Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 173

Dean stepped in, trying to ease the tension. “Mr. Cooper, please calm down. Maybe there’s an explanation for all of this.”

“An explanation?” Cooper’s voice shot up. “I caught them in the act. What else do you need?”

He turned his anger on Emmy. “Your mother was never loyal, not even when she was young. God knows how many men she’s been with. I thought marrying me would finally make her settle down.”

“But no. Even after nearly dying in that accident, she’s still sneaking around with men in the hospital.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “And you, her daughter, I bet you’re proud of yourself.”

Emmy shook with anger.

Before she could get a word out, James gently pulled her behind him. Without warning, Andrew, who’d been silent until now, stepped forward and landed a punch right on Cooper’s face.

“Say whatever you want about me, but you don’t get to insult Teresa like that.”

“She gave you everything she had. After all she’s done for you, how could you say something so cold? Can’t you see how much that would hurt her?”

No one noticed Teresa’s silent tears sliding down her cheeks in the ICU. Her body wouldn’t move, but her mind was finally starting to clear.

Every word from the argument outside stabbed into her, sharp as needles.

She never thought her daughter would find out the truth.

She never thought the man she tried so hard to forget would be waiting right outside her door.

But what hurt most was realizing that Cooper, the man she’d loved for so many years, could be this cruel, this shameless.

She was filled with regret.

She wished she’d listened when everyone warned her all those years ago. She shouldn’t have married him, no matter how much she loved him.

She was wrong. So wrong.

The heart that had beat for him for more than twenty years finally broke for good.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Suddenly, the monitors blared an urgent alarm.

Once they were in the room, she closed the door behind them. She told James everything that had happened, all the ugly details, her voice shaking by the end. Finally, she looked up at him.

“I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. My family… things are messy. Maybe it doesn’t make sense, and maybe you’ll never really get it. But please, believe me—my mom is innocent.”

James met her eyes and squeezed her hand. “I understand, and I believe you. I’ll always be here for you—and for your mom.”

He paused, then said, “You should stay at the apartment at night from now on. I’ll keep watch here for you.”

Emmy thought about it and nodded. “Okay. But you don’t have to stay. Ivy’s here, and I’ve hired security.”

For the next two days, Emmy went back to her apartment every night.

Andrew kept coming by as usual, ignoring all the gossip and stares.

That afternoon, after Evelina finished visiting Dean, she stepped out of his room and saw James heading for the exit.

She caught up with him at the elevator. “Mr. Nelson, want to grab a drink with me?”