All Chapters of He Never Claimed Me: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

89 Chapters

Chapter 51: The Cost of Peace

The kitchen remained quiet long after Marcus finished talking. Nobody seemed to know what to say. The first-aid kit sat open on the table. A stained cloth rested beside it. The kettle on the stove had long since stopped whistling. Marcus leaned back in his chair, exhausted. The fight had taken more out of him than he wanted to admit. Across from him, Leo stared at the table. His jaw was tight. His shoulders were rigid. The guilt was written all over his face. Marcus noticed it immediately. “Stop it.” Leo looked up. “Stop what?” Marcus pointed at him. “That look.” Leo laughed bitterly. “What look?” “The one where you’re blaming yourself.” Silence. Leo looked away. Marcus sighed. “You didn’t put me in that fight.” “They came because of me.” “No,” Marcus said firmly. “They came because they’re idiots looking for someone to bully.” Leo clenched his hands. “If I hadn’t gotten involved—” “Enough.” Marcus’s voice cracked through the room. Everyone went quiet. “I’

Chapter 52: A Closer Look

The city glittered beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, but Julian paid it little attention. His focus remained on the file spread across the desk. Three days of digging had produced nothing useful. No hidden accounts. No suspicious transactions. No wealthy benefactor quietly funding Ava Hayes’s business. Just numbers. Normal, boring numbers most people would never think twice about. Julian flipped through another page, irritation building with every line. People always left traces. Greed left traces. Secrets left traces. Fear left traces. Yet every road seemed to end in the same place—a small salon, a hardworking owner, and a family struggling to stay afloat. None of it made sense. His phone vibrated. Without looking, he answered. “Tell me you found something.” “Not exactly.” Julian closed his eyes. “Then why are you calling?” “There’s something you should see.” A notification appeared on his tablet. Julian opened the attachment and found a spreadsheet filled with rows

Chapter 53: Familiar Stranger

The morning sun felt too bright, cutting through the haze of a night spent staring at the ceiling. Ava walked into the salon, her steps heavy, her shoulders carrying the weight of the previous evening’s kitchen-table confession. She felt like she was walking through a dream, the image of her mother’s tear-streaked face still burned into her eyelids. Tessa looked up from the reception desk, her eyes narrowing as Ava dropped her bag. “You look like you went ten rounds with a heavyweight and lost.” Ava shot her a look, pushing a stray hair behind her ear. “Good morning to you, too.” “Seriously,” Tessa pressed. “Did you even sleep?” “A little.” “That’s not an answer.” Ava brushed it off, needing the structure of the day to keep her from unraveling. She focused on the rhythm of the salon—the hum of the dryers, the scent of products in the air, and the endless flow of appointments. For a few hours, it worked. She managed to push Marcus’s bruises and her mother’s fear into the back o

Chapter 54: Breaking the Perimeter

The morning at the salon felt like forced normalcy. Ava was busy with a client, the low hum of the dryer giving her some comfort. But everything shifted when the front door opened just after noon. Julian walked in again. Tessa didn't even try to be nice. She stood behind the reception desk with her arms crossed, watching him as he walked over. “At this point, you should just rent a chair,” she said, her voice sharp. Julian didn't get angry. He just gave a small, confident smirk. “Would that make you feel better?” “No,” Tessa snapped. Before Ava could jump in, a fight broke out near the desk. A woman who was waiting for her appointment was shouting at Chloe because of a scheduling mix-up. “I have a flight in two hours!” the woman yelled, making everyone in the shop look over. “I don't care what your book says, you fix this now!” Chloe looked scared. Ava started to walk over, but Julian was already there. He didn't raise his voice or act tough. He just stood in front of th

Chapter 55: The Call

Ava spent most of the day trying not to think about him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going very well. The salon was busy enough to keep her occupied, but every quiet moment seemed determined to betray her. The second she finished with one client and had a spare minute to breathe, her thoughts drifted right back to Noah. It was annoying. Embarrassing. Completely unfair. Because he wasn’t even around. “Ava.” She looked up from the appointment book. Tessa was staring at her. “What?” “You did it again.” Ava frowned. “Did what?” “The staring into space thing.” “I was thinking.” “Clearly.” Ava rolled her eyes. Tessa folded her arms. “You’re distracted.” “I’m tired.” “No.” “Tessa.” “No.” A smile tugged at Tessa’s mouth. “It’s him.” Ava immediately looked away. Which was apparently the wrong thing to do because Tessa’s grin widened. “Oh, wow.” “What?” “You didn’t even argue.” “There is nothing to argue about.” “Mhmm.” Ava grabbed a brush and pointed it at her. “Don’

