Henry’s face changed little by little as she spoke.
His smile faded.
His body stiffened.
His eyes moved around, like he was thinking fast.
This is bad... he thought. Really bad.
Adeline is going to file a complaint against ?
Why didn’t I know it?
Shit! F*ck you Adeline! I will deal with you later!
The question is, how did Adeline and Adriana et? Does such a coincidence happen?
Huh! If Adriana knows everything, she would break off everything!
No! Think! Think before Adriana says she wants a breakup!
But he didn’t let his fear show. He quickly took a deep breath, put a hurt look on his face, and made his voice tremble.
"Adriana..." he whispered. "I didn’t want to talk about this... but since you heard it..."
He looked down and wiped an invisible tear.
"That woman—Adeline—she was my ex. A crazy one. She lent money without asking, then used it to control .
She said she wanted to help, but every ti I tried to break up with her, she would threaten ."
He sniffled and wiped his eyes again.
"She made up the story about my mom being sick. I never said that. She... she even said she’d ruin if I dated soone else. And now she’s doing it..."
He looked at Adriana with shiny eyes full of sadness.
"I didn’t want you to know all this because I didn’t want to bring my past into our relationship.
But I swear, I didn’t do anything bad. She’s just making stuff up because I moved on... with you."
He looked away, pretending to cry harder.
Inside, his mind was racing. ’Please believe ... please fall for it...’
Adriana stared at Henry for a long mont. Her eyes were full of doubt.
Then she slowly asked, "If Adeline was so dangerous... why didn’t you ever tell about her before?"
Henry looked at her like she just broke his heart. He put a hand on his chest.
"I didn’t want to upset you," he said, voice shaking.
"I was scared you’d think less of . That you’d leave . And... honestly, I was trying to forget her. She was a nightmare."
Adriana nodded slowly but asked again,
"But why did she say you lied about your mom being sick? And that you took money from her for rent and business?"
Henry sighed and looked down at the ground.
"She gave money even when I told her not to. She said it was a gift. Later, she started asking for it back and twisting the story.
As for the rent and business stuff—yeah, I did talk about those things, but I never asked her to pay. She just assud things and acted like I forced her."
He looked up, eyes shining again.
"I never begged her for money like she said. I’m not that kind of man, Adriana. You know ."
Adriana frowned. "Then... what about the court case?"
Henry nodded like he expected that question.
"She’s doing it out of revenge," he said seriously. "She told once that if I ever left her, she’d destroy my life. I guess she ant it."
There was silence for a mont. Adriana didn’t look fully convinced.
Then Henry suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope.
He handed it to Adriana with both hands and said softly,
"Actually, this is what I wanted to talk to you about today."
Adriana blinked and opened the envelope. Inside was a stack of money.
"Two thousand dollars," Henry said.
"It’s not much, but I wanted to return part of what you lent before. I’ve been saving little by little. I promise I’ll give the rest soon."
Adriana’s eyes softened. She looked at the money, then back at Henry’s tired face.
"You really didn’t do anything wrong?" she asked quietly.
Henry shook his head. "I swear on everything, Adriana. I love you. I would never hurt you like that."
Tears welled up in Adriana’s eyes. She leaned forward and hugged him tightly.
"I’m sorry," she whispered. "I just got scared. I didn’t know what to believe."
Henry hugged her back, but his face twisted into a bored expression as he rolled his eyes behind her back.
’Hmph. She’s not even saying sorry properly. If Adeline were in her place, she would’ve been crying and begging to forgive her by now.
She’d be saying "I’m such a fool!" and "You’re too good for !" over and over. Maybe I should’ve stayed with Adeline... at least she treated like a god.
God! Henry! What are you thinking? Don’t forget! Adriana is the rich one! Not Adeline! Only after marriage would Adriana bow to you like Adeline!
Yes... I just need to soften her up and make her trust more. Then everything will be easy.’
Henry smiled gently and rubbed Adriana’s back like he was comforting her, even though inside he felt like laughing.
"It’s okay," he whispered sweetly. "I know it’s a lot. You just wanted the truth. And I gave it to you."
Adriana nodded slowly, still hugging him tightly.
"Thank you for telling ... I was really scared. I didn’t know who to believe."
Henry pulled back just a little so he could look into her eyes. He made his face look soft and full of love.
"You don’t have to be scared," he said in a calm voice. "I’ll protect you. I’ll never let anything co between us. Not even a crazy ex like Adeline."
Adriana smiled, tears still in her eyes. "I love you, Henry."
Henry smiled back. "I love you, too."
Then he kissed her forehead gently, but his mind was sowhere else.
Adriana, on the other hand, thought in her mind,
’I should compensate him...I doubted him for no reason. But what should I compensate him with?’
Henry pulled away and said,
"Let’s go and eat. I will pay for everything today!"
But in his heart, he was cursing,
’Not only did I lose $2000, but I didn’t even get the money I was about to ask for!’
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