You're Just My Ex-Husband,My Lord-Chapter 193- That’s all in the past

Actually, Dave was trying to see if there were any signs that other men had been in her car. He wanted to be the first man to ride in this car, aside from her father, and also the last.

After rummaging for a while, he figured that since she had just bought the car recently, it probably hadn’t carried any other men except her father. So, he relaxed and stopped his searching.

At the children’s clothing store in the mall, the little girl’s eyes lit up at the sight of all the beautiful clothes. Laurent had no choice but to take on the task of choosing for her. Since they were already there, she decided to buy whatever she wanted for her daughter as well.

She picked out a cashmere dress for her daughter and took her to the fitting room to try it on. When they came out, Laurent wanted to ask Dave if it looked good, but she couldn’t find him. After the store assistant pointed it out, she realized he had gone to the women’s clothing store next door.

Laurent was a bit annoyed. If he was thinking of buying clothes for some other woman, he could focus on that. There was no need to drag her along, pretending to be interested in buying clothes for their daughter.

Since he was acting like that, she didn’t want to ask for his opinion anymore. After adjusting her daughter’s outfit in front of the mirror and feeling that it looked nice, she decided to have the store assistant wrap it up. Just then, Dave returned, holding a bag in his hand—it was obvious he had already made a purchase.

Laurent shot him an irritated glance. He was quick, she thought—he managed to buy something so fast.

The little girl saw him enter through the dressing room mirror. She turned around, lifted the hem of her dress, and spun in front of him.

"Daddy, does this dress look good on me?"

"It looks great."

Dave didn’t hesitate to praise his daughter, then turned his intense gaze toward the still-frowning Laurent and added,

"It looks just as good as your mom."

The store assistant suppressed a smile, and Laurent shot Dave an angry glare. Was he out of his mind? Their daughter asked him if she looked good, so why was he bringing her into it? 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Dave ignored her furious look, walked over, and picked up their daughter.

"Then we’ll take this dress. Let’s go look at other things."

He carried their daughter off to look at more items, picking out a down jacket, a coat, a hat, and boots—basically, he bought a lot of things from head to toe.

At checkout, they clashed again. Laurent insisted on paying for the down jacket and dress since those were the ones she had chosen and wanted to buy for their daughter, but Dave insisted on paying for everything.

Laurent was furious. What was this about? Didn’t they agree to each buy their own things? Back at his house, he had sternly said that what she bought was hers, and what he bought was his.

But with the store assistant watching them, Laurent had no choice but to compromise and let Dave pay with his card. However, once they were outside, the first thing Laurent did was take out money from her wallet and shove it into Dave’s hand.

"Here, take it back!"

Dave couldn’t help but want to laugh at the sight of her cold, angry expression. He leisurely took the money she handed over and tucked it away.

She was so serious about it, and it wouldn’t be right not to play along.

Laurent watched him put the money away, then walked over to take their daughter’s hand.

"The clothes are all bought. I have things to do, so I’m taking my daughter and leaving. You’re free to do as you please."

Dave looked at her, a smile playing on his lips.

"How about we have lunch together?"

"No need, I’m meeting Adeline."

Laurent rejected him without even thinking. Dave, however, didn’t press the issue and quickly agreed.

"Alright."

"I’ll take you both down."

Then, he took the big bags of clothes he had bought for their daughter and walked ahead. Laurent followed behind with their daughter, that awkward feeling creeping up again.

He clearly wanted to have lunch with her but acted magnanimous, letting her go instead.

What exactly was he trying to do?

It was really torturous, honestly.

He was keeping his distance and pulling her in at the same time—his "catch and release" game.

Dave called his tactics this way: quietly drawing closer to her without putting pressure on her, but subtly teasing her, waiting for the right moment to make his move.

At the parking lot, Laurent was busy securing their daughter in the car seat while Dave shoved the bags he’d bought into the trunk of her car.

Once Laurent finished settling their daughter, she walked over and immediately noticed the bag Dave had bought from the women’s store earlier. She quickly grabbed it and handed it back to him.

"This looks like it’s yours."

Dave took the bag, but instead of accepting it, he shoved it back into the trunk.

"It’s a gift for you."

Laurent was momentarily stunned. She had thought he bought it for some other woman, like the girl she’d seen him with at the restaurant entrance.

But then she quickly took the bag out again and refused.

"I don’t want it."

Why was he giving her things out of nowhere? She had no desire for anything he offered.

Dave placed it back into the trunk again.

"Just consider it a token of my appreciation."

They went back and forth like this several times, and Laurent was really starting to feel exhausted. She lifted her eyes to look at him.

"Appreciate me for what?"

They hadn’t been in contact for most of the past half-year. What could he possibly be thanking her for?

He took a step forward, cornering her against the side of the car, and spoke softly, his voice gentle.

"Thank you for giving me such a cute and perfect daughter. Thank you for the wonderful marriage we once had."

For a moment, Laurent felt like she might cry.

She didn’t know what he had been doing these past six months, but she knew that she was completely unable to resist the way he was now. Even saying something as simple as a love confession could hit her heart deeply.

"Is that reason enough for you to accept my gift?"

He moved even closer to her. As Laurent snapped back to reality, she calmed herself and raised her hand to push him away.

"That’s all in the past. Don’t bring it up anymore."