Divorce me I'm done serving you (Ayla) novel Chapter 704

She looked away.

Draven grabbed her hand. His palm, once warm enough to scorch, was ice-cold now. The chill made Ayla flinch. She looked down. Not a trace of color in his skin. Was it the leg wound? Had he lost so much blood that his whole body had gone cold?

His voice cut through her thoughts. "Ayla, I'm jealous of Troy. Jealous that he found you first. Why wasn't it me? Why didn't I find you sooner..."

Ayla's heart slammed against her ribs. "You're jealous of Troy?"

Draven Storm. Composed, powerful, restrained, elegant. To the outside world, he was untouchable.

Ayla had always known the gap between them. Driving up to this sprawling estate had only hammered it home. The kind of power Draven commanded wasn't something you could catch up to. It was inherited. Built into the bones of his world.

To most people, Draven was unreachable.

And he was Troy's older brother. They didn't get along, but Draven was always the steadier one. The one who held it together. He carried himself with an older brother's quiet authority.

He'd never seemed to take Troy's provocations seriously.

Because Draven always handled everything.

He really had.

And yet, he was jealous of Troy? From the look on his face, this wasn't new. This was something he'd been carrying for a long time.

How had she not felt it when they were together?

Draven laughed bitterly. "I hid it for too long. You never knew. I love you, Ayla. And I want you to love me back. More than you loved Troy."

Ayla saw the raw want and possessiveness in his eyes. Her chest tightened further. "Draven, what are you doing right now?"

His voice dropped low. "I want you to fall in love with me again. For real this time. I want to pursue you properly."

Ayla stared into those deep, dark eyes. They used to be still water. Now they burned hot enough to sear straight through her. "But..."

Draven cut her off—desperate, because he couldn't bear to hear her say no. "Everything I did wrong had only one purpose. Getting you back. Ayla, I'm sorry I didn't come to you right away. Didn't call. Didn't show up. But I won't let go of you now. No matter what."

Ayla had never heard Draven lay himself open like this. She couldn't process it. Couldn't absorb it. It felt unreal.

But the strangeness wasn't frightening. It felt like she was finally seeing his real heart.

Ayla pulled her hand back. She wasn't giving him another opening. "I'm sorry. Max and I are together now."

Draven's face went rigid. "Ayla, what you have with Max isn't real."

That hit a nerve. "We'd barely gotten together before you came chasing after me. I'm guessing your people caught Max and me kissing on camera. We kissed. How is that fake? Please respect my choice."

Draven looked at the wall of refusal on her face and felt the despair closing in. But he had nothing left to lose. "I can respect your choice. But I'm still going to come after you."

Ayla stared. "What do you mean, 'still'?"

Draven held her gaze, baring everything. "I can't live my life without you, Ayla. I'm no worse than Max. If you're going to keep your options open, make sure I'm the one you choose."

That was what he said. But what he meant was that he'd find a way to remove Max entirely. Whatever it took, Ayla's heart and body would belong to him.

Ayla didn't even hesitate. "Not a chance."

Pain lanced through Draven's chest. "Why not? You won't even give me that much?"

Why not? Because she had truly loved Draven. Truly cared. And that meant she couldn't be around him again without feeling something. A touch. A memory. It would all come flooding back. And that was exactly what feelings were.