The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 444

"No!" Aaron gasped, panic seizing him.

If Nora actually pursued a lawsuit, he would be dragged into a massive legal battle.

Even if it were somehow settled quietly, it would permanently scar his professional record.

Forget becoming the hospital director—he wouldn't even know if he could keep his medical license.

Nora stared at him with pure contempt.

Now he finally knew how to be afraid. Yet she didn't feel a shred of vindication.

Her disgust for him only deepened.

Every time she remembered she had wasted seven years on a man like this, she wanted to drag her past self to an eye doctor.

"You don't get a say in this. I make the calls."

Nora leveled a chilling glare at him.

"If you have half a brain, you'll stay as far away from me as possible instead of constantly harassing me."

Aaron heard the very real threat lacing her words.

He looked at her with utter despair, his eyes heavy with exhaustion and grief. "Nora, did it really have to come to this?"

She nodded without a second of hesitation.

"The only reason I haven't come after you yet is because I've been too busy."

"But if you insist on making my life miserable, I'd be more than happy to drag you into a courtroom."

Aaron took an involuntary step back.

In that moment, it became violently clear to him that the Nora standing in front of him had completely changed.

In the past, she had been gentle and considerate—aloof on the outside, but incredibly tender on the inside.

Now, the ice surrounding her was melting.

But it was melting for someone else.

She was beginning to open up, to expose her soft heart to the world again.

And she was actively shutting him and the rest of the Hayes family out of it.

He knew Nora was a woman of her word.

But at the time, he had justified it by telling himself that Nora didn't care about material things anyway. He had comfortably settled into his own lies, living in a delusion of his own making.

"I'm sorry."

For the first time, Aaron truly realized the gravity of his mistakes.

And he finally understood that he would never, ever win her back.

He looked as if he had been physically beaten, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

Nora didn't spare him another glance. She turned, walking back to Nathan's side, and gently slipped her hand into his. "Let's go."

Nathan squeezed her fingers, offering a curt nod without saying a word.

The two walked into the precinct building together.

Aaron stood there until they vanished from sight, then turned and trudged back to his car, completely hollowed out.

His cell phone began to ring. He originally wanted to ignore it, but the caller was relentless, buzzing as if they refused to stop until he answered.

Defeated, he picked up the phone.

"Aaron, where the hell are you? Didn't I tell you to come help me try on dresses today? If you make me late for the Peyton family heir's wedding, I'll make you pay!"