Bad Husband novel Chapter 172

Ava’s POV

Lie, Lie, And It Get Ugly

Ava, listen to me. Guys who just want a quick fuck don’t do that. They don’t take care of you like that.”

“Maybe he’s just… experienced.”

“Or maybe he actually cares about you.” Her voice

gentler. Have you ever been with anyone else before?”

The question caught me off guard. “I… no. Blake was my first.”

“Your first?” Ella’s voice went soft. “Oh, honey. No wonder you’re so scared.”

“Jackson and I never… we never got that far before he marked me. And then when he betrayed me…” I trailed off.

“So Blake was your first everything.”

“Yeah.”

“Jesus, Ava. And he took his time with you? Made sure you were comfortable?”

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “He kept asking if I was okay. If I wanted him to stop. He was so careful.”

“That’s not casual, honey. That’s a man who cares about you. A lot.”

“Then why was he so focused on her today?”

“Because he’s the Alpha King and she’s a diplomatic guest? Because he has to be polite?” Ella sighed. “Or maybe because Sophia made sure you saw it when it would look worst.”

“You’really think she’d do that?”

“I think that girl’s been watching her dad be alone for years. Now suddenly there’s another woman in the picture, and s probably scared of losing him.”

I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache building. “This is all so complicated.”

“Only because you’re making it complicated. You wanna know what you should do?”

“What?”

“Talk to him. Ask him straight up what’s going on.”

“I can’t-”

“Yes, you can. You’re brave as hell, Ava. You’ve faced down every other challenge in your life. This shouldn’t be any different.”

“But what if he tells me it’s over? What if-”

The bedroom door opened, cutting me off mid–sentence. Blaketood in the doorway, backlit by the hallway light. He looked fired, his shirt wrinkled, his hair messed up.

My heart started hammering against my lbs.

Ella, I gotta go.”

“He’s there?”

“Yeah.”

“Remember what I said. Be honest with him.”

I ended the call and set the phone aside. Blake stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. For a moment, we just looked at each other.

I knew I looked like hell. Eyes puffy from crying, hair tangled, wearing an old t–shirt that had seen better days. But I was

too emotionally wrung out to care.

He moved closer, stopping at the foot of the bed. The moonlight coming through the window caught the sharp angles of

his face.

Sophia said you weren’t feeling well.”

I rubbed the corner of my eye, wiping away the traces left by too many tears. I’d cried so much this afternoon that my ey felt swollen and raw, like someone had rubbed a handful of sand into them.

“I’m fine, just struggling with the last day of my period,” I lied, staring at the blurry moon outside the window. The word fell from my lips without thought, an automatic defense.

Blake stood at the foot of the bed, hands shoved deep in his pockets, like he wasn’t sure how to approach me. He looked exhausted tonight, dark shadows pooling beneath his eyes, the scar on his cheekbone standing out sharply in the moonlight.

“Want me to get Ruth to bring some herbal tea?” he asked, his voice rougher than usual.

“No need,” I shook my head, fingers fidgeting with a frayed thread on the edge of the comforter. “Sleep will fix it.”

He nodded but stayed rooted in place, his gaze traveling over my face. I knew exactly how awful I looked–puffy eyes, tangled hair, wearing that old t–shirt that had been washed so many times it was practically transparent in places. But right now, I couldn’t bring myself to care about appearances. After seeing that photo, everything felt absurd anyway.

“That dinner you mentioned in your text,” I broke the silence, my voice unnervingly calm, “it went well?”

“Just business,” he shrugged, loosening his collar, “Northern Lights‘ terms are higher than we expected, but still worka! I fixated on a wrinkle in the bedsheet, as if it contained some cosmic secret. “The pictures didn’t look like ‘just busine

His shoulders visibly tensed. “What pictures?”

“Don’t play dumb, I looked up, meeting his eyes directly, “The ones Sophia sent me. You and that silver–haired priest looking so perfect together. She added a little note–‘Dad’s finally dating again, don’t they look amazing together!”

Damn it, my voice actually trembled saying those words out lo

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