Dear Ex-wife Marry Me novel (Maja) novel Chapter 2151

The drive back to the manor was quiet—Athena remained silent the entire way, wrapped in her own thoughts. Anna, too, said nothing.

When they arrived, Tyler gently helped Athena out of the car and walked her up to her room, his arm steady around her shoulders. She didn’t protest or even utter a word.

He called for the doctor, who came to tend her wounds. Afterward, Tyler knelt down, soaking a towel in warm water, and began to carefully clean the dirt from her feet.

Athena was exhausted—her whole body ached. When Tyler cradled her foot in his hand, the heat from his palm almost stung. She tried to pull away, but his grip was gentle yet firm, refusing to let go.

“Don’t move,” he murmured. “Let me clean you up. You need to rest—you can’t take a shower right now.”

Athena glanced at him and managed a soft, “Thank you.”

Tyler paused, a little thrown by her sudden formality. He finished drying her feet carefully, then slipped away into the bathroom to clean himself up.

His own ankle was only mildly sprained, so he took a quick shower before returning to the bedroom.

Athena was already lying under the covers. Tyler slid in beside her, wanting to ask her about what had happened that night. But when he heard her quiet, even breathing, he hesitated—and let the questions fade away as he drifted off to sleep beside her.

That night, Athena dreamed. She dreamed of her high school days, of that boy who seemed to step out of a sunlit memory—laughing, running across the basketball court, surrounded by the cheers of their classmates. When she woke, she stared at the ceiling, feeling disoriented, unsure what day it was or where she belonged.

Maybe it was seeing Elsa again that had shaken her so badly. Her emotions were a tangled mess; she didn’t feel like going downstairs at all.

Meanwhile, Elsa waited for her in the living room, pacing restlessly. She’d made up her mind: today she would finally tell Tyler the truth, expose Athena for dumping her first love. Kerwin was such a good guy—Athena didn’t deserve him.

Elsa was wound tight, her gaze flicking repeatedly to the stairs. Tyler had come down a while ago, but Athena was still nowhere to be seen.

Unable to contain herself, Elsa piped up, “Tyler, is Athena just sleeping in today?”

Athena had started acting right after graduation, and her first starring role had been in his own script. If she’d liked him back then, how could she have had anyone else? Was this some old high school romance?

“Oh? And how do you know she broke his heart? Besides, who really ends up with their high school sweetheart? Most people just grow apart.”

Elsa sniffed. “He was top of the class—the brightest guy at Solstice College. Really amazing. Treated her so well. But now she’s with you, right? They got together right after graduation, everyone thought they were perfect.”

Tyler didn’t want to dwell on it. Everyone had a past. If he really wanted to keep score, he’d have to reckon with his own laundry list of ex-lovers. Why hold it against her?

“So what? Being top of the class doesn’t matter if you fall out of love.”

He set his cup down with a thud, ignoring the strange pang in his chest.

Elsa pressed her lips together, still fuming. She thought to herself, he doesn’t even know how good Kerwin was. Athena never deserved him.