His Ex Wife is A Billionaire (Evadne and Thaddeus)

Chapter 509

The air in the living room chilled as though a frost had settled upon it.

Aaron knew better than to intervene. It would only make things worse, like throwing fuel on a fire. So he slipped away quietly, unnoticed.

Lily, too, gently coaxed Marilla away, leaving space for the conversation between father and daughter.

Thaddeus felt his breath catch in his chest. He instinctively wanted to reach out his hands for Evadne’s, but his fingers curled back, halting the gesture.

-Evadne. I don’t want you to go.

Thaddeus was no coward; he loved fiercely and unapologetically, and he hated with a passion that was equally intense.

But he wasn’t just failing Evadne; he felt regret for Emeric as well.

Whether it was during the painful moments in their three–year marriage or the loss of their child, they were all his faults. He had wounded Emeric’s pride and joy, and for that, he was unforgivable.

Even if Emeric lashed out with a tirade of insults or threw another punch, Thaddeus would take it until the man’s anger was spent.

“Emeric, what’s are you thinking about?”

Evadne scoffed with a resolute gaze, “If I were ever swayed by your words, I wouldn’t have risked life and limb to leave that suffocating house. You might as well save yourself the trouble and worry less about me. I managed just fine on my own in foreign lands for all those years, without you turning over every stone to find me. But now, to ruin my happiness, you really are pulling out all the stops, aren’t you?”

Thaddeus stepped forward; worried as he studied Evadne’s determined profile.

“Evadne!”

Emeric’s face drained of color, and his breathing became unsteady with anger. “Look at you now! Do you even resemble the heiress of the Ashbourne family? You’re buying groceries at the supermarket! Have you been cooking yourself all this time? Have you not had enough of playing the unpaid housekeeper for the Abernathy family for three years? Is this the love, the life you wanted?!”

His rage grew with every word.

His beloved daughter, the child he cherished, was meant to be pampered, not to suffer like this!

Thaddeus didn’t act like a decent person!

“Emeric, this is the life I’ve always wanted: the simple life of ordinary people.”

Evadne fought back the torrent of emotions, her voice turned bitter, “I don’t see it as suffering because this is what I want. All I desire is a small home with my loved one, and the simple routine of daily life.”

Thaddeus’s lips paled as if touched by frost, his clenched hands a testament to his regret.

A simple routine of daily life, a narrative of love not captured in words.

That was what Evadne had always wanted, and only now was he able to give it to her.

“You’ve never experienced these things, and you never truly understood me. You don’t even know what my mother wanted. So, you have no right to judge my life, to obstruct my choices.”

Evadne’s words struck Emeric with a searing pain, blurring his vision as everything around him became hazy.

“And by the way, Thaddeus has been the one cooking, cleaning the house, and doing the laundry. I just accompany him to the store.”

Evadne’s warm hand enveloped his clenched fist, intertwining their fingers firmly, “My Thaddeus can do everything but give birth. Now, you can stop fretting over me unnecessarily.

Tonight, you can either stay and try his cooking, or you can leave. It’s up to you.”

While Aaron had excused himself from the confrontation, he hadn’t left the villa. Instead, he strolled leisurely.

Wandering into a corridor, he noticed the walls adorned with elegant copper–framed paintings: scenes of early summer, playful dogs, and most of all, portraits.

He paused before a life–sized portrait-

The man in the painting, clad in a black shirt with a tall and lean figure, broad shoulders, narrow waist, and eyes sparkling like jewels–That was Jareth.

Aaron’s eyes widened, admiring the artwork, his good manners restraining him from reaching out to touch.

“It’s remarkable, strikingly lifelike.”

“Really?”

Startled, Aaron spun around.

Marilla appeared behind him, her eyes shy and downcast, clutching a brown teddy bear tightly to her chest.

Her adorable expression was simply irresistible.

Aaron’s eyes deepened, and he smiled warmly, “Absolutely. Did you paint this?”

“Uh–huh,” Marilla nodded slightly.

“You must have put a lot of thoughts and efforts into it.”

“Uh–huh. But it’s okay. The most important thing is that Jareth likes it.”

At the mention of Jareth, Marilla’s eyes sparkled with joy and her cheeks blushed as she said, “Jareth is really nice to me. I have nothing to offer him, so I made him a painting. He doesn’t dislike it, and that makes me happy.”

Aaron felt a profound stir in his heart.

In his years as a police officer, immersed in a world of darkness and violence, he rarely encountered such innocent purity.

This young woman, like a beam of moonlight, unknowingly illuminated a corner of his somber heart.

“Officer Aaron?” Marilla, noticing his intense gaze, blinked in confusion.

Aaron snapped back to the present, his lips curving up, “I remember at Myra’s birthday party, you called Evadne ‘sister–in–law.‘ No need for formalities then. You can just call me Aaron from now on.”

“Aaron?” The young woman repeated obediently.

His eyes narrowing with intent, Aaron was about to speak when a cold voice interrupted.

“Mr. Ashbourne, Ms. Marilla is our young master’s lady. It seems rather inappropriate for you to be so close to her in private, doesn’t it?”

Lily approached with a dark look in her eyes, stepping protectively beside Marilla, displaying a fierce loyalty to Jareth.

Aaron remained calm with a light smile, “I fail to see where I’ve been inappropriate, to warrant such hostility from you. What, because she is with Jareth, she can’t even have a normal conversation without fear of retribution? Does speaking to a man spell death for him? Is he that paranoid, or just lacking confidence?”

“You!”

Lily’s anger flared, her eyes burning with fury at Aaron’s insinuation.

If it weren’t for the fact that this guy was Evadne’s brother, Lily would have given him a piece of her mind!

“Lily, wait.” Marilla shook her head and tugged at Lily’s sleeve.

Though she often came off as tongue–tied and a bit daft, Marilla understood the subtleties of social etiquette.

Officer Aaron was her sister–in–law’s brother, and that was the only reason he chatted with her more than necessary. She knew that causing a rift over something trivial would embarrass her sister–in–law, and that would be truly unfortunate.

Aaron’s gaze swept over Marilla’s anxious little face, and he smirked nonchalantly as he breezed past Lily. “If she’s meant to be his, no one can steal it. What’s the use of guarding her like a dog with a bone? You’re worrying for nothing. After all, we kids from the Emeric family are all well–bred.”

To everyone’s surprise-

After a heated argument with his daughter, Emeric, torn between leaving and staying for dinner, had chosen the latter.

In the previous moment, he was red–faced with anger, but in the next he was sitting down to a meal. Only a member of the Ashbourne family could pull off such a dramatic turnaround.

Poor Thaddeus was terrified.

Cooking in front of his ‘future father–in–law‘ was nerve–wracking. He’d never been this anxious before, feeling like his heart was lodged in his throat!

Emeric sat regally in the living room, the pressure he emanated on Thaddeus was akin to serving a meal to the Emperor himself.

“Evadne. I can only cook a few simple dishes, and not even well.”

Thaddeus stood stiffly in the kitchen, fretting. “What if your dad can’t stomach my cooking?”

Evadne couldn’t help but laugh out. She draped an apron over her man’s neck and tied it behind him. “Oh, come on, it’s not that bad. But I won’t lie–Dad’s taste buds have been spoiled by Myra’s cooking over the years, he’s become quite the food snob.”

Thaddeus swallowed hard, taking a deep breath.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right here to guide you. Just follow my lead, step by step, and you can’t go wrong.”

His eyes brimming with tender warmth, Thaddeus wrapped his arms around his petite commander, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“At your service, Commander.”