My Husband's Affair My Anniversary Gift (Lily and David) novel Chapter 221

Lily felt something inside her collapse. Just a small crack at first. Then a deep tear that left her shaking.

“David…” her voice slipped out weak.

He stepped back.

Putting distance again.

Like he promised himself he wouldn’t let her close.

“But one thing… you can’t take my son from me now.” David’s voice stayed flat, but there was a sharp edge under it. “You shouldn’t have come back. I didn’t go to you. You came back to me on your own. I didn’t even know that child existed. You brought him to me… so think about what you’ll do in the future with your son.”

He paused, not turning. His shoulders were stiff.

“You can do whatever you want with your life, but you can’t take him away from me now.”

He finally moved, turning his back to her and walking toward the door.

Lily’s throat tightened.

Her eyes stung and her heart started to beat fast.

She thought she was ready for this moment.

She thought she could handle anger, shouting, anything he would throw at her.

But this…

This fear of losing Danish…

It came like a punch she did not expect.

“David…” her voice came out softer than she wanted. “I didn’t return because I want a place in your life again. I’m not here for that. I just want our son to have a normal life.”

David stopped for half a second, but he didn’t face her.

Lily swallowed hard and kept talking.

“I grew up without parents’ love. I don’t want that for him. I did my best… really I did. I tried to give him everything. But there was always an empty place where his father should be. That’s why I brought him here.”

David’s hand on the door handle tightened for a moment. His back rose slightly as if he took a slow breath.

He didn’t turn.

He didn’t show anything.

“I’ll see Danish tomorrow,” he said. His tone didn’t shake. It was too calm. “Good night.”

Then he opened the door and walked out.

He didn’t look back once.

The door clicked shut behind him.

Lily stood for a moment, staring at the door, as if her mind wasn’t working. When her knees finally gave out, she sank onto the sofa. She felt the weight of everything come crashing down at once.

Seven years of running.

Seven years of hiding.

Seven years of fear.

She covered her face with both hands. For the first time in years, she didn’t fight the tears that pushed their way out. They came silently, shaking her shoulders, dropping warm on her palms.

On the other side of the hallway, David walked with steady steps, but his eyes blurred for a second. He blinked hard. The quiet of the building felt too heavy.

Inside his chest, something twisted painfully.

It wasn’t anger.

It wasn’t relief.

It was something he didn’t want to name.

He kept walking.

He didn’t dare look back.

He knew if he did…

He wouldn’t be able to walk away.

Next morning, Lily was rushing around the kitchen. She kept checking the time because she was already late for her meeting. The pan on the stove sizzled, the kettle was warming, and she moved from one corner to another like she was fighting time itself.

Danish was still asleep in his room.

She wanted to wake him, but she didn’t want to rush him on his first morning here.

She sighed and flipped the omelet.

Just then the doorbell rang.

Lily didn’t notice. She was opening the cupboard to take out the blender jar.

David felt something move inside him.

It surprised him.

He had thought yesterday’s shock would fade by morning, but seeing her like this again hit harder.

Her long hair was tied in a loose bun.

Her face fresh without makeup.

Soft pajamas hanging on her small frame.

She looked like the same Lily he remembered, but also brighter. Stronger. More womanly. More… herself.

For seven years he had tried to bury images like this.

He failed.

A tiny voice in his mind whispered,

You missed her.

You missed everything.

He pushed that voice away.

He couldn’t show it.

Not yet.

And if he wanted her back, he had to win Danish first.

But how?

He had no idea how to deal with kids.

He barely knew how to talk to them.

He needed Lily’s help.

But he didn’t have courage to ask.