After the CEO Divorced Me, He Wants Me Back (Aveline and Lucas) novel Chapter 1144

The girl stared in disbelief, her hands clutching her face.

"You hit me?"

Jolie blinked innocently at her. "Weren’t you the one insisting I hit you earlier? I just gave you another slap to match your story. You should be used to it by now."

"Jolie Quin!"

Ian had reached his limit, his voice full of anger as he glared at her. "Apologize to her!"

Jolie glanced at him, her expression calm but icy. "Get lost."

She had thought he might be reasonable, but clearly, he was blinded by infatuation. She had no patience to deal with him any longer and turned to leave.

Before she could take a step, Ian grabbed her arm roughly.

"Jolie, you’re not leaving without apologizing! I don’t think I’ve ever wronged you, have I? We used to get along just fine, didn’t we?"

"Let go," Jolie said, her brows knitting in disgust. She hated being touched, especially by someone she considered beneath her.

Ian tightened his grip, his hand digging into her arm hard enough to cause pain.

"Jolie, you will apologize to her, or—"

"Or what?"

A cold, commanding voice cut through the tension like a knife.

All heads turned to see Gavin approaching, his sharp gaze landing on Ian’s hand gripping Jolie’s arm. His expression darkened, the air around him heavy with an intimidating authority that made Ian instinctively loosen his grip.

"She said to let go. Didn’t you hear her?" Gavin’s voice was low and dangerous, each word laced with warning.

His powerful presence, the kind only someone accustomed to being in control could exude, was enough to make Ian take a step back.

Jolie blinked, momentarily stunned. Her heartbeat quickened, and she hated how much his sudden appearance had thrown her off balance.

This wasn’t normal.

Gavin’s eyes flicked to Jolie, his tone softening slightly. "What happened?"

Jolie shrugged, brushing off her sleeve as though removing any trace of Ian. "Just ran into a pair of delusional clowns. It’s handled now."

"Good." Gavin nodded. "Let’s go."

Gavin naturally took Jolie’s hand in his, his grip firm yet casual.