\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 189 The Tool-Man Comes in Handy\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 189 The Tool-Man Comes in Handy\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla would accept it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy had already planned what he was going to say the moment the call connected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
964\u00a0<\/p>\n
+20 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
But instead of Ayla\u2019s voice, he heard a flat, mechanical message. \u201cThe number you dialed can\u2019t be reached. Please try again later.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over his head. He froze. It took several seconds for him to understand what happened. Ayla had blocked him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She actually blocked him?\u00a0<\/p>\n
How dare she block him?!\u00a0<\/p>\n
A rush of anger burst inside his chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then he thought of Bria.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had stormed over to complain the moment Ayla blocked her. Back then, Troy didn\u2019t understand why she was so upset.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now he understood. No, he felt it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The driver almost jumped out of his skin. He guessed it had to do with Ayla again. The last time was at the airport, he nearly had a heart attack then. At this point, he wanted to quit on the spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A cold shout cut through the silence. \u201cGive me your phone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The driver\u2019s heart almost jumped out from his throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNow!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He scrambled to hand it over without a second of delay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy didn\u2019t remember Ayla\u2019s number, so he opened the contacts and matched it before calling again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time, he memorized it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After two rings, Ayla picked up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy didn\u2019t hold back. \u201cWhy did you block me?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla wasn\u2019t surprised to hear his voice. If Bria couldn\u2019t accept being blocked, a proud, entitled man like Troy would take it ten times worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy was her ex-husband now. She could cut him out of her life forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she couldn\u2019t lie to herself either. He had been part of her life for three full years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:14 Thu, Jan 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
964\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 189 The Tool-Man Comes in Handy\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had filled those three years completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+20 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
This man existed in her memories too clearly for her to pretend he didn\u2019t. So yes, Ayla still cares about Troy. But caring about him had nothing to do with love.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was simply a fact. She didn\u2019t have memory loss. You can\u2019t erase a recent, dramatic three-year love story just because you want to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla accepted that she couldn\u2019t ignore his existence. But she also noticed something else. After the divorce, Troy had been reaching out to her far more often.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was its own form of pathetic behavior.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Troy wanted to act pathetic, then fine. Ayla had her own score to settle too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kaleb\u2019s trouble had been Troy\u2019s idea, and Zane helped him carry it out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla knew it. And she didn\u2019t care anymore. She said calmly, almost bored, \u201cWhy keep your number after the divorce? Save it for Christmas?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAyla. Take me out of your blocked list. Do you hear me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla let out a soft laugh, the kind you\u2019d use on a misbehaving dog. \u201cI don\u2019t hear anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy kept his mouth shut.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His face went pale from anger. He forced himself to stay steady, grinding out each word. \u201cI can fix your brother\u2019s situation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla was surprised with his offer. \u201cYou\u2019re disgusting. First you give me a stick, then you hand me a carrot. How about this? Let me stab you first. If you can smile and let me bandage you afterward, I\u2019ll accept your help. How\u2019s that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy\u2019s voice dropped into a cold sneer. \u201cAyla, you have no one to blame but yourself for being disobedient. If you had quit your job and stayed away from Draven, none of this would\u2019ve happened.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla said, \u201cAnd then?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can still help you. As long as you listen to me.\u201d Then he mocked her, \u201cYou think you can fix Kaleb\u2019s mess\u00a0<\/p>\n
alone?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla answered lightly, \u201cIsn\u2019t Draven still around?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The phone went silent, except for Troy\u2019s heavy breathing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla knew she could crush Zane with the right strategy But the Winston Group? That behemoth couldn\u2019t be shaken so easily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To deal with Troy, she had to hit where it hurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had a tool that could be used when needed. And she no longer had any guilt about using him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:14 Thu, Jan 1 JA \u2022\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 189 The Tool-Man Comes in Handy\u00a0<\/p>\n
064\u00a0<\/p>\n
+20 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even if Draven were standing right beside her, she would\u2019ve said it the same way. \u201cWith your brother helping me, why would I ever need you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then she hung up. Clean. Sharp. Final.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need to scream to ruin someone. A few words, said right, will do the job.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla knew she couldn\u2019t pretend Troy didn\u2019t exist. Every time she tried, he somehow appeared again, annoying her more. Better to accept it, control it, and turn the irritation back on him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Besides, now she had a toolman. If Troy wanted to ask to be humiliated, she didn\u2019t have to be afraid; she could make him suffer a little each time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If he failed enough times, he would eventually learn hesitation, Hesitation meant fear. Fear meant he\u2019d finally behave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cutting him off completely wouldn\u2019t hurt him. Letting him squirm would.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla ended the call and forgot about him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took a cab back to last night\u2019s bar, picked up her car, and drove to the office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Troy still sat in his Maybach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d learned a lot about Ayla over the last two days. He could guess how she would react.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he hadn\u2019t guessed boldly enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He never thought she would use Draven so directly, so confidently, just to provoke him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019d mentioned Draven before-once or twice. She even joked that if she ever slept with Draven, he\u2019d be the first to know. But that was anger talking, empty threats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time? Ayla said it on purpose. And she wanted him to hear every word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:14 Thu, Jan 1 \u1edf c A \u2022\u00a0<\/p>\n
JA\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 189 \u00a0 Chapter 189 The Tool-Man Comes in Handy\u00a0 Chapter 189 The Tool-Man Comes in […]<\/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-24624","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\/24624","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=24624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24624\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}