Billionaire's Pregnant Ex-wife

Chapter 82

Tearing my gaze away from him, I shifted my focus to Dylan's grave and knelt on the ground to clear the dry leaves scattered in front of his tombstone. While doing so, my mind prayed nonstop for my ex-husband to leave immediately. Just knowing he was standing only a few meters away from me was enough to fill me with unease and discomfort. Unless he left, I would never feel inner peace.

Heaving a sigh, I forced myself to forget he was here, but it proved to be useless. Just like the lyrics of my favorite song go, "Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met.” I finally stopped trying. Instead, my eyes traced the name written on the tombstone. As it always did whenever I saw the name deeply carved into it, a heavy weight fell on my chest.

It had been years since Dylan died, and yet I still wished he was here with me. I missed him so much that it hurt like hell to think I'll never hold him in my arms again.

The sound of thunder shattered the silence inside the cemetery. My sentiments were cut short, and I looked up to discover the bright sun had retreated to its hiding place, breaking its promise of a beautiful day ahead. Heavy clouds were slowly making their way to the horizon, tainting the pristine blue sky with gloomy gray.

It's going to rain soon, I thought to myself, feeling an even deeper sense of melancholy, and yet I made no move to walk away and escape the rain before it fell. It felt like my strength was temporarily sucked away from my body.

“You're here…” a voice behind me whispered. The sound of his voice made the hairs on my nape stand on end. I didn't have to look back to see who was behind me.

He must have walked to me like a ghost because I didn't even hear any hint of footsteps. I should have known and warned myself of his approach. However, it was too late because he was already here.

Summoning the strength I could muster, I turned to him. “And so are you…” I replied, looking him straight in the eye. There was no warmth in his hazel-green eyes as he stared back at me—only a chilling civility that sent shivers down my spine.

An awkward silence fell between us. The only noise we could hear was the distant sound of thunder and the whistle of the wind, signaling the rain was about to pour. But despite that, neither of us tried to move. We just fought our gaze, not wanting to give in to the other.

It was Grey who broke the silence first. “It took me a great amount of strength not to confront you last night.” He began. His jaw tightened a bit as he spoke. “But now that you are here, I can't keep the question any longer. Why did you fake your death, Lily?” he growled, his voice tight with suppressed rage.

An exclamation of shock escaped my lips. He did think I faked my death after all. I thought to myself in dismay. He thinks so low of me. But the dismay I felt disappeared in an instant. Quickly, hate and anger took over.

I clenched my fists into tight balls at my sides and shot back with equal ferocity. “Do you have any proof I faked it?”

“Do I have to show you proof?” he replied casually, as though we were not talking about some grave accusations. “You could have just told me to my face that you didn't want me in your life. I could have walked away from you on my own accord without you going to such extremes as fooling everyone who'd been so close to you with a fake death. You didn't even consider how they would feel,” he added with a sharp glare that could have sliced my body in two.

My face twisted into an ugly mask of rage. “Stop accusing me of faking my death, Grey. You have no idea what I went through before I became who I am now!” I shot at him, my voice rising several octaves. He must have been startled by my unexpected outburst, as he was momentarily speechless.

“Tell me what happened so I will understand, Lily,” he hissed.

“No…” I told him. “You already judged me! There's no use explaining it now.”

Seething with rage, I walked past him, but before I could move further, he caught me by the arm.

“Are you going to run away again, Lily?” he taunted. “I told myself last night that I would pretend you didn't exist in my life anymore, but here I am, swallowing my pride and talking to you, asking what really happened that day.”

I whirled around to face him in fury and caught his gaze. Grabbing my arm with force, he let me go.

“Why do I need to explain anything to you when you didn't even believe what I said, Grey? You never lent me your ears before! You listened to what others said instead of listening to me! You believed them instead of believing my side of the story!” The pain was too much for me, and the emotions pent up inside me for years burst open and erupted like a volcano.

“That's not true,” he argued.

A hysterical laugh broke from my mouth. “It is the truth,” I blurted aloud, my chest heaving with the intensity of my emotions. “If you believed me, you shouldn't have let people around you poison your mind before—”

“Just like how they poisoned yours?” His loud voice was drowned by the sound of deafening thunder, but I still heard him clearly. “I admit my mistakes, Lily. I know that it's my fault we drifted away because we lacked the very foundation of a relationship—it's trust. However, it wasn't all my fault. You've failed to trust me too. It's both our mistakes why we drifted far away from each other. Why don't you just admit that you've been at fault too?”

I was unable to respond because there was truth in his words. We were both at fault. However, realizing our mistakes would not bring us together again.

He was married and expecting a child soon.

I, on the other hand, had my daughter, and I had my whole family behind me, so I wasn't lacking in anything now.

He had his own life now, and so did I. What's best for us is to forget each other… even if it hurts.

I didn't need him in my life.

Swallowing hard, I finally spoke. “It's all too late now, Grey. We can't fix what's already broken. We must look forward, move on, and stop dealing with the past.”

Grey sucked in a deep breath and whispered, “I know…” He spoke painfully, with resignation in his voice. He lapsed into a long silence before he continued. “But I want you to answer the question I've been asking, Lily.” At this point, he was a bit calmer now.

“What happened to you that day?” he asked.

I looked him straight in the eye and replied in a surprisingly calm voice, “Ask your wife, Natalia. She will have the answer to all your questions.” Without another word, I walked away, my chin held high.

If he didn't believe me, it was no longer my fault.