You're Just My Ex-Husband,My Lord-Chapter 108- strategy

Although her father said such things, Laurent later overheard him on the phone. She guessed he was talking to Daniel, as they had been old friends for a long time. Given the situation, it was only natural for him to call and check on Daniel.

Alex had been furious with Dave, but after hearing about Daniel’s divorce from Tiffany, he couldn’t bring himself to mention Dave when he called Daniel. Instead, he only asked about Daniel’s well-being.

After offering some comforting words, "Take care and cherish what you have," Alex ended the call.

Once her daughter finished breakfast, she hurriedly took out a small gift from her bag that she had prepared for Laurent—a yellow starfish with a tiny wind chime hanging beneath it, which tinkled softly when shaken.

Laurent adored it, holding it in her hands and not wanting to put it down.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I’ll hang it by the window later so I can see it every day," she said.

"Mm-hmm."

The little girl nodded and then added, "Dad helped me make this wind chime."

As the little girl spoke, she pointed to the place where the string was tied on the wind chime in Laurent’s hand.

"I can never tie this string properly. Dad helped me fix it," she said.

Laurent froze completely. She had been about to hang the wind chime in her bedroom, but upon hearing that Dave had also been involved in making it, she was suddenly stuck. She didn’t know whether to hang it or not.

The little girl, however, came over and took her hand, cheerfully saying, "Mom, let’s hang it up together."

Reluctantly, Laurent allowed herself to be led to her bedroom by the little girl and hung the wind chime by the window.

Afterward, the little girl wanted Laurent to hold her, and she raised her little hand to gently brush the wind chime. The clear, melodious sound filled the room. The little girl laughed joyfully, her laughter as crisp and delightful as the chime.

But in Laurent’s heart, there was no joy.

When the wind blew and the chime rang, she would remember that her daughter made it for her, but she would also remember that Dave had helped. Could her mood possibly be pleasant?

The little girl was lost in the beauty of the chime and didn’t notice the inner conflict Laurent was feeling.

As she played happily, the little girl suddenly said, "Oh, by the way, Mom, Dad also got you a gift."

Laurent didn’t want to discuss this topic, but the little girl was enthusiastically describing it to her.

"Dad showed me the gift. It’s a bracelet, very pretty, and it has a knot on it!"

From what her daughter said, Laurent immediately knew what the so-called gift looked like.

A few days ago, Marylin had posted a picture on her social media of a bracelet called the "lover’s knot."

Because of its meaning, after Marylin posted it, the rest of them asked her if she had found a boyfriend.

Marylin, with her usual confidence, said she had no man, that it was a bracelet she had bought for herself.

Marylin was a high-level professional—she had looks, a great body, a solid education, and a good job. As she often said, she didn’t need a man.

Materially, she could afford anything she wanted, so she didn’t need to depend on any man for that.

Mentally, she said if her partner wasn’t someone she admired and loved, she would rather stay single. She didn’t want to settle for less.

Marylin was the same age as Laurent, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and at the age where marriage was often expected. Her family, along with colleagues and friends, had begun to push her, but she wasn’t in a hurry.

Unhurriedly, when they pressured her too much, she would quote Three Liao’s words: "Things that are pursued too intentionally are often the ones that can’t be found. Everything in life has its time for coming and going."

Men were no exception.

Of course, there were times when Marylin felt frustrated. One time, she confided in them, and Vivian comforted her, saying, "Don’t worry, your Prince Charming is probably on his way to find you."

Marylin had laughed self-deprecatingly, saying that her Prince Charming wasn’t on his way—he was probably half-blind if he hadn’t found her by now.

Laurent greatly admired Marylin’s attitude toward life: graceful and unhurried.

Now, when she looked back on her past life, she realized how much she had lived without a sense of self.

She had once prioritized love above all else, once only wanted to love one person and grow old with them. But now she realized that in this world, there were many other beautiful things besides love that were worth pursuing.

So, when her daughter told her about the gift Dave had prepared for her, she didn’t give it much thought and wasn’t particularly moved.

Her heart had already moved beyond these matters of love and affection. She had begun to see a broader world outside of love—like striving in her career.

On Sunday, when the little girl was heading back to Burg Eltz, Laurent had thought that, given how things had gone between them recently, Dave wouldn’t come to pick her up. She had planned to take her herself, but he still showed up.

When it came time to send her daughter off, Laurent only escorted her to the door and didn’t walk her to the car. Her mother took the girl to the car instead.

She figured, since every meeting with him ended in discomfort, it would be better not to see him at all.

Since the day they left the hotel room, with her daughter in tow, he hadn’t contacted her again, except for one call before picking up their daughter, telling her he was on his way and asking her to prepare the girl for his arrival.

Aside from that, he hadn’t said much else.

On the way back to Burg Eltz, Dave was driving while casually asking their daughter, "How’s your mom been feeling these past few days?"

The little girl thought for a moment before answering, "She’s been fine."

Dave asked again, "So... has she mentioned anything about your dad?"

The little girl gave him a very definite answer, "Nope."

Dave was instantly silent.

In truth, the reason he hadn’t called or reached out these past few days was intentional.

He thought this might be a strategy of sorts. It was clear that he had angered her that day, though he didn’t know exactly why.

So, he figured it was better not to provoke her for now, giving her time to calm down. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still paying attention to every little thing she did.

However, hearing from their daughter that she had never mentioned him at all made him feel a bit disappointed.

Just as he was silently brooding over it, he heard the little girl yawn loudly in the backseat, clearly getting sleepy.

But she still made an effort to stay awake, turning to him and saying, "Dad, I’m going to tell you a secret."

Dave immediately perked up, eager to listen, and the little girl continued, "That day, I heard Mommy telling Grandma and Grandpa that she was so tired. Otherwise, she would’ve just gone abroad."