You're Just My Ex-Husband,My Lord-Chapter 171- what ifs

On the way back to the Villas from the airport, there was complete silence between them.

Once home, Laurent headed to her bedroom to pack her things. Dave followed her in and snatched the clothes from her hands.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Of course, I’m leaving," he replied.

Laurent lifted her gaze to meet his, calmly speaking:

"Since I’ve helped you with your task, I hope you will keep your promise and stop bothering me from now on."

During the drive back, Laurent had taken the time to calm down and think things through. No matter what, she had no intention of accepting him back. Her new life hadn’t even fully started yet, and she couldn’t let herself be pulled back into his world after what happened last night.

If she stayed, she would lose herself even more.

Dave was momentarily speechless, feeling her words hit hard. Yes, he hadn’t forgotten his promise to her—that once she helped him with the Browns, he wouldn’t bother her anymore.

But that promise was only a temporary measure back then. Now that she was seriously insisting on it, he had no choice but to throw a tantrum. He moved forward, pulling her into his arms, burying his face into the crook of her neck.

"No, you’re not leaving!" he said, his voice muffled against her skin.

The memories of last night made Laurent instinctively recoil from his touch. She didn’t want to repeat that mistake again, so she pushed him away forcefully.

"I still have work tomorrow, and a whole pile of things to do. Please, don’t make this harder for me."

Laurent spoke as she continued to pack her things. Dave, feeling somewhat defeated, threw himself onto her bed. He let her do the packing while he quietly tried to ease the feeling of reluctance in his heart.

She had her job now, and she was such a serious person. It was unrealistic for him to ask her to stay at Burg Eltz. Staying by his side was out of the question. If in the past she could have disregarded everything for him, now, he was probably at the very bottom of her priorities.

He was sure that, in her heart, he didn’t even rank higher than her job.

He had been too impatient, thinking that after last night they could just pick up where they left off, without considering the current reality. She was no longer the Laurent who used to revolve around him. She had her own job and life now.

He should respect that.

Once Laurent finished packing, she grabbed her suitcase and headed out. The man who had been lying on the bed without moving suddenly stood up and walked over to take the suitcase from her. She looked at him suspiciously.

"What are you doing?"

Dave sighed in resignation.

"I’m taking you back."

Laurent didn’t believe for a second that he was being so kind. Dave sighed again.

"As long as it makes you happy, I’ll respect whatever you want to do."

With that, he picked up her suitcase and left. Laurent stood still for a moment before following him.

As long as it made her happy?

Would he really respect whatever she wanted to do?

She felt that this didn’t sound like something he would say, yet it was the very thing he had said to her, right there beside her.

Dave had initially planned to take Laurent home, but Laurent insisted that he only take her to the bus station and that she would take the bus back on her own. The reason she insisted was because she feared that if Dave took her home and her father saw them together, it might spark another violent incident.

She had told her parents she was going on a business trip, and they didn’t know that she had actually been with Dave these past few days, or that she had ended up once again caught in this entangled mess with him. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Thinking about her parents made her feel like she had completely failed them. They had hoped for her to start a new life, but she almost dragged herself back into the same old predicament.

Sigh.

Sitting on the bus home, she couldn’t help but sigh over and over again as she thought about last night.

At least it was all over now. Back in her own world, her focus would be only on working hard—nothing else.

After getting off the bus, she didn’t forget to stop by the pharmacy to buy emergency contraception. Last night had been so intense and chaotic, she couldn’t even remember if he had taken precautions. Maybe he had at first, but after that, she didn’t remember.

In the past, she hadn’t understood and ended up pregnant, marrying him. Now, thinking back, if she had been more aware of contraception, if that child hadn’t been there, they might never have ended up married, and there would have been no divorce either.

Perhaps, after that night, if they hadn’t ended up together, they would each be with their life partners now. He would have his happiness, and she would have her own sweetness, and they would be strangers to each other.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t have so many "what-ifs." There’s no room for all the "perhaps" we wish for.

Everything is as it is now, so the only thing she can do is to avoid the same thing that happened five years ago from happening again.

She focused on the present, determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Her life had changed in ways she hadn’t expected, but she couldn’t let herself fall into the same patterns again. She needed to stay strong, to prioritize her own happiness and well-being. The ghosts of her past, especially Dave, would always be there, but she had learned how to move forward without them. Laurent knew that it was time to rebuild, to regain control of her own life, and to make sure she never let herself lose sight of what truly mattered—her own future.