My Dad's Bestfriend

Chapter 144 It's Not Over

Evelyn

I clenched my teeth at the sound of his voice, not because I loathed it, but because of the unsettling effect it had on me, pulling every fiber of my being toward him. My hands balled into fists at my sides before I summoned the courage to turn and face him. A sharp intake of breath almost escaped me as our eyes met once more those piercing green eyes of his never failed to captivate me.

You have got this, Evelyn. You can do it.

"Well, Maybe I was leaving because I simply didn't want to look at your fucking face," I shot back, a hint of venom lacing my words. A faint smirk tugged at his lips, as though he doubted my sincerity. In truth, he probably did.

I so badly wished he couldn't read me so easily.

"I don't think you hate seeing my face," he said, setting the beer bottle down on the counter with a soft clink. The kitchen was far from silent-the wind outside whispered through the open window, tousling his already unruly hair and adding to his ethereal allure.

It was such a fucking cruel irony. He was breathtakingly beautiful. So enchanting and tempting. Yet, I couldn't allow myself to succumb to him again. He was a beautiful disaster-a force that had already shattered me once, and I couldn't afford to be broken again—it'd fucking ruin me.

"Well, you should, because your face disgusts me," I spat out the words, determined to wound him. As expected, hurt flashed in his eyes, the light dimming for a moment before he masked it with a laugh. He'd always been composed when he wanted to and those few times when he'd lost his composure, he lost it so bad that now we were standing here as nothing more than strangers with memories that hurt.

"For some reason I find that hard to believe," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Your words are hardly trustworthy now."

me," I retorted, venom dripping from every

on his face by my words, doubt still clouded his eyes. I was intimately familiar with the nuances of his expressions - not a flicker of belief in a single word I uttered. His features betrayed a suspicion that I

leaving a few feet of space that somehow failed to buffer the palpable warmth radiating from his body. It could have been a residual sensation, a haunting memory of the contours of his frame pressed against mine, or perhaps the lingering fragrance of his cologne, stirring recollections buried deep within me, but then again, it could all be real, belonging to this moment, "You can never hate me," he murmured, his breath a whisper against the tumult of my thoughts.

it difficult to draw a steady breath - a tangible presence, so it

down - shattered everything we once shared, in fact, you fucking crushed it under your foot." I declared, fighting to steady my voice, to prevent the tremor of vulnerability from betraying me. "So it doesn't fucking matter what you do from here on out. I've made my decision to expunge

brief silence hung between us, shattered by his decisive action as he closed the

Fuck.

me, a hunger for his touch, for his proximity, reigniting as if stoked by long-buried embers, until I could feel his

me have

every

know the gravity of my actions, the weight of my flaws, the consequences of my shortcomings, and yet you choose to love me still. Despite it all, you love me-that is what matters; I'll do

No, Evelyn.

You can't fall weak.

hands against his chest, momentarily tempted to check the beating of his heart but refraining, pushing him

away, but I was thankful that I did, or else I knew I would have ended up forgetting and forgiving everything, ultimately ending up kissing him. "Take my suggestion-give up," I said, making a move to

through the room,

chance of worming your way back into my life