When She Ended It With Divorce (Chiara and Titus) novel Chapter 187

Chapter 187 Are You Doing This Intentionally?

Chapter 187 Are You Doing This Intentionally?

Chiara thought, ‘Who gets stingy over a meal anyway?

‘It’s not like it’ll break the bank, but why does Titus have to show up for dinner at my place every single night?’

Just as Chiara’s irritation was building up, Titus said quietly, “Because I want to have dinner with my son. I want to see him every day. Is that too much to ask?”

His calm question completely deflated Chiara’s anger.

‘Is he asking too much?’ Chiara wondered to herself.

If she were in his shoes, she’d also want to have dinner with Charlie every night and see him every single day.

She’d want to be with Ryan every day, just like Titus did.

For parents, that was not asking for much at all. It was just natural.

Seeing her hesitation, Titus added, “I’m not going to fight you for custody, but I want to co-parent Ryan. You can’t refuse this request. I know you don’t want him to stay at my place, so I’ll come here instead. That’s not unreasonable, right?”

At that, Ana shot Titus a look, then glanced over at Chiara.

Chiara looked torn. Titus was right. He wasn’t asking for much. Even if one parent got custody after a divorce, both were still supposed to raise their kid together.

And Titus knew she didn’t actually want Ryan to live with him.

“I didn’t say anything about your decision back then. I got it. But you hid Charlie from me, and I missed out on the most precious years of his life. Chiara, don’t you think that’s a bit unfair to me?” Titus said.

Chiara’s brows knitted, feeling as if he was making her out to be the one who’d wronged him.

“Do you think I’ve wronged you?” Chiara asked.

Titus’s gaze was intense, fixed on her cold face.

“No, I’m the one who wronged you,” Titus said.

Chiara’s expression didn’t soften at his admission. She just kept looking at him, completely unmoved.

“But we can’t let Ryan down. You know better than anyone what kind of family you grew up in. Don’t you want Ryan to have that, too?” Titus said.

What he said left Chiara with no way to argue back. Noticing that, Ana spoke up/softly, “Come on, Chiara, just say yes. It’s only dinner.”

It’s not just about a meal. It’s way more complicated than that, thought Chiara.

Chiara could vaguely sense what Titus was really up to, but she had no way to refute him.

After a long pause, Chiara said, “You can come over every night, but there are a few things I need to make clear.”

“Let me guess, you’re about to tell me there’s zero chance for us, and warn me not to even think about making a move or having any wishful thoughts, right?” Titus said, half-joking.

Ana cleared her throat awkwardly.

Chiara just stared at him, speechless.

Chiara was thrown off by how blunt he was. If she actually agreed, wouldn’t that make her look like she was full of herself? “You’re only Ryan’s father,” Chiara said, her voice flat.

No one missed what she was getting at.

Titus raised an eyebrow. “You’ve made that clear more than once. I haven’t forgotten.”

Chiara gave him a cool, distant look, and Titus met her gaze, just as composed.

After a few seconds of their silent staredown, Chiara was the first to look away.

“Mrs. Walker, could you make some of my favorites tonight?” Titus said.

Ana glanced at Chiara, who looked stressed, sighed, and agreed. “Alright.”

Hearing the footsteps fade away behind her, Chiara stopped what she was doing.

She bit her lip, feeling a little stifled.

“Chiara, are you alright?” Ana asked.

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Chapter 187 Are You Doing This Intentionally?

Chiara bit her lip, feeling a pang of regret. “Maybe I should’ve turned him down.”

Ana cleared her throat and reassured her, “I get how Titus feels. He didn’t try to take Ryan away. He chose to come here instead. Isn’t that him being considerate?”

But Chiara wasn’t buying it at all.

“Do you really think so?” Chiara asked.

Ana nodded with a smile, but she was playing along. She didn’t actually believe it.

‘Seriously, it’s clear he’s got an ulterior motive, Ana thought.

“Relax, he’s just here for dinner, not to spend the night,” Ana said.

Chiara shot Ana a look, her brows knitting together. “Mrs. Walker.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop joking,” Ana said.

Feeling suffocated, Chiara grabbed the wooden mallet and started pounding the beef as if it were her mortal enemy.

All that banging coming from the kitchen caught Charlie’s attention.

“What’s all that banging about in there?” Charlie asked.

Titus shot a look at the kitchen, smirking. “She’s probably just letting off some steam.”

“Letting off steam?” Charlie repeated, puzzled.

Half an hour later, they finally sat down to eat.

Heather didn’t come home, but she did call and talk to Debby and Adele for a while before hanging up.

When Chiara came out of the kitchen, she saw Ryan sitting in Titus’s lap again. She didn’t say anything, just put Ryan’s little cartoon plate in front of Titus.

“It’s a bit hot. Blow on it to cool it down before feeding him. Don’t let him get burned,” Chiara said.

Titus glanced up at her. “Got it.”

Ryan’s face broke into a smile when he saw his plate.

“Thanks, Mom!” Ryan said.

Chiara smiled and ruffled his hair. “Here you go, your favorite beef patty.”

The beef patty had been cut into bite-sized pieces, but it was still a little hot.

Titus picked up a piece, blew on it, then held it to his lips to check the temperature before feeding it to Ryan.

Watching Titus handle it like a pro, Charlie leaned over and whispered, “Did he secretly practice at home or something?”

Adele shot him a frosty look and said, “Your son’s way better than you in this regard.”

Charlie was silent.

Charlie rubbed his nose and coughed, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

All he could think about back then was her.

“Why don’t you ever mention how your son acts so distant?” Charlie said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Oh, really?” Adele shot back, her tone laced with mockery.

Charlie couldn’t help sneaking another look across the table. Titus was carefully wiping Ryan’s mouth. The whole scene looked almost too sweet to be real.

“Well, he’s just putting on a show,” Charlie muttered under his breath.

Adele didn’t even bother responding this time. She just rolled her eyes and tuned him out.

After dinner, the group started getting ready to head out.

Ryan looked at Titus, reluctant to see him leave.

Titus took his little hand and gave it a gentle kiss. “I’ll be back tomorrow, and I’ll bring you a present. Sound good?”

Ryan’s face lit up at that, and he nodded eagerly.

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