My Husband's Affair My Anniversary Gift (Lily and David) novel Chapter 261

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“Are you not coming?”

Lily had already stepped out of the car with Danish when she noticed David was still sitting behind the wheel. The engine was running, his hands resting on the steering wheel, but he hadn’t moved to get out. Something about it felt wrong.

She turned back and looked at him.

David hesitated. For a brief second, it looked like he wanted to say something else. His lips parted, then pressed together again. He avoided her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “I have a meeting. I can’t come tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Lily felt the words hit her chest harder than she expected.

She let out a slow breath, biting down on her lower lip, forcing herself to stay quiet. She didn’t trust her mouth right now. If she spoke, she was sure something sharp and regretful would come out.

So this was it.

He was avoiding her.

The thought made her chest tighten with frustration. All day he had been distant. Silent. Cold in that calm way that hurt more than anger ever could.

Without meaning to, Lily slammed the car door harder than she intended.

The sound echoed in the quiet parking area.

“Bye, Dad,” Danish said cheerfully, waving his small hand through the open window.

David lifted one hand and waved back, a soft smile appearing just for his son. But his eyes weren’t on Danish for long. They followed Lily instead.

She had already grabbed Danish’s hand and was walking toward the building, pulling him along a little too firmly.

David watched her back disappear step by step.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened. His knuckles slowly turned white.

His chest ached so badly it felt hard to breathe.

All he wanted was to get out of the car, walk after her, pull her into his arms, and let everything break. He wanted to tell her how scared he had been. How empty he felt without her voice. How every second she was unconscious had felt like a knife pressing into his heart.

But he didn’t move.

He couldn’t.

Because deep down, he knew the truth.

If he hadn’t allowed Marina to exist in his life the way she did, Lily wouldn’t have suffered the way she had. If he hadn’t been blind, proud, and careless back then, Lily wouldn’t have spent nine years feeling ignored, humiliated, and alone.

And now, because of him, she had almost died.

The image flashed in his mind again. Lily tied to a chair. Blood on her face. Her body cold in his arms.

David’s chest tightened sharply.

He realized something then. Something painful and unavoidable.

Even if he forced his way back into her life, even if he stood beside her every day, he would never be happy unless she truly accepted him again. And she hadn’t. Not really.

She had come back after seven years, yes. But she came back for their son.

Not for him.

And because of his presence, danger had found her again.

Marina had already been punished for what she did. But that didn’t erase the truth. As long as David stayed too close, Lily would never be truly safe.

Her happiness mattered more than his pain.

Even if it meant he had to step back.

Even if it meant he had to watch her live a life where he stood quietly on the outside.

Even if it meant dying slowly inside every day.

This, he told himself, was his punishment.

For ignoring her love.

For hurting her.

For humiliating her for nine long years.

As Lily and Danish disappeared through the door, David finally took a shaky breath. He put the car into gear and drove away, the city lights blurring in front of him.

He didn’t look back.

Because if he did, he knew he wouldn’t be strong enough to leave.

What did he even think she was to him?

That question kept circling in Lily’s head, sharp and bitter.

She had lowered her pride. She had been the one to ask him to come to her apartment. And he had refused her. Just like that. Calm. Polite. Distant.

Now he was the one pushing her away.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

Lily lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, her body restless. She turned to one side, then the other. The sheets twisted around her legs, but sleep refused to come. Her mind wouldn’t slow down, not even for a second.

Beside her, Danish slept peacefully. His small chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, his face relaxed, unaware of the storm raging inside his mother.