Divorce and Freedom No More Homemaker for Him novel Chapter 538

Chapter 538 The Pain He Couldn’t Name

Something had to be wrong.

Every time the pain hit Troy’s chest, he told himself the same thing.

Something had to be wrong.

But it couldn’t be his fault.

Finishe

This time was different. The pain stabbing through his heart was stronger. Sharper. Almost violent. When Troy found out Ayla was Sol that night, he lost control. But he was alone then. No one saw it.

Now Max, Isabella, and the crew were around. Troy still had pride to protect, so he forced himself to endure it.

But it was too much. Way beyond anything he expected.

Troy didn’t feel like himself anymore.

He was falling apart, and he couldn’t stop it.

He thought Ayla had already stripped him of his dignity.

But Max’s words felt like another kick, sending him deeper into the abyss.

He felt like he could hear a devil whispering.

His pain. His suffering. His unwillingness to let go. Was it all because he liked Ayla?

Because he loved Ayla?

How could that be? Why would fate play such a ridiculous, cursed joke on him?

No one had ever taught him what “like” meant. What “love” meant. Was he supposed to figure it out on his own? That was giving him way too much credit.

Troy had never liked any woman, and he definitely didn’t like Ayla. Right?

Troy always believed that even if he was in unbearable pain, he had to act like nothing was wrong. Never let your enemies enjoy your weakness.

So vulnerability was forbidden. Looking pathetic was forbidden. And tears were the worst taboo of all. When he was a kid and almost died from a high fever, he didn’t cry. Because crying meant losing a man’s dignity.

Troy never imagined he would be crying now.

He touched his face. It was wet. Probably sweat. He followed the trail of moisture. His fingers stopped at the corner of his eye. It wasn’t sweat. It was tears.

Chapter 538 The Pain He Couldn’t Name

So, that night when he woke from the nightmare, he had cried then too?

For a moment, Troy wanted to die.

“Max… if I loved her, why did I treat her like that?”

Finishe

After what felt like a long time, Troy finally pulled himself out of that terrifying storm of emotions. He looked at Max with blurry eyes. His voice was so hoarse it barely sounded human.

Because you were never loved properly growing up, Max thought; but he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. It felt too cruel.

People who grow up under constant pressure, control, and humiliation carry deep wounds. And Troy’s stubborn, never–give–up nature only made those wounds worse. The more he was pushed down, the more it hurt. There was never a middle ground. In the end, everything was carved deep into his soul.

Troy was naturally cold. He looked down on normal emotions. Sometimes, he even mocked them.

Max didn’t answer him. Instead, he asked quietly, “Why did you marry Ayla?”

Everything returned to the very beginning.

Troy had never told anyone. He had been avoiding this question his whole life. Until now, he couldn’t avoid it anymore.

The truth was a lot of things don’t need a reason.

He just wanted to marry Ayla.

Maybe it was because the weather was perfect the day they met by the ocean. Maybe it was because when he dragged her out of the water and saw her eyes, saving her life made his bad mood disappear. When Ayla confessed to him, Troy sneered inside. He assumed she was pretending. Trying to fool him with fake feelings. But he didn’t hate her enough to push her away. He wanted to see when she would slip up.

Little by little, he allowed Ayla to stay in his life for months. She became his only exception. And then, they got married.

Because Troy couldn’t believe someone could love him unconditionally without him doing anything to earn it, he was sure she would hate him and leave one day. So on their wedding day, he handed her divorce papers.

Back then, Troy thought he was above everything. He thought he saw through her cheap act. He thought he could control everything and avoid getting hurt.

All the painful questions were buried deep inside him. All the denial.

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