Dear Ex-wife Marry Me novel (Maja) novel Chapter 2195

Athena listened as she supported the man, who was clearly drunk—he rambled on and on, answering every question she asked with nonsense.

Five million dollars...

When the elevator stopped on a certain floor, she helped him to the door. The man still had enough sense to pull out his key card, and the look he gave her left no doubt about his intentions.

Athena knew exactly what he wanted, but she wasn’t in the mood.

She took the card from his hand and was about to unlock the door when someone stopped her, grabbing her wrist.

She turned—and saw Tyler.

He pressed his lips together, silent, and pulled her firmly into his arms.

Athena stumbled against his chest. The actor beside her hadn’t expected anyone to intervene. When he recognized Tyler’s face, he sobered up in an instant.

“Mr. Bennitt?”

Tyler gripped Athena’s shoulders and led her back toward the elevator.

She hadn’t planned on doing anything with that actor anyway, so she didn’t resist.

Inside the elevator, Tyler stayed silent. Still, it was obvious from his tense posture that he was struggling with his emotions.

When the doors slid open again, he finally spoke.

“Athena, are you really that desperate?”

His voice broke a little on the word “desperate.” His hands shook as he tried to pull out a cigarette, but his fingers trembled so badly that the cigarette slipped and fell to the floor.

Athena realized he’d misunderstood, but she couldn’t be bothered to explain. She didn’t owe him anything.

She had more important things to deal with—she needed to investigate that actor, to find out if what happened back then was true. If it was, she’d make sure Kerwin got justice.

She strode for the exit, but heard footsteps trailing her. Tyler was following her, step for step.

Downstairs, the lobby was crowded. The restaurant was quite upscale, a favorite spot for film crews working in the area—several productions were celebrating here tonight.

In the entertainment industry, there were few who didn’t recognize Tyler Bennitt.

But he didn’t care. He used to be so concerned with appearances, so proud and private, but now none of that mattered. All he wanted was a few more words with Athena.

He opened the back door, intent on climbing in.

Athena frowned—she’d called this cab herself, and she wasn’t about to share.

“Tyler, stop it.”

“If I stop, will you even look at me? Will you talk to me at all?”

For a moment, Tyler looked like a sulky child. He dropped his gaze, turned, and walked away.

Athena took the passenger seat and told the driver to go.

The driver, a middle-aged man, glanced at her in the rearview mirror with a friendly smile. “Having a lovers’ quarrel, huh? Ah, men—sometimes you just need them to admit when they’re wrong. Life’s long. You’ll both go through a lot together.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Athena said flatly.