over. Whatever's going on, we're family — let's figure it out together."

Mason and Ava didn't think much of David, but they couldn't ignore the fact that he was now head of security at Hill Enterprises and had taken over Armando's position — which clearly meant he had a close relationship with Ruby.

With that in mind, Mason wheeled himself over, and Ava, in an unusual move, got up and brought David a cup of tea: "David, you and Elizabeth are legally married now, so you're husband and wife whether you like it or not. She called you so many times and you never picked up. Mason and I called too, and you ignored us. That's really not okay."

David crossed his legs, picked up the cup, and said with a smile, "I genuinely want to treat this place as my own home. But Elizabeth keeps planning to divorce me once her business takes off. You tell me — who's really in the wrong here?"