You're Just My Ex-Husband,My Lord-Chapter 57- She was a liar
Dave couldn’t help but smile as he felt his daughter’s small arms around his neck. Her sweet voice and innocent request tugged at his heartstrings. He kissed her on the cheek and gently replied,
"Of course, I’ll try to come and pick you up whenever I can, sweetheart."
As they walked towards the car, the little girl remained clinging to him, her small body pressing against his, and her eyes gleaming with happiness. She giggled, clearly content with her father’s promise, and nestled her head on his shoulder.
Dave’s thoughts, however, wandered as he carried her. He knew that his life was complicated, and the situation with Laurent, his mother, and everything surrounding his family was far from simple. But in that moment, holding his daughter in his arms, he felt a fleeting sense of peace—a feeling that he would do anything to protect her from the turmoil that seemed to be closing in on him.
As Dave thought about his daughter’s innocent joy and the familiar tenderness in her gesture, memories of Laurent came rushing back, unbidden. The comparison between his daughter’s playful affection and Laurent’s similar antics stirred something deep inside him. He hadn’t realized how much he missed those moments, the spontaneous, often cheeky ways Laurent had of seeking his attention.
He remembered the way Laurent would occasionally find excuses to demand his attention: pretending to twist her ankle just to get him to carry her, the playful, teasing remarks, and those soft, loving moments that made everything feel light despite the weight of their complicated lives. She had a way of getting under his skin, of making him soften when he least expected it.
The memory of her saying, "You’re too good to me, I love you" after he’d given in to her whims, flooded his mind. Her voice would always carry a playful tone, but behind it, there was something sincere, something that made him feel both loved and needed. He couldn’t help but feel the pang of longing for those days, for the warmth that Laurent had brought to his life, even if it had been tainted by all that had followed.
His daughter’s laughter interrupted his thoughts as she gave him another excited hug. Dave shook his head slightly, trying to push away the lingering ache. She was his priority now—he had to focus on her and the future he could give her, not on the past he couldn’t change.
"Let’s go home, sweetheart," he said, trying to smile more brightly. "I’ll make sure to be there when you finish school, just like you asked."
As they got into the car, Dave’s thoughts drifted back to Laurent, but this time, there was a new clarity in his mind—he had to keep moving forward, no matter how much his heart might resist.
Dave’s initial reaction was to feel annoyed and frustrated. He knew Laurent was playing a game, trying to manipulate him into giving her what she wanted, but he couldn’t deny the frustration brewing within him. This wasn’t the first time she had done something like this, and each time it felt like he was being drawn into a situation that blurred the line between their roles as husband and wife and something more personal, more intimate.
The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became. It wasn’t just about the act itself—it was about what it implied. Carrying her, in his mind, was something reserved for people deeply in love, not for two people stuck in a marriage that had long since lost its spark. He didn’t want to get caught up in these small gestures that seemed so affectionate, yet only reminded him of the deep divide between them. He didn’t want to be drawn back into her world of teasing and dependency, a world where he was expected to be both the provider and the emotional anchor, even though they had both long since stopped caring in the way they once had.
But when Laurent looked up at him with those big, pleading eyes, it caught him off guard. There was a vulnerability there, something that reminded him of the woman he had once loved—or at least thought he had loved. It was hard to say no when she looked at him like that, even though his instinct told him to push her away. It wasn’t just about the physical act of carrying her; it was about what it symbolized.
Reluctantly, he bent down to check her foot. Sure enough, there was nothing wrong—no swelling, no redness, just her feigned discomfort. He tried to resist the urge to help, but when she whimpered again, looking up at him as though the world was ending, something inside him softened. His pride and logic told him to walk away, to show her that he wasn’t going to indulge in her games anymore. But his body moved almost against his will, lifting her into his arms as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
As he carried her back to the house, he couldn’t help but feel the weight of her in his arms, the way her small body fit against his chest. It was a fleeting moment of tenderness, and it made him uneasy. For a brief second, it felt almost like the old days when they had still cared for each other, before everything had changed. But as soon as they got inside, the moment passed, and he was left with that familiar, uncomfortable feeling.
