My Husband's Affair My Anniversary Gift (Lily and David) novel Chapter 190

she stood there for a few seconds, frozen in his arms, listening to the sound of her own heartbeat, too fast, too heavy, too confusing.

Then she took a deep breath and pushed him away, this time more firmly.

“Don’t,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Don’t do this again.”

David looked at her silently, something unreadable in his eyes.

She didn’t wait for his reply. Without another word, she turned and walked away quickly, her heart still beating wildly.

As she reached the end of the hallway, she leaned against the wall for a moment, her hand clutching her chest.

What was wrong with her? Why did he still have this power over her?

She took another deep breath, trying to calm herself. The announcement for the next round echoed faintly in the distance.

It was time to return.

She straightened up, wiped the tears from her eyes, and forced her legs to move. No matter what just happened, she wasn’t going to let David ruin this for her. Not again.

Round 2 – “Rebirth from Brokenness”

The theme was Rebirth from Brokenness. Designers had to create something new from broken materials.

Lily stood before her table, staring at the pieces of an old bracelet her mother’s favorite one. It was broken long ago, but Lily had kept it safe, unable to throw it away.

Now, it felt right to use it, to give it a new life. “Mom, I’ll make something beautiful from this,” she whispered softly.

She had barely begun when chaos struck.

When she returned from fetching her sketchbook, her design table was a mess. Tools scattered, sketches torn, and the small box of gems she had carefully chosen was gone.

“What…?” Her heart began to pound. “No, no, no!” she muttered, looking under the table, checking drawers, nothing. Her hands trembled as panic crept up.

The timer on the wall showed only forty minutes left.

“If I can’t finish, I’ll be out,” she whispered, her throat tight. “Everything I said in front of him will be meaningless…”

David was walking past the hallway, checking on contestants, when he noticed Lily’s pale face. Something about her expression made him stop. He asked one of the nearby staff, “What happened to contestant number 12?”

The staff hesitated, then said quietly, “Sir, her gems went missing. She’s in trouble. There’s not enough time to replace them.”

David’s brows furrowed. He couldn’t interfere directly, he was one of the judges but he couldn’t stand seeing her that way either.

He turned to his assistant. “Roy, get her replacement gems. Now. The rare ones from our display stock.”

The head judge smiled softly. “Beautiful. Truly a rebirth from brokenness.”

Lily’s eyes filled with tears. She bowed slightly. “Thank you.”

David didn’t say a word, but his gaze lingered on her. Pride flickered in his eyes the kind he had never shown before.

And though Lily didn’t know it, the man who helped her shine again… was standing just a few steps away.

When the results were announced, the room filled with applause.

Lily stood still for a second, almost frozen, when she heard her name.

“Second-round winner is also Aurora!”

The host’s voice echoed, and the crowd clapped louder. Cameras flashed.

She blinked, half in disbelief. Me? I won?

She smiled, though her eyes were still watery. Somewhere deep inside, she wished her mother could see this.

David, sitting among the judges, kept his expression calm, professional. But his eyes… his eyes followed her. The pride in them was impossible to hide.