Avery's Game Of Revenge
Chapter 191: Deserve Better

Chapter 191: Deserve Better

Archie didn’t speak. His silence wasn’t agreement, but it wasn’t denial either.

"Uhm..." Emma stepped closer, lowering her voice. "I know you have power, Arch. And the will. So why don’t you just fight for her? Why won’t you just do something? I don’t like Brian for Vee, either. He rubs me the wrong way."

That was when Archie finally smiled.

Not an happy one.

It was thin, crooked, and soaked with something broken.

"I can fight a million men who want her," he said softly. "But I can’t raise a finger against the one man she wants."

Emma blinked. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

Archie’s eyes dropped to the floor, then turned away toward the hall, his shoulders sagging just a little. "If she wants Brian... then fighting for her is just another way of making her hate me."

He began to walk.

Slow, steady, disappearing down the hallway with the weight of last night heavy on his back while she watched him go, heart sinking.

☆♡♡♡☆

Back to Present...

Archie stood by the kitchen counter, flipping a pan with practiced ease. The scent of eggs and toasted bread wafted through the air—simple, filling comfort food. He plated it carefully, then turned to find Avery watching him from across the room, her expression unreadably grim.

They had come down to the kitchen several minutes ago after her stomach growled. Wordlessly, he’d started making something for her while their conversation continued to unravel layers of painful truths.

With a warm smile, he walked toward her and placed the plate gently in front of her. "There," he said. "Story time’s over. Eat up."

But Avery didn’t touch the food. She just stared at him, lips parted, speechless.

Archie smirked lightly. "What? You want to hear more? Whatever happened next?"

He leaned against the counter and added with a casual shrug, "Okay, after that day, I couldn’t bring myself to process the divorce. So instead, I buried myself in some underground work, making sure that the name change and our... marriage didn’t disrupt your business or daily life. That’s why no one can connect Avery McCallum to your current identity, no matter how deep they dig. I buried it so well, even I don’t think I can find evidence of it even if i want to."

He glanced down at the plate. "That aside... after that day, you just seemed to hate me more with every encounter. So, I kept my distance. And now, here we are."

His gaze lifted again. "You gonna start eating or not? My story doesn’t mean I’m going to set you free tonight."

Avery scoffed, pushing the plate away sharply. "You think anyone’s thinking about food right now?! You knew. Emma knew. But I was left fooling myself for three whole years and I... I... fuck."

Archie pushed the plate gently back toward her. "You were drugged, Angel. You can’t be blamed. And we can’t be blamed either. I told you what the doctor said."

Rolling her eyes, Avery responded with a shaky voice. "But still... you went through all that, and I... If you had told me what happened, this whole thing with Brian could’ve been avoided. My family would be safe as we speak."

"I don’t think so," Archie disagreed. "You would’ve only hated me more. Even if you broke up with Brian, he’d have taken you back since his goal was never just to be with you. The only change that might have occured is he would’ve guilt-tripped you, held it over your head that you ’cheated’ during your relationship."

Avery sighed bitterly, her voice flat. "So no matter what you guys did, we still would’ve ended up here."

"So it seems."

Silence hung for a beat before she lowered her head. Her voice cracked. "Still... how could you keep all of that to yourself? Doing that to yourself... and then sticking around while I paraded around with him. That’s not love. That’s... it’s toxic, Archie. Love isn’t supposed to be like that."

Archie lifted the plate again and nudged it toward her. "Who said it was love?" His voice was calm. "Last I checked, I told you I was obsessed with you. Not just in love with you."

Avery blinked, stunned. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. She pushed back from the table and stood abruptly. "Jeez, I can’t even believe this."

She turned to leave, but Archie was faster. He moved around the counter and grabbed her wrist, pulling her against him, hard enough to make her gasp.

"Who said you could leave, huh?" he murmured, holding her firm against his chest. "We’re not done here. Not even close to done."

Her eyes swam with tears now as she looked up at him. "I just... I can’t imagine how you must’ve felt."

Archie smirked again, a hint of shadow in his expression. "I can’t imagine how you must’ve felt either," he said quietly.

He lowered his head toward her ear, voice dropping into a husky whisper. "I took you for the first time in the front seat of my car. You deserved better than that. We did."

Avery nodded slowly. "Yeah, we deserve better," she agreed.

Archie nodded, his eyes shimmering behind his glasses. This was great.

She wasn’t running. No panic, no hesitation—his girl was good with it. Even if she’d only just realized they’d been married for three years.

She didn’t recoil from the truth; that he’d obsessed over her in silence for so long, enduring every ache rather than let her go. That he’d carved his devotion into his bones, one excruciating day at a time, knowing he would have her in the end. One way or another. Whether she wanted it or not.

Gently, he tucks a loose tendril of hair behind her ear, his touch lingering.

Because in the end, he couldn’t survive without her.

And he wouldn’t.

He blinked when she looked up at him, her voice trembling as she spoke, "Why though? Why couldn’t you just be unreasonable and pull me away from Brian? Whether I wanted it or not at the time?"