I didn''t struggle when Pete was holding me.


    My mind reyed everything that had happened over the past two years. From the moment Yasmine asked him toe back to get me, he had been taking risks. At the time, he and Annie were going through a rough patch.


    Deena was studying abroad, living in a tiny apartment near herb. After I moved in with her, Pete helped us find a bigger, morefortable ce. Although I paid for it, finding a suitable ce would''ve been much harder without his help. Every time I went for a check-up, Pete would also show up uninvited. He was worried I would be scared on my own. Even the doctor only realized he wasn''t my husband when I needed a signature for delivery.


    In the end, I had always taken advantage of our childhood bond to rely on him. I had been taking his help for granted, so it was understandable that he got upset.


    "I''m sorry," I apologized sincerely.


    Pete closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to suppress the emotions he couldn''t hide. "I don''t need your apology. Just promise me that you won''t see Nichs anymore, okay?"


    I pondered for a second before gently shaking my head. There were still things I needed to deal with. "After this is over..."


    It was like Pete''s strength drained from him. His arms, which had been holding me tightly, suddenly dropped to his sides. He copsed as if the life had been knocked out of him. He couldn''t even stand upright.


    I quickly reached out to support him, but he pushed me away with enough force to send me stumbling back. He looked at me with a wry smile and kept retreating.


    "Ari, I know you can''t force feelings. Don''t make this harder for yourself." He was smiling, but it was more heartbreaking than tears. "But... I just need time. Give me some time to process this..."


    Seeing he was hurt like this because of me, I questioned myself whether I should ask him to stay.


    In my mind, Pete had always been a carefree rich kid. Every time he was forced to grow up, it was because of me. Without me, he and Nichs would still be best friends, and their families wouldn''t have be


    enemies.


    I wanted to say something tofort him, but as he kept stepping back, my mind went nk. My thoughts were like muffled drum beats, pounding but never producing a clear sound-just a low, dull thud. My headache grew worse. I stared nkly out the window for an hour, unable to think of anything.


    After showering, I felt like the grime clinging to me had finally been washed away, and I remembered I had important matters to handle.This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    I called Dous, instructing him to list down the shareholders who signed the agreement with Nichs years ago. I wanted him to find the exact contract. I needed to know every detail of those uses


    AQUAS


    I had to resolve this, to reim the leverage Nichs held over me. I wanted to make sure he could never threaten me again. Dous sounded hesitant. "It''s been over three years now. It won''t be easy to track down. But there''s one person who knows everything."


    "Who would know?" I asked.


    "Ms. Gardner, Nichs''s secretary. Ms. Jones, have you spoken to her? Did she mention why she wanted to talk to you?"


    I paused for a moment before replying, "I''ll call her now."


    When I reached Beth, her voice was shaky, as if she were on the verge of tears.


    "Mrs. Hawk, can you reach Mr. Hawk? I''ve tried calling him so many times, but he''s not responding. He''s not the type to ignore messages. You know his condition. I''m really worried something has happened to him!"