Divorce and Freedom No More Homemaker for Him novel Chapter 27

Chapter 27 The Gentleman

Finished

“Of course. Didn’t you see how Troy takes care of his wife? He can hardly hide his love for her. He wants the whole world to know she’s his woman. Men, no matter their status, love to show off the woman they adore. And Mrs. Winston is so talented–it just makes him want to show her off even more.”

Ayla froze when she heard that.

She had always thought Sacha’s husband was just one of a kind.

Ayla believed not every man in the world would love his wife that much.

But Troy was different. He was cold by nature. Even if he loved someone, he could never be like Sacha’s husband.

Her eyes lowered.

She realized she’d been lying to herself. True love, when it’s genuine, is always the same.

After a pause, Ayla pushed the thought aside and kept walking.

A tech company was giving a live demo of a robot. The machine moved forward, backward, and sideways–it even flipped and jumped like a real person.

A staff kicked it hard. The robot stumbled but stayed standing.

Then they invited visitors to try it.

One person kicked with too much force. The robot lost its balance and staggered to the left.

Ayla walked by, never expecting to be so unlucky. The robot crashed into her.

It weighed more than 200 pounds. The impact slammed into her arm, knocking her to the ground. The robot toppled with her, its steel weight bearing down.

The heavy, hard steel nearly crushed her. Ayla gritted her teeth, braced herself against the floor, and twisted awkwardly to slip out from under it. The bad news was, her left palm scraped hard across the ground, tearing the skin open and leaving several bleeding cuts.

From the hit to the dodge, it all happened in seconds. Only then did the crowd react.

“Oh my gosh, the robot knocked someone down!”

“Quick! Help her up–check if she’s hurt!”

1/3

19:52 Wed, Dec 24 J

Chapter 27 The Gentleman

48

Finished

Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side. Still shaken, she didn’t resist and allowed herself to be helped to her feet. Then, she saw a familiar face.

“Ayla, are you okay?” Max asked.

He didn’t look surprised–he must have seen her carlier and rushed over.

She pulled her arm free. “Thanks, I’m fine.”

Max leaned closer. “Troy’s here. Are you looking for him?”

“No.”

The word left her mouth just as she spotted him only a few feet away. Their eyes locked. His gaze was icy cold. A second later, he looked away, indifferent.

Beside him stood Skyla, watching Ayla with curious eyes.

Ayla froze for a moment.

She saw the bandage on Skyla’s index finger. Other than that, she wasn’t hurt at all. She looked healthy, glowing even. She wasn’t sick.

So last night at 2 a.m., Troy had rushed off in a panic, all because of a little cut on Skyla’s finger?

Yet when Ayla was lying in a hospital bed, enduring the painful procedure of a miscarriage, he didn’t bother to show up. Troy didn’t even answer her calls. Instead, he was busy celebrating Skyla’s return.

The thought stabbed Ayla’s heart. Her face remained expressionless.

Skyla’s glance at her lasted only seconds before she turned away, laughing and chatting with the tall man beside her.

That’s when Ayla noticed Rolf Alvarado.

Rolf was Conrad’s youngest son.

Unlike Max and Skyla, he hadn’t known Troy since high school.

Rolf knew him through business, moving in the same wealthy circles.

Troy had never once brought Ayla into that world. The only person who ever visited their home was Max; because of this, Ayla was familiar with him. But men like Rolf? She’d only ever seen them in passing.

Now Skyla had been back for barely a week, and she was already close with Rolf.

2/3

19:52 Wed, Dec 24 d

Chapter 27 The Gentleman

Finished

Ayla pulled her eyes away and looked at Max.

Before she could say anything, he pointed at the folder in her hand. “I won’t keep you.”

Ayla felt grateful for that. It gave her a way out. “Thanks.”

She didn’t stay another second and quickly walked off.

Max watched her straight back as she left, then turned toward Troy. “Dude…”

Troy already knew what he wanted to say. He didn’t care. Tilting his head toward Skyla, he asked, “Want to check over there?”

“Sure,” she nodded.

Skyla took a couple of steps, then stopped to look at Max with a smile. “I didn’t expect you and Ayla to be so close.”

Max shrugged. “You mean because I helped her up? Honestly, I didn’t even know it was Ayla until after.”

Then, half–joking, he added narcissistically, “Guess I really am a nice guy.”

Skyla smiled faintly, said nothing, and walked off with Troy.

Rolf stayed behind, watching Max. Then he called him out. “You knew it was her from the start.”

Max threw an arm around his shoulder. “You saw how Troy treated her. With so many people around, a girl falls on the floor–what was I supposed to do? If I hadn’t help her up, she’d have been humiliated.”

138

B

3/3