Divorce and Freedom No More Homemaker for Him novel Chapter 482

Troy took the phone from Isabella. He could’ve just called Ayla himself, but he refused to make the first move. He made Isabella handle it instead.

He pressed the phone to his ear.

Ayla’s voice came through. “Like I said, I never promised you anything. Don’t rush me.”

Troy’s jaw tightened. “I haven’t even said a word, and you already think you know what’s in my head? You really think you’ve got me figured out?”

Ayla let out a cold laugh. “Then what else is there to talk about?”

Troy said, “Ayla, I want a clear answer. A real one.”

Ayla said, “You’re not getting one.”

Troy’s voice dropped. “You’re trying to screw with me? You told me not to show up, and I stayed away. So you better be thinking about when you’re coming back, not throwing out empty lines. You think I’ve been waiting around for nothing?”

Ayla snapped, “You always want something. But not everything turns out the way you planned. Keep this up, keep pulling me back into this crap, and like I told you before–you’re never getting what you want. All you’re doing is making me hate you more.”

Then she ended the call.

She just cut him off and hung up. The air shifted.

Every word Ayla said landed like a hit. And for the first time, Troy hesitated. Could he still strong–arm her? Could he still control her? She didn’t flinch, didn’t waver, and didn’t care. He’d lost the upper hand. Ayla had flipped the whole game.

How did it come to this? When did he end up looking like the weak one in this mess?

Troy nearly slammed the phone against the door.

He clenched his teeth. Rage boiled under his skin, but he shoved the phone back at Isabella.

The fury didn’t die down. His breathing grew heavier. He yanked at the tie around his neck like it was suffocating him. That tie–it was Ayla’s gift. Everything on him somehow traced back to her. Even now, she was pulling all the strings from a distance.

That thought snapped something in him. He ripped the tie off, rolled down the window, and threw it straight out onto the street. “Drive,” he growled.

The driver froze. So did Isabella. Neither of them moved, in case they did anything wrong. The pressure was mounting. Troy’s voice cut sharper. “I said drive!”

The driver’s hands shook as he hit the gas.

3:50 pm W

Chapter 482 Ayla’s Call

Troy watched the rearview mirror. The striped tie hit the road and stayed there.

Finished

A biker sped past. The tire rolled right over it, smearing it with grime and dragging it along the pavement like trash.

Like it didn’t matter. He’s going to get himself killed doing that.

“Stop the car!” Troy barked. The driver slammed the brakes.

Troy flung the door open and stepped out. The biker saw him–tall, tailored, and furious. He wasn’t dressed like some guy out on a stroll. He looked like someone dangerous. Someone who didn’t belong on this street. The biker panicked and stopped cold. He had no idea what to do.

Troy stared down at the dirty tie. His face didn’t move. “Pick it up,” he ordered.

The words hit like a command from someone used to being obeyed. The rider scrambled off the bike and grabbed the tie. It was clear this wasn’t a cheap piece. And now it was crushed, dirtied, wrecked.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said. His hands shook. “I swear, I didn’t see it.” He held the tie out to Troy with both hands. His head stayed bowed. He didn’t dare look Troy in the eye.

Troy didn’t take it. He just stared.

For a second, he realized how insane this looked. It was a tie. Just a tie. And yet he’d made the driver stop. He’d made a stranger pick it up. All because it was dirty? It wasn’t about the tie.

Troy looked at the tie darkly, as if it were something that had sinned beyond redemption.

Isabella rushed out of the car. She found Troy standing still, frozen in thought. She had no clue what he was thinking. No one ever did. He could blow up or go silent. Neither was better than the other.

She reached forward and took the tie from the biker.

Troy didn’t speak. But something in him shifted.

He turned and got back in the car.

Isabella followed. Right as she shut the door, he spoke in a low voice. “Get it cleaned.”

She nodded. “Right away.”

It was never just about the tie. He could’ve let it go. But it came from Ayla. That made it something else entirely.

Troy’s daily movements were locked up tight. Most people had no access to them. But Draven wasn’t most people.

He had his own ways. And right now, he’d gotten word about something big.

Troy had just shown up at a hospital. The same one Ayla had visited. Bria had been there too.

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