?<strong>Chapter 154:</strong>


    “Is it important?” Adrian asked, his voiceden with a sudden sense of guilt. Theplexity of his rtionship with Joelle weighed heavily on him, a tangled web he often wished to avoid confronting. Yet Joelle’s response was firm.


    “It is important. Adrian, you cannot divide your loyalties between two women. During our marriage, your attention should have been undivided. Now that you’ve chosen Reba, please avoid actions that could lead me to think otherwise. The best way to assuage your guilt is to simply leave me be.”


    Adrian abruptly hit the brakes. “Joelle, if not for that ident, we wouldn’t be at this point.” He was alluding to the usation that Joelle had once drugged him—an allegation she vehemently denied but he couldn’t quite dismiss.


    “For thest time, I did not drug you,” Joelle reiterated, her patience wearing thin. Adrian’s gaze was piercing as he countered, “At that time, Watson Group was struggling. You and Shawn needed a strong ally, didn’t you?”


    Joelle was taken aback. So, he believed she had drugged him as a desperate ploy to secure his support through marriage. To him, her love had never been genuine, just a strategic move born from necessity. She understood his perspective, absurd as it seemed.


    “Have you ever considered that even without our marriage, you were always our ally? Three years ago, I thought our rtionship was as close as that between me and my brother. If we were truly in dire straits, I believe you would have helped. But my brother and I were too proud to ever ask.”


    Adrian gripped the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles whitening. “Shut up. Joelle, when I woke up, it was you I saw. How do you exin that?”


    “I can’t exin it clearly,” Joelle confessed, her voice steady despite the chaos. “I, too, had too much to drink that night. If you’re convinced I drugged you, then let that be your truth. We’re divorced now, Adrian. I’ve truly moved on.”


    After her deration, Joelle turned and exited the car, her resolve clear. Adrian instinctively reached out, his fingers brushing through her hair, fleeting like sand slipping through his grasp. Joelle had only taken a few steps when Adrian, fueled by anger, caught up and grasped her shoulder firmly. “What do you mean by moving on?” Adrian’s voice wasced with bitterness. “You approached me first! You can’t end things unless I’m ready to let you go!”


    Joelle jerked her arm in resistance. “Adrian, let go of me.”


    “Do you still want to y hard-to-get?” Adrian retorted, tightening his grip on her wrist, attempting to lead her back to the car despite the danger of the roadside. With the safety of her unborn child in mind, Joelle resisted minimally, but her protests grew louder as they neared his car.


    “Let me go! Adrian, are you insane?”


    In that critical moment, another hand intercepted hers, pulling her into a secure embrace tinged with the scent of disinfectant.


    “Rafael?” Joelle looked up in surprise.


    Rafael met Adrian’s re calmly. “Adrian, you’re divorced now. There’s no need for this, right?”


    Adrian’s frustration peaked as he grabbed Rafael’s cor. “Stay out of this. I’ve tolerated you for far too long, understand?”


    Rafael, unmoved, pushed him back slightly and responded coolly, “Have you really been good to Joelle? What right do you think you have?”


    “I am more qualified than you!” Adrian seethed, then turned to Joelle. “Come here.”


    Joelle, intimidated by Adrian’s intense gaze, felt a wave of fear, but Rafael’s protective hold provided her with reassurance. “Adrian, we’re divorced. It’s time we went our separate ways,” she asserted.


    Through gritted teeth, Adrian managed a forced smile. “What if I don’t agree?”


    Joelle was taken aback by his refusal to ept the situation, revealing just how deeply Adrian was struggling with their separation. He had never fully epted their marriage, which began without his consent and ended without his control.


    She inhaled sharply, her resolve firm. “I acknowledge my mistakes in our marriage. It was wrong of me to stay knowing you harbored no feelings for me. I owe you. If a child isn’t enough to settle that debt, should I kneel?” Breaking free from Rafael’s protective grasp, Joelle pleaded, “Adrian, can you please just let me go?”


    “Joelle!” Rafael eximed, his frown deepening as he reached out to stop her from kneeling.


    Adrian scoffed at the intervention. “Why stop her? She admitted she owes me.”


    Rafael’s hands balled into fists, his usualposure slipping as he struggled to contain his anger. Ovee by emotion, he threw a punch at Adrian.


    Adrian reeled from the impact but quickly recovered, retaliating instantly. The two men were soon locked in a physical altercation right there on the street.


    “Stop!” Joelle cried out, stepping in front of Rafael as Adrian’s fist flew towards him. She shut her eyes, bracing for impact, yet she stood firm, refusing to move away.


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