A Rainy Night Reunion at My Noodle Cart Chapter 05

A Rainy Night Reunion at My Noodle Cart Chapter 05

I finally let out a breath and collapsed onto the floor.

My daughter squealed in relief too, ran forward, and threw herself into the newcomer’s arms.

“Mr. Finn!”

Finn landed two more hard punches in Cameron’s gut, then finally let him go and helped me up with careful, gentle hands.

He looked me over, worry tight in his face.

“Are you okay?”

I swallowed the pain spiking through my ankle and shook my head, my face drained white.

My daughter tucked herself into Finn’s arms and tattled in a tiny voice.

“Mr. Finn, that bad guy tried to take Mommy away! Mommy said no, and he dragged her toward the door!”

Ice flashed in Finn’s eyes as he stared down at Cameron sprawled on the floor.

Cameron finally caught his breath and struggled upright, glaring at me with fury.

“Ava, didn’t you say you weren’t married?” he snapped. “Who the hell is this random guy?”

When his gaze landed on Finn’s face, his eyes widened, and his voice broke in disbelief.

“Mr. Foster?”

My heart jumped as I looked at Finn.

Cameron was calling him Mr. Foster?

But Finn was supposed to be an Uber driver.

I frowned at Cameron.

“You’ve got the wrong person,” I said. “Finn isn’t some big shot. He drives for Uber.”

“I’m not going back with you,” I added. “If you come near me again, next time I’m calling the police.”

Cameron’s expression darkened as he started to flare up.

Finn stared him down and said a single word, sharp as a blade.

“Get out.”

Cameron opened his mouth again, but Finn cut him off, his tone turning colder instead of louder.

“Or the deal we talked about today is off, immediately.”

Cameron clenched his fists, his eyes sweeping over the three of us with a vicious look.

In the end, he turned away and stomped down the stairs.

Watching his back disappear, I finally exhaled, gripping the doorframe just to stay on my feet.

Finn hurried over, lifted me up in his arms, and gently set me on the couch.

My ankle was badly swollen, and Finn frowned with obvious worry as he found my first-aid kit and gently rubbed on the ointment.

My daughter brought a warm towel and dabbed the cold sweat off my face, little by little.

…

Cameron walked out of the building, popped open an umbrella, and lit a cigarette with a tight frown.

His thoughts were a tangled mess.

When he’d spotted Ava on the street that night, handing out flyers, a wild rush of joy had crashed through him.

They’d been divorced for six years, and Ava had vanished like she’d fallen off the face of the earth.

After he married Lila, he truly believed he’d been happy.

But somehow, Ava kept showing up in his dreams.

Not the Ava who’d gone dull and lifeless after the wedding, but the bright, spoiled teenage girl she used to be.

In those dreams, Ava would grin and snatch his book away, then drag him off to run around and do something reckless.

When she got tired, she’d lace her fingers with his and demand, sweet and bossy, that he love only her for the rest of his life.

She was so vivid.

The Whitman’s spoiled heiress—their pride and joy—Ava looked like a richly colored oil painting come to life.

He couldn’t even explain when he’d started liking Lila instead.

Maybe it was her relentless pursuit, or maybe it was how fragile she seemed.

She felt nothing like Ava’s bright confidence.

Cameron hadn’t even noticed when his attention started to drift.

By the time he came back to himself, his relationship with Ava had already shattered.

He’d grown sick of the endless fighting and instinctively wanted to lose himself in Lila’s warmth.

He’d even forgotten how Ava once swore to her mother that they would be happy forever.

The slanting rain slid into Cameron’s collar, and he shivered hard.

He looked up at the building, where only a few windows still glowed.

Annoyed, he crushed the cigarette out, trying to smother the sudden unease twisting in his chest.

He hadn’t done anything wrong.

Ava was a bad woman who played dirty.

One moment she’d agreed to call off the engagement, and the next she’d climbed into his bed and forced him into marrying her.

She’d nearly made Lila miscarry.

She’d even stolen company secrets, and for all he knew she would’ve handed them to a competitor the very next day.

Seeing Ava living so miserably felt satisfying.

The woman who’d once been the high-and-mighty heiress was now just a server at a hole-in-the-wall diner.

His hatred finally had somewhere to go, and Ava’s evil had come back around to punish her.

And yet, beneath that satisfaction, thin threads of tenderness and reluctance still rose up in him.

Especially when he’d heard she had a daughter, and when he’d seen Finn.

Cameron’s eyes darkened.

Finn Foster.

How did he even know Ava?