Chapter 215: What changed?
After a long meeting, Dylan finally had some time to relax. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes shut tightly against the ache in his head. The relentless exhaustion from a sleepless night bore down on him. His body screamed for rest, but the thought of going home felt unbearable.
What was the point?
Ava didn’t want him there. Whenever he was alone, his past mistakes weighed down on him, echoing in his mind like an unending lament. Only if he had valued her back then, he would have been living happily.
He sighed deeply, running a hand over his face. "Might as well finish the work here." Forcing himself upright, he flipped open his laptop.
Before he could focus, his phone buzzed on the desk, catching his attention. His heart leaped at the sight of Ava’s name on the screen. A flicker of hope and excitement danced in his tired eyes. He grabbed the phone and answered, pausing just long enough to steady himself.
"Hello," he greeted, keeping his voice calm and measured, though his heart raced with anticipation.
"Hello," Ava’s voice came hesitantly from the other end. "Um... Papa was asking about you. He wanted to thank you. Can you—can you come to the hospital?"
Dylan’s excitement waned. He thought she would ask him if he was coming back. But she called him because her father wanted to see him.
He chuckled bitterly. "If he didn’t want to see me, you wouldn’t have called, would you?"
Ava fell silent. She had indeed called him because her father had asked. But deep down, there was more to it than that. She wanted to see him, to thank him for everything, but the words had lodged stubbornly in her throat, refusing to emerge. Now, with his pointed remark, she felt a pang of regret knotting her stomach.
Dylan snorted when he didn’t get her response, his heart aching. "Don’t worry. I’ll go see him once I finish work here."