Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 309

Daniel froze, his expression blank and bewildered—he didn’t look like he was faking it.

Amelia shot him a puzzled look. What was with that face? Why did he seem genuinely clueless?

She had no idea if Violet’s baby had ever been born; she’d never seen the child, and honestly, she didn’t care. Violet was busy with surgeries and physical therapy for her leg. For all Amelia knew, the baby hadn’t made it.

Suddenly snapping back to himself, Daniel strode over and fixed Amelia with a piercing stare. “Say that again. Be clear.”

Amelia hesitated, lips parting but no words coming.

“Where would I have a child with her?” Daniel’s chest heaved, the light from the lamp casting a deep shadow over one side of his face. “Who told you Violet and I had a baby?”

She stayed silent.

“I never even touched her. Not once. Where would a kid come from?” The last words were spat out through clenched teeth.

Amelia stared at him, stunned. Had she misunderstood everything?

Daniel was desperate for an answer—one that could make sense of all this and let him breathe again. He gripped her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Is this why you’re punishing me? Is this why you started seeing Robert?”

Her mind spun. She’d tried to bury what happened three years ago, but now, dragged back into the open, it was like tearing open an old wound. She was scared—terrified of facing that pain all over again.

“Say something!” Daniel demanded, his gaze sharp as if he wanted to see through to her soul. “Who told you? When? Why didn’t you ever mention it to me?”

Three questions in a row—Amelia couldn’t take it. She shoved him away. “Why don’t you ask your precious Violet?”

That set Daniel off, a vein throbbing in his temple. “You believe anything she tells you, don’t you? Does your mouth only exist for decoration? You couldn’t just ask me?”

The anger slipped out as a string of curses.

But Amelia suddenly went cold, her voice steady and icy as she stared him down. “She only dares act up in front of me because you give her the confidence. However much you encourage her, that’s how far she’ll go.” She drew a shaky breath. “Daniel, I’m not pathetic enough to serve myself up for you two to humiliate.”

Without another word, she turned and headed to the master bedroom, locking the door behind her.

She lay on the bed, thoughts in turmoil, her mind a tangled mess.

No matter how she tossed and turned, sleep wouldn’t come. Her heart wouldn’t settle; everything inside her felt chaotic.

If only Daniel hadn’t kept provoking her tonight, she wouldn’t have lost control and dredged up the past. If Violet had lied and Daniel’s words couldn’t be trusted either, then both of them had made her feel like the fool in some cruel farce.

But as she calmed down, she had to ask herself: even if Violet had never been pregnant, would that really have changed her decision three years ago?

The answer was no.

Violet’s arrogance came from Daniel’s indulgence. He gave her the power to act without fear. So what if she’d had a baby or not? Nothing would have changed.

Amelia lay awake until after four, only falling asleep from sheer exhaustion. She didn’t know how long she slept before hunger woke her.

Still wearing her bathrobe—which was far from comfortable but the only thing she had—she freshened up and stepped out of the bedroom.

She bit into a piece of toast, picking up their argument from the night before. “You don’t know what happened. Even if we did everything, so what?”

She said it to provoke him, but he only responded calmly, pushing a jar of jam her way. “You eat plain toast? Doesn’t it make you choke?”

She wasn’t choking on the toast—she was choking on his reaction.

Daniel took his time with his breakfast, sipping his porridge as if nothing was wrong. But his next words hit like a thunderclap. “Last night, you were soaked. If you’d really been satisfied, you wouldn’t have reacted like that—unless Robert was just that bad.”

Amelia grabbed the milk and hurled it at him. Daniel dodged with practiced ease, and the milk splattered harmlessly on the carpet.

He glanced back at the mess. “Carpet cleaning isn’t cheap. Make sure you pay me back.”

Fuming, Amelia reached for the butter knife, but Daniel caught her hand. “Let’s not turn breakfast into an action movie. I know you’re tough. You win, okay? Eat first, then we’ll talk.”

She yanked her hand free, wolfed down a few bites, and got up to leave.

“The entire island’s shut down. Not a single car’s moving—definitely not on your own. If you don’t want to get swept away by the storm, you’d better stay put.”

Amelia hesitated, glancing out the window.

They were in the most luxurious hotel on Diamond Isle, its reinforced construction barely shaking in the typhoon. But outside, the sky was black and the rain was whipping sideways in the wind. One look told her—stepping outside now would be a gamble with her life.

Daniel must have read her thoughts. He leaned back, looking relaxed. “Of course, if you’d rather spend the day in the hotel lobby, go ahead. As long as you’re ready to go hungry and sleep on the sofa, I won’t stop you.”