How to Train Your Ex-Billionaire novel Chapter 125

A wave of anguish washed over Winifred. She shoved him away with all her strength, her voice breaking. "Yvan, what makes you think it was easy for me to let go?"

"Wasn't it?" Yvan sneered. "You ended things with a single sentence, without even asking for an explanation. And not long after, you were with someone else. What would you call that, if not easy?"

Tears streamed down Winifred's face. "Yvan, you'll never understand my pain."

Usually, the sight of her tears would soften him, but this time he wouldn't back down. "What pain? Was it because of what I said? I've already apologized, what more do you want? You don't believe me—do you want me to cut my heart out to show you? These past seven years have been just as painful for me!"

Her tears fell harder. She didn't want to dredge up the wounds of the past.

She tried to leave, but Yvan held her again.

"Winifred, don't go," he pleaded, holding her tight. "I love you. I really, truly love you."

"Do you?" she sobbed. "Yvan, did you ever really love me?"

It was the question she had always wanted to ask.

"Of course I love you, then and now," he said, his own voice thick with pain. "Why won't you believe me?"

Seeing her cry was tearing him apart.

Winifred wrenched herself from his arms. "If you really loved me, you'd let me go! If you really loved me, you wouldn't make me suffer like this! Don't you understand that being with you is torture for me, every single second!"

It felt like a vise was crushing Yvan's heart, making it impossible to breathe.

He had thought that if he was persistent enough, she would eventually yield. He never imagined that his presence would cause her so much pain.

But the thought of letting her go was unbearable.

It was a stalemate. Whether he advanced or retreated, he was trapped.

They stood in silence, Winifred's quiet sobs filling the space between them.

Finally, Yvan's voice came out, raw and hoarse. "Can we stop fighting? Let's just both calm down."

"I'm not fighting. You are."

Winifred wiped her tears and bent to pick up her bag, ready to leave.

"Don't go tonight. Wait until the snow stops tomorrow," Yvan said, his back to her. "I'll get a hotel room."

Winifred watched as Yvan opened the door and disappeared into the snowstorm.

Her hands went limp, the bag falling to the floor. She collapsed onto the bed, burying her face in a pillow and weeping uncontrollably.

……

When Yvan returned to Pinehill Residences, he wasn't surprised to find that Winifred was gone.

The leftovers had been cleared away, the table wiped clean.

In the bedroom, the blankets were neatly folded, just as they had been before she arrived.

A few days before, she called Yvan and told him to invite Winifred to the party.

But Yvan just said, "Don't bother. She won't come."

She wanted nothing more than to cut ties with him. Why would she come to his mother's birthday party?

Monica was surprised. "Why not?"

Yvan was evasive. "Don't ask. She just won't."

"Did you two have a fight?" Monica's brow furrowed.

Yvan's silence was his answer.

"Oh, Yvan, you have to know how to treat a woman. You're pursuing her, so you should be nicer, more patient with her," Monica advised. "Use my birthday as an excuse. Call her right now and apologize."

"Mom," Yvan interrupted. "It's impossible between us. Don't waste your energy."

He had been feeling dejected since that night, even contemplating giving up.

Monica was stunned. "What do you mean, impossible? Did she reject you?"

Again, Yvan was silent.

Monica's mind jumped to a conclusion. "Yvan, did you do something to wrong her? Is that why she doesn't want you?"