He Wants to Buy My Heart—But It’s Not for Sale Chapter 09

He Wants to Buy My Heart—But It’s Not for Sale Chapter 09

I looked up and froze.

The man standing at the door was Thayer.

He had changed so much.

In the past, he was always perfectly dressed, his hair combed back without a strand out of place. Every inch of him carried the arrogance and polish of a successful Alpha.

Now he wore a wrinkled shirt with one button missing at the collar.

His eyes were bloodshot.

Blue-black stubble shadowed his jaw.

He looked haggard, like he had not slept properly in days.

His gaze swept over the shop before landing on me.

Something complicated moved in his eyes.

“Selah.”

His voice was painfully hoarse, carrying a tremor so faint it was almost hidden.

I set down the spray bottle in my hand and looked at him calmly.

“Mr. Blackthorn. What can I do for you?”

I deliberately emphasized the formality, putting distance between us.

He clearly disliked it. His brows pulled tight.

—

He stepped forward, trying to get closer.

I instinctively stepped back, avoiding his touch.

Thayer’s hand froze midair.

The emotions in his eyes grew even more tangled.

Hurt, confusion, and anger tangled in his eyes.

“Come back with me.”

His tone was the same as before. Commanding. Absolute. As if I still belonged to him.

I shook my head lightly.

“I’m not going back.”

“This place is good. I like my life now.”

Thayer seemed to hear the most ridiculous thing in the world.

He laughed, sharp with anger.

“Good?”

“Selah, you’re running a tiny flower shop here, wearing yourself out every day for pocket change. You call that good?”

“Have you forgotten the life you had with me? Comfort. Status. Protection. Everything this little shop could never give you.”

His words stirred nothing in me.

“Mr. Blackthorn, people define happiness differently.”

—

“We stopped wanting the same life a long time ago.”

“This quiet life is what I want.”

“We haven’t been on the same road for a long time.”

Thayer’s face darkened at once. His gaze sharpened.

“Not on the same road?”

“Selah, you agreed to the bond back then.”

“I told you from the start that I couldn’t give you a faithful heart. You were the one who chose to stay. What right do you have to complain now?”

“Every grievance you suffered was something you chose for yourself.”

There it was again.

That superior tone.

As if everything wrong between us had been my fault alone.

I looked at him and suddenly found it funny.

After all these years, he had never once reflected on himself.

In his eyes, all my pain and all my struggle existed because I was greedy.

Because I had asked for suffering.

Since that was what he believed, what else was there to say?

More words would only waste my peace.

—

I stopped looking at him, walked to the door, and opened it.

“Mr. Blackthorn. Please leave.”

“My shop is still open.”

Thayer strode forward, trying to stop me.

“Selah, you’re coming with me today.”

His voice was harsh, full of threat.

I ignored him and shut the glass door hard.

The sound cut off his gaze.

It also cut off that suffocating scent clinging to him.