Chapter: 389
She looked at the phone screen as if she could actually see Jonathan through it.
The moment stretched, filled only by her breaths.
Years had passed...
This was the closest she'd been to Jonathan since their breakup; so close she wanted to disappear from Westsilver right then.
After an agonizing pause, Jonathan's calm, slightly impatient voice filled the silence. “I'm not interested."
“What—"
Nikolas' surprised shout halted as the call ended.
In that instant, Bethany realized Jonathan had pieced everything together. His quick mind grasped the situation as soon as Nikolas posed his question.
He clearly preferred to keep his distance, avoiding any further conversation or complications.
He had confessed his hatred for her.
Bethany inhaled deeply, striving to appear unaffected, masking the chaos within. "Haven't you satisfied your curiosity yet? Please, just leave me be! If you believe there's anything going on between me and Ryan, I'll resign. I planned on leaving the country after finishing this project anyway."
She was determined to move her child away from an environment where she constantly felt defensive.
Lately, she'd bumped into too many people from her past; it seemed more were recognizing the resemblance between Nola and Jonathan. The fear was becoming unbearable.
"Who mentioned Ryan? This is about you and Jonathan—"
"There's even less to discuss there! As you've just heard, Jonathan wants nothing to do with me, and I have no plans to disrupt his life. He's free to marry Maddie without any worry from me."
Taken aback, Nikolas replied, "He won't marry Maddie."
Bethany lost her voice for a moment.
"Jonathan said he'd never marry someone who had hurt you."
Bethany felt as if an iron fist had clenched her heart, leaving her mind in a whirlwind.
Jonathan wouldn't marry Maddie?
"So, how could you go and marry someone else? Bethany, you really have a heart of stone," Nikolas scoffed, his words dripping with venom. “A few years ago, you played Jonathan like a violin, and now you've got Ryan dancing to your tune. I have to say, that's quite a talent."
"Have you finished talking?" Bethany's voice was ice cold. The mere mention of Jonathan's name made her heart quiver. "I don't know why you're bringing this up today, but I've made it clear that Jonathan and I are done. If I wanted to reach out to him, I have a thousand ways to do so. No one could stop me. But I genuinely want to keep my distance. As for the Bates family and Maddie, they have nothing to fear from a small fry like me. So, spare me your sarcastic comments; they don't bother me."
"Yous"
In truth, Nikolas didn't even know what he wanted.