You're Just My Ex-Husband,My Lord-Chapter 189- sympathy

When the man saw her turn around and walk over, he forced a smile, barely lifting the corners of his lips. Then he raised his hand to rub his leg, as if explaining to her.

"My leg’s gone numb..."

Laurent, irritated, turned on her heel and walked away. So that painful expression was just because his leg had gone numb? She had thought he was suffering from some terminal illness.

What she didn’t see was the fleeting light of joy in Dave’s eyes when she turned around. It was as if her walking over to check on him meant she might turn back and stay by his side.

Dave truly believed that. If she still cared about him, he still had a chance.

No! Even if she didn’t care about him anymore, he would still find a way to get back into her heart!

After Laurent turned to leave, Dave’s discontented voice came from behind.

"Hey, numb legs really don’t feel good, okay?"

Dave’s legs were truly numb. Everyone must have experienced that feeling of numbness in their legs at some point. Although the tingling pain usually goes away after a while, once the blood starts flowing again, it’s a terrible sensation to endure.

Laurent stopped, annoyed, and turned back to glare at him, saying,

"It’s uncomfortable, but it’s not like you’re dying or anything, okay? You’re a grown man, do you really need to exaggerate it like that?"

That frown and painful expression he had just made...

Laurent didn’t even want to comment on how exaggerated it was. But really, how long had he been standing there for his legs to go numb?

And besides, on a cold day like this, wouldn’t he have been better off sitting in his car and waiting?

He... He had only put himself in this state to gain her sympathy!

Thinking about this, Laurent felt no sympathy at all. She turned around, opened the car door, and got into the vehicle. Starting the engine, she drove off, signaling to the person behind her to hurry up and leave.

That person, indeed, left quickly. He stepped back a few paces to clear the way for her to reverse. Once she backed the car out, she sped off without even saying goodbye.

On the drive back, the more Laurent thought about it, the angrier she became. A perfectly good evening had been ruined because of his sudden appearance, leaving her feeling upset and unsettled.

The truth was, he hadn’t done anything—he didn’t say any of his usual dramatic lines like "I want to pursue you again" or "I can’t live without you." He had just babbled in a sickly way.

But it was that rambling nonsense that had subtly conveyed all his feelings. What made Laurent angry was this: his cunning.

Sometimes, it wasn’t the direct, passionate words that stirred someone’s emotions. Instead, it was the subtle, ambiguous, and carefully concealed actions that truly disrupted a person’s heart.

Clearly, Dave was very good at this.

He played this psychological game beautifully, successfully making Laurent think about him the whole way home.

She thought about the things he said, about how he claimed the girl resembled her in personality, and how he mentioned that getting involved with her would ease his guilt over their past.

The more unhealthy it seemed, the deeper his feelings appeared.

For some reason, that line crossed her mind: *The more sickly, the deeper the love.*

As soon as Laurent arrived home, her daughter’s call came through on Tiffany’s phone. The little girl’s bright voice came from the other end.

"Mom, have you gotten home?"

"Mm, just got home."

Laurent instinctively answered her daughter, but then she realized something was off.

"How did you know I was out?"

The little girl couldn’t possibly know where she had been. Laurent had gone to Burg Eltz today. She hadn’t told her daughter because it was just to drop something off for Matthew, and she hadn’t planned on meeting her daughter, so she didn’t mention it to avoid disappointing her.

The little girl hesitated a bit before replying.

"Dad asked me to check."

Laurent was speechless. Of course, the little girl couldn’t be so precise in asking if she had arrived home; it was Dave who had calculated the time and told her to make the call.

Just as Laurent was about to say something to change the topic, she heard the little girl shout from the other end.

"Dad, Mom says she’s home!"

Laurent, "..."

After that, the little girl cheerfully asked her.

"Mom, Dad says I don’t have to go to kindergarten starting tomorrow. Can you come pick me up and take me to your place? Is that okay?"

"Why suddenly not go to kindergarten? Isn’t it still not vacation time?"

Laurent was a bit confused.

The little girl continued.

"I don’t know either. You can ask Dad."

"No need!"

Laurent quickly refused. She didn’t want to talk to Dave. If she didn’t have to go, then fine—it was just kindergarten, after all. Laurent thought that it worked out well since she only had to work tomorrow and then had time off, so she could spend time with her daughter.

Factories usually give their workers time off earlier than companies because most of the workers are from out of town. After working a year away from home, Danny purposely gives them an early break, allowing everyone to get home before Christmas so they can spend more time with their families during the holiday.

As Laurent thought about how she would be off after tomorrow, she suddenly wondered if Dave’s decision to keep their daughter from going to kindergarten was intentional—was he trying to give her more time to be with their daughter?

Usually, Laurent could only see her daughter on weekends, and even then, it wasn’t guaranteed. Sometimes, if she was too busy with work, had to stay late, or traveled for business, she wouldn’t see her that week.

For Laurent, vacation time was a long break, and yet he chose to have their daughter skip kindergarten and come to her...

Laurent shook her head, trying not to overthink it.

She didn’t want to dwell on it. If she thought too much, she’d begin to sense his ulterior motives.

"Alright, then. I’ll pick you up when I’m on holiday."

In the end, Laurent could only softly agree to her daughter’s request.

Later, just before bed, Vivian asked her in the group chat what she and Dave had talked about tonight.

Laurent thought about his rambling nonsense and replied to Vivian that they hadn’t talked about anything.

Vivian sent a pouting emoji:

"Nothing? So silence speaks louder than words, huh?"

Laurent didn’t want to continue the conversation about Dave. She said she was too tired and needed to sleep, then turned off her phone.

However, once she lay down, she found herself unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she pictured him waiting in the night, his sharp-featured face.

After all this time, Laurent had thought she was close to forgetting what he looked like, but seeing him today, she realized he had always remained in her mind. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

She turned over. After all, he was the person she had loved for so many years. How could she forget him just like that?

That night, Laurent had trouble sleeping. Fortunately, the next day, there wasn’t much work left to do. She just needed to do an end-of-year summary of her tasks, and then she would officially be on holiday.

Around noon, Laurent was called to Danny’s office.