Chapter 182 One Hundred And Eighty Two

Chapter 182 One Hundred And Eighty Two
Morning came quietly over the Walton mansion.
The sky outside was still pale with dawn when Kennedy stepped out of the guest room already dressed for the day.
He had barely slept.
He was drained.
Confused.
Angry.
Hurt.
As he adjusted the cuffs of his shirt while walking down the hallway, his eyes instinctively shifted toward the master bedroom door.
Closed.
A heavy ache settled in his chest immediately.
Antonia was inside.
Probably awake.
Probably crying again.
And the worst part?
Despite everything...
Kennedy still loved her painfully deeply.
That was what made this hurt so much.
He quietly descended the staircase and grabbed his car keys from the table near the entrance.
Then he opened the front door quietly and stepped outside.
The cold morning air hit his face immediately.
He inhaled deeply.
Then exhaled slowly.
His phone buzzed briefly in his pocket.
Another work email.
Another company issue.
Another problem waiting for him.
Kennedy stared at the screen for a long moment before locking it again.
He couldn’t deal with the office right now.
Not mentally.
Not emotionally.
If he stepped into Walton & Co. headquarters in this condition, he might actually lose his mind.
So instead of driving toward his office, he turned the wheel in another direction entirely.
Toward someone he hadn’t seen in months.
Nelson.

About forty minutes later, Kennedy pulled into Nelson's driveway.
He parked slowly and leaned back briefly against the seat.
Suddenly unsure of why he was even here.
But before he could rethink it, the front door opened.
Nelson stepped outside holding a coffee mug in one hand.
The moment he saw Kennedy standing there looking exhausted, his brows lifted immediately.
“Well damn.”
Kennedy managed a weak tired smile.
“You look horrible,” Nelson added bluntly.
“Thanks.”
Nelson chuckled lightly and gestured toward the house.
“Come inside.”

A few minutes later, the two men sat in Nelson’s living room.
Kennedy leaned back heavily against the couch while Nelson sat opposite him, studying him carefully.
“You wanna tell me why you look like you lost a war?”
Kennedy rubbed his jaw tiredly.
“My marriage is falling apart.”
Nelson’s expression immediately shifted.
“Antonia?”
Kennedy nodded slowly.
Silence settled briefly.
Then Nelson leaned forward slightly.
“What happened?”
Kennedy exhaled heavily and finally opened up.
Everything.
The company sabotage.
The stress.
Sofia returning into his orbit because of work.
The emotional distance growing between him and Antonia.
Daniel reappearing.
The outings.
The kiss.
The confrontation at the house.
The fight.
And finally, the unbearable feeling that his marriage was slipping through his fingers.
Nelson listened quietly without interrupting once.
By the time Kennedy finished speaking, exhaustion completely coated his voice.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Kennedy muttered bitterly.
Nelson frowned slightly.
“What do you mean?”
Kennedy laughed humorlessly.
“This already happened once.”
Understanding immediately flashed across Nelson’s face.
Ruth.
Kennedy leaned forward now, resting his elbows against his knees.
“My first marriage fell apart because of another man.”
His voice lowered painfully.
“And now history is repeating itself again.”
Nelson stayed silent.
Kennedy shook his head slowly.
“Why does this keep happening to me?”
His voice cracked slightly with frustration.
“Why do my wives always reconnect with their exes?”
The vulnerability in the question hung heavily in the room.
Nelson sighed softly and set his coffee down.
“Kennedy…”
Kennedy looked up tiredly.
Nelson spoke carefully.
“You’re looking at this the wrong way.”
Kennedy frowned slightly.
“How?”
“This isn’t about some curse hanging over your marriages.”
Kennedy scoffed quietly.
“Feels like it.”
“No.”
Nelson leaned forward slightly.
“This situation with Antonia is completely different from Ruth.”
Kennedy’s jaw tightened.
“How?”
“Because Antonia told you the truth.”
That immediately silenced him.
Nelson continued calmly.
“She could’ve hidden that kiss.”
Kennedy looked away.
“But she didn’t.”
“She confessed.”
“And from everything you’ve told me…”
Nelson paused briefly.
“…she regretted it immediately.”
Kennedy’s expression tightened painfully.
Because that part was true too.
Antonia had looked devastated.
Ashamed.
Broken.
Nelson continued,
“You said yourself she’s been lonely.”
Kennedy closed his eyes briefly.
Guilt stabbed sharply through him.
“She’s pregnant.”
“She’s emotional.”
“And you’ve been drowning in work problems.”
Kennedy rubbed his forehead tiredly.
“I know.”
Nelson’s voice softened slightly.
“That doesn’t excuse what she did.”
“But it explains how she became emotionally vulnerable enough for another man to sneak in.”
Kennedy fell silent again.
Because deep down, he knew Nelson was right.
He had been physically present in the marriage.
But emotionally?
Lately he had been miles away.
Nelson leaned back now.
“The bigger issue here isn’t Antonia.”
Kennedy frowned slightly.
“Then who?”
“Daniel.”
Immediately, Kennedy’s eyes darkened.
Nelson nodded knowingly.
“That guy is dangerous.”
“He’s manipulative.”
“And from the sound of it, he intentionally targeted your wife when she was emotionally vulnerable.”
Kennedy’s jaw clenched hard again.
“I already warned him.”
“One punch isn’t a warning.”
Kennedy looked up sharply.
Nelson held his stare.
“You need to protect your marriage.”
“And you need to protect your wife.”
The word protect echoed heavily in Kennedy’s mind.
Nelson continued firmly,
“Antonia is pregnant.”
“She’s stressed.”
“She’s emotionally unstable right now.”
“And Daniel knows exactly how to exploit that.”
Kennedy’s hands curled into fists slowly.
Because every word sounded true.
Nelson sighed.
“If you keep shutting Antonia out emotionally, guess who she’ll keep running to?”
Kennedy immediately answered bitterly, remembering the text messages from the previous night.
“Daniel.”
“Exactly.”
Silence followed again.
Then Nelson spoke more gently.
“You love your wife?”
Kennedy looked up instantly.
“With everything in me.”
“Then fight for her.”
Those words settled deeply inside him.
Nelson continued,
“Stop running away from the problem.”
“Go home.”
“Talk to your wife.”
“Fix your marriage before outsiders completely destroy it.”
Kennedy swallowed hard.
Because hearing it out loud suddenly made everything painfully clear.
He had spent so much time being angry, that he forgot Antonia was hurting too.
Nelson stood up and walked toward the window briefly before speaking again.
“And one more thing.”
Kennedy looked at him.
“Find Daniel.”
Kennedy’s eyes narrowed instantly.
Nelson turned back toward him.
“And give him one final warning.”
A dangerous silence filled the room.
Nelson’s voice dropped lower now.
“Because men like that don’t stop until they’re forced to.”
Kennedy slowly stood to his feet too.
No matter how damaged things had become...
He wasn’t ready to lose Antonia.
Not to Daniel.
Not to anyone.
Not without a fight.
"I'll do just that."