My Dad's Bestfriend

Chapter 135 Broken Paradise

Evelyn

My body seized at his words, a vice gripping my throat, my chest tightening as my heart pounded against my ribcage, threatening to burst forth. How was I supposed to react to this misunderstanding? The logical choice screamed for clarity, for truth to sever through the fog of confusion enveloping us. But inexplicably, I found myself mute, incapable of articulating even a single syllable. I stood there, stunned and speechless.

Tellig him the truth would the best option but why couldn't I speak? What was wrong with me?

A chilling fear slithered up my skin.

Was he serious? He couldn't be.

God, what was I supposed to do?

"Jacob, what are you talking about? Please, listen to me "I managed to let out as I ventured closer, reaching for his hand, but he jerked away, putting distance between us before finally facing me. It hurt how he recolied as if my touch disgusted him.

This Jacob infront of me...he didn't even look like the tiniest bit of the Jacob I knew.

"I meant what I said, Evelyn. Pack your bags-you're returning to America. Today."

No...

"Jacob, listen to me. What I did—I had my reasons," I stuttered, mustering the strength to speak louder. "Let me explain, if you'll just let me speak!" "What's left to say, Evelyn?" His voice rose, bordering on a shout, his fists clenched and eyes ablaze with anger. "Do you even comprehend how it felt to receive that text from that bastard, informing me that you were headed to him?! To fucking sleep with him?! Do you have any idea how it tore me apart not to trust his words, only to return home and find you gone?! I didn't trust him, Evelyn-I didn't fucking trust him!" He closed the gap between us, gripping my arms with painful intensity, shaking me as his nails dug into my skin, oblivious to the whimper that slipped past my lips in pain-he didn't ever hear it. "But I was wrong, and I found you there, in his mansion, in his fucking room, with him all over you! I was proved wrong that you wouldn't do that when you actually fucking did!"

"Jacob, please, just listen," I pleaded, tears welling in my eyes. "It's not what you think. I didn't go there to be with him. I went there to—"

"Don't you dare fucking lie to me, Evelyn," his voice sliced through the air like a blade, charged with raw emotion however feeling like nothing but venom, "You're only worsening the situation. You were fucking there, thinking your boyfriend is worthless who can't get things right and the only way for you to return to that little paradise you are used to is to take things in your hands, get everything back, by simply spending a night with Tyler Ricci. That didn't seem like a big issue for you since you were doing it behind my back, did it? If I wasn't worth fighting for, why did you love me, Evelyn? If I meant so little, why love me at all, Evelyn? Was it love, or just a fleeting whim?" he shouted making me flinch.

Please let me speak....

Please.

"Listen to me. I am not lying, I am—"

"After all, you're young and beautiful. Men would line up at your feet with just a snap of your fingers," he sneered, his crease forming between his brows, his breaths ragged. "Why struggle for a man like me, huh?"

"It's not like that... Trust me, Jacob. You have to trust me-The reason is different," I pleaded desperately, but he wouldn't even give me a chance to explain. His words cut deep, each one a painful blow-I didn't know how much more I could endure, how long I could stay. Leaving him was the last thing I wanted, but I prayed he wouldn't push me to that point.

"I can't trust you. That's the only thing I can't do right now," he chuckled bitterly. "You just proved my fears right. You can't live without the luxuries you're used to... You don't need this version of me, do you? The version where you only see failure, where you see me as a failure. You liked the confident man, the one with his life put together. Now that I'm falling apart, you choose the easy way out. Thinking it's easier to sleep with someone than to work through the struggle."

Damn his words...

He chose them so carefully as if they were just meant to hurt me. They were calculated, chosen and directed exactly where it'd hurt.

He chose his words like a surgeon wielding a scalpel, each one honed to inflict maximum pain and he got that sore spot. His doubts and insecurties, they were finally tearing us apart.

"Do you really think of me that way?

