The Villainess Needs a Hug (Ivy Windsor) novel Chapter 979

Naylor's eyes couldn't even focus on the guy in front of him. He reached out, grabbed his friend by the collar, and violently yanked him down, locking a grip around the back of his neck. "Who the hell gave you the right to break up with me? Do you have any conscience at all? You're the one who chased me! You don't just get to quit when you're bored! You haven't paid enough 'interest' on the loan! Do you hear me? Not nearly enough!"

His friend froze, absolutely petrified, completely at a loss for what to do.

But as Naylor's drunken rant registered, the friend couldn't help but laugh. "Boss, you got dumped! No wonder you were drinking like a man on death row tonight."

He grinned. "Wait, she actually dumped you? That's a first. Aren't you usually the one walking away while they cry their eyes out begging you to stay? Karma finally caught up with you, huh?"

Highly amused, the friend immediately dropped the explosive gossip into their group chat.

By the time Naylor woke up the next morning, a splitting hangover pounding behind his eyes, the news of his spectacular dumping had already swept through their entire social circle.

His phone had been ringing off the hook since sunrise.

Groaning in pain, he finally managed to pry his eyes open. He grabbed his phone, didn't even bother checking the caller ID, and brought it to his ear. "Yeah..."

"Did you and Katrina really break up?" Jamison cut straight to the chase.

Naylor pulled the phone away, squinted at the screen to confirm it was his friend, and slurred defensively. "How did you know? Did she go crying to your wife? Good! Do me a favor and ask her what the hell I did wrong to make her end things out of nowhere!"

Jamison had only called to verify the rumor. Since Naylor confirmed it, he had nothing else to say and simply hung up.

Naylor stared at the disconnected call, cursed under his breath, tossed the phone onto the mattress, and buried his face back in the pillow.

But his brain was awake now, obsessively replaying the brutal reality of Katrina dumping him.

The more he thought about it, the more his chest burned with a toxic mix of agony and sheer spite.

Why? Why the hell did she do it?!

Deep down, she was praying he was calling to relentlessly hound her, to refuse the breakup—maybe even, in a moment of absolute insanity, demand they get married.

It was a delusional fantasy, but love makes people cling to the most impossible scenarios.

The phone rang several times before she finally answered. "Hello..."

"What the hell is your problem, Katrina?" Naylor roared, completely abandoning any filter. "In such a hurry to clear out my stuff? What, are you frantically making room for the next guy?"

Katrina flinched. Her ears rang as if he had literally slapped her across the face.

Before she could even defend herself, he was screaming again. "Keep dreaming! You don't get to just declare it's over! You think you hold all the cards? I refuse!"

A sharp, startling jolt of joy spiked through Katrina's chest. Hot tears instantly flooded her eyes.