Chapter 149

  "Slap!" A crisp noise sounded as Dahlia's hand landed

heavily on Dustin Rhy's face. Due to the excessive force she applied

behind the slap, the wounds on her hand that had just healed got torn

open again, causing a stream of fresh blood to flow down her fingers.

Dustin touched the side of his face that burned from the slap and merely

stood right where he was with a neutral expression on his face. He could

take all the misunderstandings and contempt from other people, but he

refused to accept the fact that his ex–wife had just slapped him on

behalf of another man. "Why? Why do you insist on being this way?" Dahlia

said through gritted teeth as her eyes filled with tears and immense

disappointment overtook her. She couldn't understand for the life of her

why Dustin had become the person he was today. He was close- minded, full

of jealousy, and a gossipmonger; he was even repaying kindness with evil

now. All kinds of bad attributes were concentrated in the body of this

man. She wanted this slap to serve as a wake- up call to him! "Hmph. Do

you want to fight me, kid? Aren't you a little too young for that?" Matt

couldn't help but sneer at him as he witnessed the two of them turn

against each other. Although he had just lost two teeth, he couldn't help

but feel somewhat triumphant on the inside when he saw Dahlia slap Dustin

to stand up for him. "That was a good slap! He deserves to be slapped!"

Florence cheered as her eyes lit up. "That's right! If you don't teach

him a lesson, are you still considered human at that point?" James

parroted out loud. "Ha—" Dustin suddenly let out a tired sigh after a

long time of silence. After getting married for three years, the two had

barely quarreled, let alone thrown hands at one another. Thus, this would

be the first and last time this happened! "That slap just now was for

everything I've ever done to you in the past. From now on, you and I

don't owe each other anything anymore," Dustin said quietly. Dustin took

a deep breath before calmly turning around to leave. There was no anger,

no complaints–just an unexpected feeling of quiet indifference. "Huh?"

Dahlia gasped in shock as she stared at his defeated back. She'd been

rendered speechless for a while. "Knock, knock." Just then, they all

heard a knock on the door. It turned out that Mr. Fletcher, who had taken

his leave earlier, had returned. "Huh? Where did Mr. Rhys go?" He asked

as he scanned the room. "Why are you looking for that punk, Mr.

Fletcher?" Florence asked in surprise. 1/3 Chapter 149 "Oh, Sir Hummer

told me that he hopes to dispel all the bad blood the Hummer family has

with Mr. Rhys, so he specially requested me to send him a gilt," He

replied. "A gift?" Everyone looked at one another in confusion. "You have

got to be kidding us, right, Mr. Fletcher? How is that punk worthy of

receiving a gift from Mr. Hummer himself?" Florence asked in disbelief.

"What do you mean "how is he worthy'? Don't you know that he was the

reason why the Hummers decided to lift the ban against the Nicholsons?

And that he was also the one behind the apology? Mr. Fletcher replied,

dumbfounded by their reactions. "What?" A collective gasp could be heard

in the room the moment he finished his sentence. The crowd was

dumbfounded and filled with disbelief. They didn't hear him wrong, right?

The person who had saved the Nicholsons and coerced the Hummers to give a

public apology was Dustin? The trash that they'd scoffed at and despised?

H–how was this possible! "Y–you've got to be joking, right, Mr. Fletcher?

Are you telling us that Dustin was the one who saved us?" Florence asked

with widened eyes, she found this fact difficult to accept. "Who else do

you think it was?" Mr. Fletcher asked seriously. "No, that's impossible!

Wasn't Matt the one who helped us? How was it that trash Dustin instead?"

James shouted in alarm and shook his head so vigorously it looked like a

rattling drum. "Matt Laney? He's nothing more than a washed–up member of

some family, so how capable can the man be? Obviously, not enough for the

Hummers to lower their heads." Mr. Fletcher scoffed before shooting Matt

a look of disdain. Hearing that, every head in the crowd turned to look

at Matt simultaneously. For a moment, Matt's cheeks turned bright red,

and the atmosphere became extremely awkward. His reaction immediately

proved that what Mr. Fletcher said was true. "How could this have

happened? Could it be that I've misunderstood him?" Dahlia muttered to

herself after a bolt of realization hit her. With that, she instantly

rushed out of the room and chased after Dustin in the direction he seemed

to have left in. When she chased him to the gate, she looked at the

figure about to get into the car. She immediately ran up to him and

grabbed him by the sleeve. "Dustin! Wait. I misunderstood you just now, I

was too impulsive. I had no idea that you did all of this for us.

especially the part where you had to carry so much on your shoulders. But

why didn't you explain it to us? You were obviously the one who saved

everyone, so why didn't you clarily it with us?" Dahlia cried while

biting her lips. Her face was twisted in pain. "What use was there to

explain everything? When have you ever belleved me?" Dustin shot back as

he shook his head. There was no greater sorrow than death, and he had

been completely let down by her. Chapter 149 "You should've made it clear

to me at the very least. How can I believe you when you don't tell me

anything?" Dahlia complained angrily. "I don't care if you believe me or

not anymore. We're done here. Let go of me." Dustin retorted as he broke

away from her grasp with force. His gaze toward her made her feel like he

was looking at a stranger. "What do you want from me, Dustin? Can't you

just stop being so impulsive all the time? Can't you just ask yourself if

there's anything wrong with you? After all, you were the one who went out

and beat up people who disagreed with you. If not for luck, do you think

you could've gotten out of there unscathed? All I'm asking is for you to

be more mature and sensible. Am I wrong for wanting that from you?"

Dahlia shouted as his words struck a nerve inside her, causing her

emotions to go out of control. "Yeah, you're right. It was all my fault.

I totally deserved that slap, don't I?" Dustin said coldly. "You-" Dahlia

wanted to say more but stopped herself. For a moment, she was at a loss

for words. "You've always been this arrogant and self–righteous woman to

me, Dahlia. You were never one to admit your mistakes first. This has

proven to be true on multiple occasions, especially when you just need to

put a bit more thought into something or perform a simple background

check to get the desired outcome. But as usual, you prefer to do nothing

and only listen to the words you like to hear. This is why even now, you

still have zero faith in me. "Haven't you noticed? You've been living in

your little bubble all this time, and you shut yourself off from anyone

who tries to get near you. I admit, I tried my best to get to you back

then, but now I've decided to stop trying. I've decided that this will be

the last time I ever help you. I wish you all the best in your future

endeavors." With that, Dustin got in his car and sped off. Meanwhile,

Dahlia looked as if she had been struck by lightning, and she stood

quietly in place and did not say anything for a long time. I "I'm sorry…

I'm so sorry! I had no idea that things would ever turn out like this!"

She lamented to herself. "I just wanted you to succeed too. My only wish

was for you to get ahead in life. I really had no idea that you'd

suffered this much. I was wrong; I was the one who was wrong all along!

From the day of our divorce until now, I knew that I was the one who was

in the wrong all along! I remember telling you that no one would be able

to make me fall in love again, but in reality, there was already someone

there all along. "And that person was you! But knowing that in mind, do

you know why I gave you up again at the last second? That's because

Dustin, can't you see that I'm still hopelessly in love with you?" She

painfully admitted.