Aww Seven Exes Begged Cute Blocked novel Chapter 16

**A Promise Written on the Rusted Edge of Time by Dael Rowan Sire**
**Chapter 16**

He picked up the remnants of his shattered phone, the screen cracked like the fragile state of his heart, and stumbled out into the night.

The sight of his back, hunched and defeated, was almost too painful to bear. It looked as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders, and I felt a pang of sympathy stir within me, but I quickly quelled it. I steeled my resolve and forced myself to focus on my work, the coffee shop’s familiar hum drowning out the turmoil in my mind.

Later that evening, as I finished closing up, I glanced outside and caught sight of him lingering across the street. The streetlight cast a long, thin shadow that stretched out behind him, resembling a lost child searching for direction in the dark.

I took a deep breath, locked the door, and ascended the stairs to my apartment without a backward glance.

Being kind to the wrong person is just a way of being cruel to yourself, I reminded myself.

That lesson had been etched into my heart, painfully learned through experience.

On the seventh day, the sky opened up, pouring rain down like the tears I had held back for too long. It mirrored the night he had abandoned me, the memories flooding back with every drop.

Yet, there he was—Dylan—showing up yet again, completely drenched and looking like he had just walked through a storm.

“Sir, you’re dripping all over my floor,” I remarked, trying to maintain a professional demeanor as I tossed him a towel, my voice clipped and businesslike.

He caught the towel with shaky hands and attempted to dry himself off, but his eyes held a glimmer of something deeper. “Ivy, it’s your birthday today.”

I froze in my tracks. Oh, how could I have forgotten?

In the whirlwind of the past few months, I had completely lost sight of it.

“Happy birthday,” he added, his voice softening.

With a hesitant movement, he pulled a small jewelry box out of his soaked jacket. Inside was a bracelet, shimmering even through the moisture.

“I remember you always wanted this one,” he said, his eyes searching mine for a reaction.

It was true. I had seen that bracelet during senior year at the mall, its price tag far too steep for my budget. I had stood there, mesmerized, staring at it through the glass, longing for something I could never have.

He actually remembered that moment.

But I couldn’t accept it. “Thanks, but I can’t take it,” I said, pushing the box back toward him, my heart racing.

“Why not?” His voice trembled, a mix of desperation and confusion. “It’s a birthday present.”

“We’re not friends anymore. I can’t accept expensive gifts from strangers,” I replied, the word ‘strangers’ slicing through the air like a knife.

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