Chapter 56: The Sound of Your Voice

“Ava.” Her grip tightened around the phone. For a second she couldn’t answer. “Noah?” “Yeah.” The sound of his voice hit harder than she expected. Weeks of silence. Weeks of wondering. Weeks of convincing herself she didn’t care. All gone in a heartbeat. “You called.” “I did.” Ava laughed softly. Not because anything was funny. Because she didn’t know what else to do. The silence stretched. Noah broke it first. “I heard about Marcus.” Her expression changed immediately. Of course he knew. Somehow he always knew things he shouldn’t. “He’s fine.” “Ava.” She closed her eyes. “He’ll be fine.” Noah leaned back in his chair. “You don’t sound convinced.” “Because I’m tired.” The words escaped before she could stop them. Tired of worrying. Tired of pretending. Tired of carrying everything. Neither spoke for a moment. Then Noah said quietly, “I know.” “No, you don’t.” The response came fast. Too fast. Ava pressed a hand against her forehead. She hadn’t m

Chapter 57: Maybe

Ava stared at the phone long after Noah’s last words settled between them. “Let me see you, Ava.” Her stomach fluttered. It annoyed her. A lot. Because after everything, after the silence and the disappearing acts and the endless excuses she’d made for him, one simple sentence was enough to make her forget half the speech she’d just given. “You’re quiet.” His voice pulled her back. “I’m thinking.” “That’s dangerous.” A laugh escaped her before she could stop it. “There he is.” “There who is?” “The man who disappears for weeks and comes back pretending he’s funny.” “I am funny.” “Noah.” “Fine. Occasionally funny.” She shook her head. The smile remained. Neither mentioned it. Neither wanted to ruin the moment. Outside, rain continued tapping softly against the windows. Ava curled her legs beneath her. “You know, I should say no.” “Probably.” The immediate answer surprised her. “What?” “You probably should.” Now she frowned. “That

Chapter 58: Coffee at Last

Ava changed her shirt three times. By the fourth attempt, she was already annoyed with herself. It was coffee. Just coffee. Not a date. Not a life-changing event. Not something that required standing in front of a mirror for fifteen minutes wondering if a blue top looked too eager. A knock sounded at her apartment door. Ava groaned. “Go away.” The door opened anyway. Maya stepped inside and immediately narrowed her eyes. “Oh.” Ava froze. “Oh what?” “You have a date.” “It isn’t a date.” Maya looked at the discarded clothes on the bed. Then at Ava. Then back at the clothes. “It is absolutely a date.” “It isn’t.” “It is.” Ava grabbed a pillow and threw it at her. Maya laughed. “You like him.” “Leave.” “You do.” “Leave.” Still laughing, Maya headed for the door. Before leaving, she paused. “For what it’s worth, the blue one looks better.” The door closed. Ava stared after her. Then looked at the blue top. Then sighed. Across the city, Noah checked the t

Chapter 59: The Conversation

Noah was halfway through reviewing a contract when his office door opened without warning. He didn’t look up. Only one person entered his office without permission, and she was the only one who never apologized for it. “You’re supposed to knock,” Noah said, his voice flat. Lydia closed the door. “And you’re supposed to answer your phone.” Noah finally looked up. His mother looked exactly as she always did composed, impeccably dressed, and entirely unreadable. Most people found her intimidating. Noah just found her exhausting. “What do you want, Mother?” Lydia sat down across from him, smoothing her skirt. “That’s a lovely way to greet me.” “You didn’t come here for a social visit.” “No,” she said, folding her hands. “I didn’t.” The room went quiet. Noah waited, his muscles tight. Lydia studied him with that clinical look she used when she was evaluating a business risk. Finally, she spoke, her voice devoid of any warmth. “How was coffee?” Noah didn’t blink, but h

Chapter 60: Unaware

Ava woke up feeling lighter than she had in weeks. Her problems hadn't gone away the shop was still behind on a few payments and her to-do list was a mile long but Noah was back. Even though she told herself to keep her guard up, she couldn't help the way her mood had shifted. At the salon, the morning was busy, but Tessa wasn't fooled. She caught Ava staring at a stack of invoices with a soft look on her face and leaned against the desk. "Okay. What happened?" Ava didn't look up. "Nothing." "You're smiling at bills, Ava. Bills aren't funny." Ava quickly straightened her face, but she couldn't wipe the smile away. She tried to stop thinking about Noah for the rest of the morning, but that just meant he was on her mind every single second. Lydia Volkov sat in her quiet study, her face tight as she held her phone. She finally made the call. "The coffee happened," she said the moment someone answered. Julian was sitting in his car, watching the city traffic. He sounded bored. "I

...

4 5 6 7 8 9

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP