My Husband's Affair My Anniversary Gift (Lily and David) novel Chapter 384

“Riyana, please talk to me?”

His voice stopped her just as she was about to climb onto the bed.

She had already pulled the blanket slightly aside, one knee resting on the mattress, her body half turned away from him. She wasn’t in a hurry, wasn’t angry enough to slam things or show irritation. She was just… quiet. Tired in a way that sleep alone could not fix.

Jabco’s hand closed around her wrist.

Not rough. Not forceful.

Just enough to make her stop.

“You haven’t said a single word since we left the restaurant,” he added.

The room was dim, lit only by the soft bedside lamp. Outside, the city hummed faintly, distant traffic noise seeping through the glass. It was late. The kind of late where the body feels heavy and the mind refuses to rest.

Riyana slowly turned to face him.

Her expression was calm. Almost blank.

No anger. No visible storm.

“So?” she asked simply. “What’s wrong with that?”

Her tone wasn’t sharp. It wasn’t defensive either. It was genuinely confused.

Jabco frowned slightly.

She pulled her hand back gently, freeing herself from his grip, then sat down on the edge of the bed. She rested her palms beside her, shoulders relaxed, posture natural.

“Why is it so strange that I didn’t say anything?” she continued. “We’ve sat on the same sofa for hours before without talking. You read your files, I read my book. Sometimes neither of us says a word.”

She looked up at him.

“So why are you suddenly panicking just because I’m quiet today?”

Her words weren’t an attack. They were facts.

Jabco stood there, unsure how to respond for a moment. She wasn’t wrong. Silence between them wasn’t new. It had always existed, especially now days. silence felt safer than conversation. Less risky.

But tonight was different.

He could feel it.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said finally. His voice softened. “You’re not mad because of what David said… are you?”

He stepped closer and took her hands again, this time holding them fully in his. His thumbs brushed lightly over her knuckles, back and forth, a nervous habit he didn’t even realize he had.

His face looked tired. Stressed. Like he’d been carrying something heavy since the dinner ended.

“I didn’t know where he heard that from,” he continued quickly. “If I had known he’d bring up the Hellion family, I would’ve told you beforehand.”

He paused, then added more carefully, “My father mentioned it once. Just once. And I told him clearly that I won’t marry anyone.”

His grip tightened slightly, not possessive, but earnest.

“I don’t want you to misunderstand me.”

Riyana watched him quietly.

She studied his face. The lines of tension near his brows. The way his jaw was slightly clenched, as if he was holding back something more.

The faint crease between his eyebrows that appeared whenever he felt cornered.

For a moment, she said nothing.

Then she let out a long breath.

Not a sigh of frustration.

A sigh of acceptance.

She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him.

It wasn’t sudden. It wasn’t dramatic.

Just natural.

Her forehead rested lightly against his chest. His scent surrounded her, familiar now. Clean,Warm and Grounding.

Jabco stiffened for a second, surprised by the gesture.

Then he hugged her back, Tightly.

As if he was afraid she might disappear if he let go.

“You don’t have to explain,” she said softly.

Her voice was low, almost a whisper.

Jabco’s arms tightened around her instinctively, his chin resting against her hair. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to breathe, to believe that things were okay.

But inside Riyana’s mind, nothing was truly calm.

She wasn’t lying to him.

She really didn’t need an explanation.

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