All Chapters of The Man I Was Meant to Hate: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Liam's POVAnd somebody has just reminded me why. The woman does not even stir when Ava sees her. She is standing in the middle of the street as she always was, merely a part of the morning traffic, open cafe door, and that odour of burnt coffee. Her coat is plain, her hair is gathered in, she is not holding a phone, and she has no hurry in her eyes.Ava’s steps slow.I sense it even before she is going to say something. That tiny shift in her body. Her fingers squeeze me and then relax. She does not appear scared, and that is what frightens me.“Liam,” she whispers. “She’s been watching.”I follow Ava’s gaze. The woman looks directly at me without any compromise. No smile, no threat. Only a glance, as though she has already made her mind up and now is waiting till the world catches up.All instincts declare: get in front of Ava. End this now. We swore to ourselves normal. Coffee. A walk. Quiet.Normal never lasts.“Do you know her?” I ask.Ava shakes her head. “But she knows me.” T

Liam's Point Of View It is so quiet in the city now, but there is much noise in my head. I am only walking around this little apartment where we are living, gripping Ava by the drive, as though it were a weapon or a lifebuoy. I cannot bring myself to quit thinking about all the possibilities in my head - what will happen if Mara disappears forever?What would happen in case a person were able to crack the drive and trace it to Ava?But what will happen when everything we have been fighting to get is ruined, and I am too slow to prevent it?I am trembling in my hands, and my jaw aches. I had never wished so much for this fear before regarding that river day, when I barely prevented her from being lost in the current.Ava is sitting up against the couch, with all of her knees squished and one hand holding a mug, and the other tapping the edge. She is not uttering a sound, but only letting me spin, as she is aware I must empty the whole contents before I can draw a breath.I drop the dr

Liam's Point Of ViewThe sun of the morning is pouring in and illuminating the wood floors. Ava sits on top of the kitchen table with half-drunk coffee that makes her hands warm. She gazes into my face, with such tender eyes, and hair which still smells of last night's rain. There's no chaos here. No courtrooms. No sirens. It seems for a minute that the world has been reduced to us, to only this silence.I take a slow step toward her, careful not to crowd her. I learned a long time ago that supporting her doesn’t mean taking control. She never required a hero in any of the senses that others have; it has always been just to be next to her, shoulder to shoulder, and allow her to drive as she takes the strain next to her.“You look tired,” I say softly, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.A little smile on the corner of her mouth and a shrug. "I am. But it's worth it." She looks into my eyes. Did you keep up all night worrying, did you?I snort a laugh, shake my head. "Yeah, I

Rylan's Point Of ViewThe first time I hear Ethan’s voice again, I know it’s wrong.Not because it doesn’t sound like him. That’s the problem. It sounds too much like him.The recording plays through my headphones in the dim light of my apartment. I’m sitting at my desk, coffee gone cold, laptop humming like it’s nervous. The voice says Ava’s name. The same way Ethan always did. Soft at the start. Protective at the end.My stomach drops.I stopped the audio halfway through and pulled the headphones off as they burned me.“No,” I mutter. “You wouldn’t.”Ethan was careful. Paranoid, even. He left evidence, yes—but he never left anything that could be twisted like this. Not without locks. Not without context.I scrub a hand over my face and force myself to breathe. Then I put the headphones back on and replay it. This time, I listened like a professional, not a friend.There it is.A micro-pause where there shouldn’t be one. A clipped breath that doesn’t belong. The rhythm is off, just e

Ava's Point Of ViewI don’t expect it to be her.Even after everything, some small part of me still believes there are lines the world won’t cross.I am wrong.The courtroom is still loud from the last witness. Voices overlap. Papers shuffle. The judge calls for order again, and this time it sticks. My heart hasn’t slowed since the doors opened minutes ago. Liam’s hand is still in mine. He hasn’t let go.Then the clerk speaks a name.My mother’s name.The sound of it hits me harder than any shout ever could.For a second, I don’t breathe.I turn toward the door like my body knows before my mind does. And there she is—walking in with calm steps, spine straight, hair perfectly set. She looks the same. Not older. Not tired. Not broken.Untouched.She doesn’t look at me.Not once.She takes the oath without hesitation. Her voice is smooth, controlled, and almost bored. Like this is another meeting. Another negotiation. I watch her hands. They don’t shake.Mine do.I press them together in