Dave sighed, setting her down carefully and quickly stepping away, distancing himself from the closeness they had just shared. He didn’t want to acknowledge the emotions that moment stirred in him. He didn’t want to think about how much he missed the simplicity of their earlier years, when things had seemed easier, when love had felt less complicated.
Laurent, oblivious to his inner turmoil, smiled up at him, the same mischievous glint in her eye as before. "See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?"
Dave managed a stiff smile, but deep down, he couldn’t shake the sense that they were both stuck in a cycle they couldn’t break.
That evening, she insisted on dragging him downstairs for a walk. But on the way back, as they were walking, she suddenly let out an "ouch" and squatted down, her little face scrunched up as she claimed she had sprained her ankle and couldn’t walk. She asked him to carry her.
He crouched down to examine her ankle and found nothing wrong—no redness, no swelling—but she insisted that it hurt terribly and she couldn’t walk.
He quickly realized she was deliberately trying to get him to carry her. Angrily, he stood up, deciding not to deal with her anymore. With his status, it was beneath him to carry her.
Moreover, he instinctively recoiled at the thought of carrying her. It felt like an overly indulgent gesture, something only lovers with deep affection for each other would do. As a couple with no feelings between them, they were not suited for such actions.
As a result, she sat down on the steps by the roadside, burying her little head in her knees, and began to sulk.
He called out to her, but she ignored him. He asked her to get up, but she refused, determined to make him carry her.
He was furious and turned to leave.
After walking for a while, he couldn’t help but look back at her.
But that glance changed everything—she was gone.
Panicked and angry, he hurried back to find her, only to discover that she had somehow slipped behind the flowerbed and was hiding there, crying by herself.
Seeing her in such a pitiful state, he was furious, his teeth grinding, but he couldn’t bring himself to scold her. He really didn’t know what to say.
It was late at night, and neither of them could just keep standing there, frozen in place.
Finally, he had no choice but to relent. When no one was around, he grit his teeth and carried her toward home, all the while plotting to punish her in bed when they got back.
However, just a few steps into it, they ran into a department manager from Washington’s company who lived in the same neighborhood. The manager, along with his wife, was out for an evening stroll. So, the scene of the lord of Washington’s house, carrying his own wife, was perfectly timed to be witnessed by the manager.
To make matters worse, her face was covered in tears, making it look as though he had mistreated her.
In that instant, Dave felt utterly humiliated, almost ready to drop her from his back and walk away.
But, a sliver of rationality held him back. If he did that, his reputation at work would likely be ruined.
Afterward, because of this incident, he awkwardly contemplated firing the department manager for a long time. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
Now, Dave had to admit that his daughter had inherited her mother’s knack for being spoiled and demanding to perfection, and it seemed likely that she would only get better at it. That was why, whenever he saw his daughter, he couldn’t help but think of her.
Father and daughter sat in the car, and Dave drove them toward Lilian’s place.
"Alright, if Mom won’t pick me up from school anymore, it’s fine if Dad does instead."
The little girl, sitting in the backseat, suddenly spoke this aloud, as if trying to comfort herself.
But Dave couldn’t help feeling a tightness in his chest.
It inevitably made him angry at Laurent again. That woman was always saying how much she loved their daughter, calling her a treasure, saying she was her life.
What was this now?
She had stubbornly divorced him, making their daughter grow up in a single-parent family, deprived of a mother’s presence.
Was that really love?
She was a liar!
A liar who only ever spoke words!
She had once said she loved him, that she wanted to be with him forever, but now look—she had insisted on the divorce, acting as though she never wanted anything to do with him again.
She claimed to love their daughter, but then abandoned her.
She had deceived him, and now she was deceiving their daughter. What else could she be if not a liar!
