Divorce and Freedom No More Homemaker for Him novel Chapter 388

Chapter 388 A Careful Distance

Chapter 388 A Careful Distance

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All Ayla could hear was Draven’s voice-low and steady and strangely pleasant. She froze for

a moment.

Draven likes me!

The thought kept looping in her head, so loud it almost stole her breath.

She tightened her grip on her phone without realizing it. Ayla had grown up around art. She had good taste and knew she didn’t look bad. Since childhood, she’d never lacked attention from the opposite sex. But she had many interests, and none of those interests had ever been romance. She’d never met anyone who truly made her heart move. So she wasn’t interested in dating. When people pursued her, she turned them down politely. Most gave up. The few who didn’t were met with a firmer, cleaner rejection.

That changed the day Troy pulled her out of the ocean. When she opened her eyes and saw him, she finally understood what it meant to fall in love.

That feeling was strong. But during the three years of marriage that followed, she never felt that kind of heartbeat again.

At first there was attraction, then the warmth faded, and everything became calm. In the end, the feeling disappeared.

That was the path of her feelings for Troy.

Once her heart stopped reacting, everything became quiet. Even when she went back to the estate to face the Winstons, her emotions barely moved.

Until last night, she had pretended to be asleep.

Or maybe not pretended. She was truly exhausted. Her eyes were closed, and she was drifting toward sleep, but she wasn’t fully out. Then Draven’s warm hand touched her cheek.

He picked her up and laid her on the bed. He kissed her forehead.

Even now, thinking about it made her heart skip again. Last night, faced with that sudden kiss, she couldn’t ignore the feeling rising in her chest. That was why she didn’t fall asleep until very late.

Thankfully, when she woke up the next morning, she felt much calmer.

Still, when she watched Draven speak, his lips moving softly, her forehead felt hot.

It wasn’t something she could control.

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Chapter 388 A Careful Distance

Ayla said nothing.

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She didn’t expect Kaleb to see them. In his agitation, he revealed a huge secret. Draven had liked her for a long time.

Kaleb might lie about other things, but not this. And now there was proof.

Draven liking her wasn’t planned, just like that kiss last night. It came without warning.

It caught Ayla completely off guard.

She couldn’t pretend she didn’t know how he felt, but she also couldn’t give him an answer right away.

It was too sudden.

And too strange.

She wasn’t ready at all.

“Ayla? Are you listening?” Draven’s low voice came through the phone, steady and calm.

Ayla could picture him clearly. Draven was probably sitting in his office, holding the phone, cool and refined, every bit the composed executive.

She should have realized it earlier. Someone as distant and cold as him giving her so much attention and patience was never normal to begin with.

“Y-yes. I’m here,” she replied.

Her other hand tightened, slowly curling from resting on the mouse into a fist.

“Is Kaleb still with you?” Draven asked.

“No. I sent him away.”

“Did he ask you anything?”

“He did. I told him we’re together. Just like we agreed. He can’t know the truth, or he’d slip up.”

There was a brief pause on the other end of the ine before Draven spoke again. “How did he

react?”

Ayla knew exactly what that pause meant. He was worried Kaleb might have told her about the brother-in-law thing. Seriously, how were there so many details? How had she missed all of them before?

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Chapter 388 A Careful Distance

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She steadied herself, holding back the shock and strange thrill of realizing all this, and said lightly, “He had many opinions. He wished us an early breakup.”

Draven let out a soft laugh. “Then he’ll probably have to wait at least two years.”

Ayla chuckled too. “Yeah. That’s why I kicked him out. He really doesn’t know how to talk nicely. If I ever date for real and he says that again, I’ll slap him for sure.”

Draven didn’t respond.

Ayla paused as well. She had only casually mentioned dating for real, and he already seemed uncomfortable?

Wanting to change the subject, her eyes landed on the schedule open on her computer. She would be traveling with Halle to attend a tech conference overseas. After that, she’d fly to Aqualith to meet some industry leaders. Then she’d come back to visit Casey, who was about to join a film crew. Oh-and she also needed to stop by the Storm Group, say goodbye to her former coworkers, and officially close that chapter of her life.

So she said, “I won’t be going home for the next few days. I’ll be on a business trip. Your mom has already left too. You can stay at my place or go back to yours-either is fine.”

Draven finally spoke. “Okay.”

The call ended, and Ayla let out a quiet breath of relief.

She didn’t know where the pressure was coming from. She just felt afraid of saying the wrong thing, afraid of hurting Draven without meaning to. Because the truth was, she really couldn’t return his feelings right now.

The only comfort was Draven still didn’t know that she already knew.

Ayla hadn’t figured out how to deal with him next. Pretending to be a couple with a man who liked her was hard enough. Keeping the right distance made it even harder. For now, she simply didn’t know how to face him.

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