The Divorce That Brought Us Back novel Chapter 108

Coddling her was useless; he needed to convince her.

When there was a communication breakdown, observing how she interacted with her friends was genuinely educational.

Maloney stepped closer, planting his hands on the counter on either side of her, leaning down until his forehead rested against her shoulder.

He murmured, "Nora, you know I grew up starved for affection."

Nora was stunned. "Huh?"

The conversational whiplash was like teleporting from an intense police interrogation room straight to a depressing, rundown orphanage.

"My parents didn't love me. When they first started out in business, they only took my brother with them and dumped me at my grandmother's house."

This was technically true.

But Maloney had actively chosen to stay with his grandmother.

His parents only cared about making money.

To save on startup costs, they had rented a tiny two-bedroom apartment. It was obvious they expected Maloney to share a room with his brother and act as a live-in babysitter for a noisy toddler.

Furthermore, Maloney had been obsessed with taking apart electronics since he was little. Back then, they were luxury items. His parents scolded him for slacking on his studies to mess with junk, but his grandmother supported his hobbies unconditionally.

So, the lack of affection was true, taking only the younger brother was true, and being dumped at his grandmother's was true.

Technically, no lies detected.

"To them, I was just a tool. When I was a kid, I was a free babysitter. When I grew up, I was a bargaining chip for a corporate marriage."

"The Sinclair family struck it rich early on. My parents constantly told me I hit the jackpot because Seraphina liked me, warning me not to be stupid and waste the opportunity."

"My feelings, my happiness, meant absolutely nothing. To suck up to the Sinclairs, they forced me to look after her. To bind our interests, they spread rumors everywhere that I was in love with her."

He lifted his head and placed a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth. "Do you have any other questions?"

Her legs hooked around his thighs, her ankles sliding up and down in a subconscious caress.

"No." She added softly, "Honestly, when you explained it to me before, I believed you then, too."

"I know," he murmured. "I just wanted to make sure everything was crystal clear."

As they held each other, pouring their hearts out, Nora felt a surge of profound guilt for acting so bratty all evening, especially after hearing this tragic new perspective.

She leaned in to kiss him, wanting to make it up to him.

Maloney never could resist her when she initiated.

Just as the tension reached a boiling point, he suddenly remembered something. He paused, grabbed a paper towel to dry his hands, pulled his phone from his pocket, and started the stopwatch app.