That I am with you for you are an awfully rich businessman?" My voice quivered, emotions boiling over. "I didn't fucking date you because you were some rich businessman, or had paparazzi trailing you everywhere, or had millions stacked in your bank account-I didn't fucking need any of it because I already had everything I needed in my life! I dated you because I fucking love you! I dated you because you were the first person to ever make me feel something even when you had none of this wealth! I didn't care for what you had-I cared for who you were! I loved you," exploded, the words tearing out of me like shrapnel.

"If there's anything you loved that was the better version of me!" he shouted back.

"That's just your twisted perspective, Jacob. Your fucking thoughts, your stupid view of things-it's all twisted!" I screamed, finally losing control. "I've been trying so fucking hard to hold us together, but you and your damn words keep tearing us apart every fucking time."

"What did you even see, Evelyn?

What struggle have you faced that

you pretend is so terrible when in reality, you haven't faced a damn thing. I shielded you from everything like a man should, I did my best, tried my best gave my best, and yet, it wasn't enough for you. The easy way out, that's all you wanted-sex isn't that hard, is it?" He uttered the words with such callous indifference that they sliced through me like sharpened daggers, ripping through my heart, lungs, and every fiber of my being in mere seconds. The pain was excruciating, leaving me feeling as though I teetered on the edge of oblivion. It was a relentless agony, one that cut so deep it seemed to eviscerate my very soul. And the most unbearable part? The realization that he likely didn't give a damn about the wreckage he'd caused-he probably fucking wanted it to hurt. "You could have your fun and go back home, pretending like nothing happened. That was your plan, wasn't it?"

Tears streamed down my face, and without another word, I raised my hand and slapped him across the cheek. His head snapped to the side with the impact, his breathing ragged. Moments passed, his fists clenched at his sides, before finally, his gaze settled back on me.

"You know, one thing I never thought I'd fucking regret was loving you, but today, you made sure I regret every fucking bit of it!" I spat, my words dripping with bitterness. "You crossed a line, Jacob. One that can never be uncrossed, no matter what you do. We are over."

"And yet, you act as if showing up at Ricci's house meant nothing," he chuckled humorlessly, seemingly unfazed. "Before you point fingers, take a good look at what you did, Evelyn. You'll find your own damn answers."

"I don't need your answers because I know exactly what I did and why I did it. And now, I realize you don't deserve any of it. You're sick, twisted, rotten to the core-thank you for showing me this side of you, or else I'd never have known what kind of monster I loved!"

Without another word, I turned away,

stormed into the room, and began shoving my clothes into my luggage

with reckless abandon. Tears streamed down my face, my heart aching unbearably, my mind in turmoil. I was consumed by anger, madness, and hurt. His words and his callousness tore me apart, and he could see it, but he couldn't care less.

I packed my bags without a second thought for what I was leaving behind. Once everything was crammed inside, I marched out of the room and headed for the elevator, ignoring Jacob's presence as he stood with his back to me, staring out at the balcony.

"I'll have my parents drop you at the airport. They'll make sure you get there safely," his voice echoed behind me, causing me to pause and turn.

He had to be joking.

After everything he'd said, this token gesture of kindness was the last thing I needed. I didn't need his kindness or his so-called care.

"You're not responsible for me, so save your kindness for someone who needs it," I managed a bitter smile, a hollow chuckle escaping my lips. "Besides, I can find my own way home. I may have been lost, but not anymore."

With that, before he could say another word or try to reel me back in, I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.

As the doors began to close, I saw him move closer, his expression torn with emotion. My heart raced at his approach, but I held up a hand to stop

him. "Don't."

He froze just outside the elevator, his hands hovering uncertainly, his gaze pleading.

"Evelyn..." he whispered my name, his voice thick with emotion, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I didn't care about anything anymore. He had hurt

me deeply, knowing exactly what he was doing.

"Goodbye, Jacob," I said softly as the doors shut, cutting off any further words.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.