Chapter 98 Bumping into Troy and Max\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 98 Bumping into Troy and Max\u00a0<\/p>\n
Emmett watched Kaleb\u2019s stone-wall attitude and finally asked, have a hundred million lying around?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
100\u00a0<\/p>\n
+5 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c1\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, theoretically, could your sister even\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kaleb\u2019s brows furrowed. \u201cEmmett, don\u2019t tell me you\u2019re planning to beg Ayla for money.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo-no, that\u2019s not what I meant-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a full-time housewife and a secretary for three years. Every cent she ever had came from Troy Winston. Even if she handed money to me, I wouldn\u2019t touch it. It\u2019s filthy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That killed any hope Emmett had of coming clean.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla drove home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Blake texted her-urgent overtime. Draven had a drinking engagement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So Ayla met up with Blake and headed to the venue together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And just her luck\u2014she walked right into Max, stepping out of a private room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside that room were Troy and Skyla.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy\u2019s gaze lifted; their eyes collided for a split second.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He held his wine glass lazily, looked at her like she was invisible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla didn\u2019t expect him to care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three years together-she had always been the one making compromises.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She did it because she loved him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And she thought she understood everything about Troy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she never imagined he would go after Kaleb.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That crossed a line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone lives for something worth protecting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And right now, Kaleb was the closest blood family she had left. She would never let him get hurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet, Troy still did it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla hated him so much in that moment that she could practically taste blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wanted to rip that icy mask off his face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 98 Bumping into Troy and Max\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wanted to shatter his cold arrogance under her heel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she withdrew her gaze almost instantly, said nothing, and walked past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t spare Max a glance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was Troy\u2019s friend; they lived in different worlds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was no point in interacting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blake and Ayla walked a little further.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, Blake muttered, \u201cHe\u2019s a clown.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla didn\u2019t need clarification-she knew exactly who she meant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the insult hit her soul like sweet justice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCouldn\u2019t agree more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHeh. Glad you feel the same.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
100\u00a0<\/p>\n
+5 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
Max had stepped out to make a call, but seeing Ayla froze him mid-step. He turned around and walked back into the private room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy had already looked away, swirling his drink with dry indifference.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Skyla wasn\u2019t paying attention either.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rolf had just finished hearing about the mess between Zane and Kaleb, and asked, \u201cMax, why didn\u2019t you help Zane?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Max poured himself a drink.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But instead of answering, he replayed Ayla\u2019s earlier look in his mind-cold, distant, and gone in less than a\u00a0<\/p>\n
heartbeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t even hesitate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She practically ignored him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, she looked at Troy far longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No surprise-she\u2019d loved him for three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even if he treated her like trash, feelings like that don\u2019t disappear cleanly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Love or hate-anything tied to Troy carried more weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:07 Tue, Dec 30\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 98 Bumping into Troy and Max\u00a0<\/p>\n
Max prided himself on being open-minded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But even he felt an unexpected ribbon of jealousy tighten in his chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+5 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
He raised his eyes and forced a crooked smile. \u201cTroy, Ayla was your wife for three years. She took care of you three years. Treat her like this-aren\u2019t you scared she\u2019ll find another man?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room fell silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rolf frowned. \u201cIsn\u2019t Ayla the one being unreasonable? She\u2019s the one provoking him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rolf was fundamentally biased against her; Max knew arguing was useless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy\u2019s expression cooled, eyes sharp on Max.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m curious. She has a little brother. You came down on him pretty hard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy said, \u201cAnd?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve all been young. Young people have pride-they have egos. You dropped a bomb on his company. For you, it\u2019s nothing, but for them, it\u2019s a huge blow. You kill that youthful fire too early, and they don\u2019t get it back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Max smiled faintly, the same harmless curve he always used.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo yes, I stepped in. Zane got his cheap shots in-I wasn\u2019t letting him keep humiliating people. Fairness is fairness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had answered Rolf\u2019s earlier question, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It fit Max\u2019s style.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He disliked extremes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He always stopped before things tipped too far.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy drank, voice flat. \u201cAyla already resigned. I\u2019ll handle Kaleb\u2019s issues.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Max chuckled. \u201cAnd if she refuses to resign?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen, she brought it on herself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Max stopped trying. He poured himself more whiskey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rolf sneered, \u201cAyla\u2019s been acting different lately. She\u2019ll probably keep butting heads with Troy, and she definitely won\u2019t shield Kaleb.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned toward Skyla. \u201cDr. Summer, if it were you-how long would it take to fix the breach?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Skyla actually thought about it. \u201cAbout a month.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:07 Tue, Dec 30\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 98 Bumping into Troy and Max\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cImpressive. A one-woman tech team.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy tapped his glass against hers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Skyla smiled lightly-she could see he was complimenting her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
100\u00a0<\/p>\n
+5 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rolf added, \u201cIf Ayla wants to defy Troy so badly that she sacrifices her brother\u2019s company \u2026 I honestly have no idea what goes on in that woman\u2019s head.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one in the room believed Ayla had the skill to solve any of this on her own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
100\u00a0<\/p>\n
Editorial Board Our editorial team works behind the scenes to refine each chapter, maintain consistency, and deliver the best reading experience.<\/p>\n
Unwritten Feelings Drift by Austen 98 Chapter 98 Bumping into Troy and Max\u00a0 Chapter 98 Bumping into Troy and Max\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-retired-from-your-heart-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24533\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}