HIS REGRET (Ex-Husband wants Me Back) novel Chapter 1042

"Let me go." Eli tried to pull her hand free, but David's grip only tightened.

"Are you going to see Josh again?"

Eli turned with reddened eyes. She truly couldn't believe David was still bringing up Josh after what had just happened. "What?"

"Are you always like this?" David's voice rose again. "The moment I get angry, you go looking for him."

Eli stared at him in disbelief.

David looked at her accusingly. "Did you do that on purpose to get another man's attention even though your boyfriend is right in front of you?"

The words made Eli's chest feel tight. For a moment, she couldn't even answer. She had just been trying to get away because David wasn't respecting her refusal. Yet, in David's eyes, all of that had instead become a reason to accuse her of seeking another man's attention.

Eli's tears fell again. "Don't bring Josh into this."

"But you always bring him into our relationship," David replied accusingly.

"Because that's the way it is!" Eli's voice finally rose. For the first time, she no longer tried to hold back her anger. "He's my family, David. And I've never done anything with Josh."

Eli was breathing heavily from the jumble of emotions she was feeling. "I'm the one who wants to ask you something, David."

David looked at her.

Eli wiped away her tears with trembling hands. "In front of other people, you never say that I'm your girlfriend. Even when Josh asked you."

David didn't answer.

"Why?" Eli looked straight at him. "Are you ashamed?"

"No," David replied quickly.

"Then why?"

David let out a rough sigh. "I've already explained all the reasons to—"

"Because you have so many fans? Because you're the captain of the basketball team?" Eli let out a small laugh, but it sounded bitter.

"I don't need to keep repeating that to you."

"Then why can you act like this when it's just the two of us?"

David fell silent.

"You say you love me. You get jealous when I talk to Josh. You get angry when I don't reply to your messages quickly. You want to know where I am and who I'm with."

Eli's voice trembled.

"But when there are other people around, you don't even acknowledge me."

David was beginning to lose his patience. "I've told you, Eli. I'm just protecting my private life."

"And I'm supposed to accept all of this?" Eli looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

"You're my girlfriend. You should understand."

"I'm trying to understand." Her voice grew softer. "I always try to understand."

"And when other people question who I am to you, you stay silent?" Eli's voice trembled, but this time she did not lower her face. She looked at David with eyes still filled with tears. "Is that how you treat the person you love?"

David fell silent.

For the first time, Eli no longer tried to find excuses to justify the man in front of her. Not for the way he treated Josh. Not for his closeness to Natalie. Not even for the way he had treated Eli all this time.

All the reasons that had once sounded reasonable suddenly felt different. Eli had always thought that David simply needed her understanding. That she had to be more patient. That as his girlfriend, she should not ask for too much.

But this time, she began to wonder if she had been the only one constantly trying to hold their relationship together.

David let out a harsh breath. "I've done everything for you, Eli."

"I know."

"Then why are you still making an issue out of this?"

"Because I'm not something you can hide whenever you don't want other people to see me."

David's expression changed.

Eli pulled her hand from the man's grip. This time, David immediately let go.

“I love you,” Eli continued in a soft voice. “But I don't want to keep being someone you only acknowledge when no one else is around.”

David stared at her sharply.

“I never asked you to leave your friends. I never asked you to stop helping any of your friends. I never even asked you to change your life just for me.” Eli's tears fell again. “I only want you to treat me like your girlfriend.”