Chapter 100-A disgusting excuse of a man

Chapter 100: 100-A disgusting excuse of a man

"Are you telling me that you don’t mean it anymore?"

Dylan rubbed his forehead. "Don’t twist my words," he was getting annoyed with the conversation.

"Then explain them!" She grabbed his arm. "Do you love Aymara? Is that it? Do you still love her after everything we’ve done? After everything we sacrificed to get away from her?"

Dylan’s gaze dropped to her hand. For years, he had believed he could keep both women under his influence. Aymara gave him security, money, and a life of comfort. Sarah gave him excitement, admiration, and the intoxicating feeling of being wanted without having to work very hard for it.

He had convinced himself that he could decide which woman he wanted whenever it suited him. He had never considered that his choices might eventually leave him with neither.

"I don’t know," he finally admitted.

Sarah released his arm as though his skin had burned her. "What?"

"I said I don’t know!" His voice echoed through the narrow corridor.

Dylan dragged a hand through his hair, frustration twisting his features.

"Do you want me to lie to you? Fine! I miss Aymara. I miss the way things used to be. I miss having enough food that I never had to worry about where the next meal was coming from. I miss sleeping in a comfortable bed. I miss knowing that if something went wrong, there would be someone to handle it."

He laughed bitterly. His laugh cut through the silence between them and left a scar on Sarah’s heart.

"Do you know how many times I’ve wished I could go back to the way things were before the apocalypse?"

Sarah’s lips trembled. She held back her tears and the ache of her heart breaking from listening to him. "And Aymara was part of that life."

"Yes!" The answer came out before he could stop himself and immediately, both of them fell silent.

Dylan stared at her, breathing heavily. He had spent so long pretending that his feelings were simple that he had never bothered to examine them honestly. He had told himself that he loved Sarah because she made him feel desired.

He had told himself that Aymara was merely a convenient arrangement, a woman whose wealth made his life easier but now that the world had fallen apart, the truth was becoming difficult to ignore. He missed Aymara’s care, the security of her resources and the way she used to look at him as though he were the most important person in her world.

He missed the comfortable life she had given him without ever demanding that he earn it and perhaps, in some twisted corner of his heart, he missed the woman herself.

But was that love? Dylan didn’t know. What he did know was that he couldn’t stand the life he was living now.

He couldn’t stand waking up hungry, wondering whether the next wave would overturn their ship. He couldn’t stand the uncertainty, the constant fear, and the humiliation of realizing that all his clever plans had led him to this.

He wanted his old life back and Aymara was the one person who could give it to him.

"Look at us, Sarah," he said, his voice lower now. "Look at what we’ve become."

Sarah folded her arms around herself. "We can still make it."

"Can we?"

"Yes! We just need to find more supplies. We need to repair the ship and..."

"With what money? With what materials? With what resources?" He question. Dylan gestured toward the narrow corridor.

"We don’t even have a proper kitchen anymore! We have to ration every drop of clean water, and you know what happened the last time we tried to approach another vessel for supplies."

The memory of their previous encounter was still fresh. It was a reminder that not every ship carried helpless survivors who could be bullied into surrendering their belongings. Some were armed, others had defenses they couldn’t hope to overcome and they had been fortunate to escape with their lives.

Dylan was no longer willing to gamble on luck. "Meanwhile," he continued, "Aymara has a ship that can defend itself against monsters and armed men. She has food, medicine, power, and probably enough supplies to survive for years. She doesn’t have to worry about every little thing the way we do."

Sarah’s face twisted. "So that’s all you care about? Her ship?"

"What else am I supposed to care about? Romance? Promises? Look around you! The world has ended!"

He stepped closer, his eyes flashing with warning signs. "Love isn’t going to feed us, Sarah. It isn’t going to protect us from the ocean or keep us alive when our ship breaks apart. We need security. We need resources. We need a future."

"And you think Aymara will give you all of that?" Her voice sounded pain. She thought that she was the main character who had returned to change her fate but she failed.

She failed to secure her life and keep Dylan’s life. In the first life, Aymara was the one who was hurt and abandoned and in this one, she was the one he was walking away from. It dawned on her, his love is fickle, sparking for the one who can offer him good life.

"She used to," Dylan said weakly.

"She doesn’t love you anymore!" She stated plainly.

"She’ll change her mind," he sounded. Determined.

Sarah stared at him in disbelief. "Did you even listen to what she said? She told you she doesn’t want you. She threatened to block you!"

"She’s angry right now. That’s all."

"No, Dylan! She’s finished with you!"

He looked away, unable to bear the truth. Sarah stepped into his line of sight, forcing him to meet her eyes.

"Answer me honestly. If Aymara had agreed to take you back, what would you have done with me?"

Dylan’s jaw tightened. "Sarah..."

"What would you have done?"

He said nothing and that silence said everything. She let out a small, broken laugh. "I see."

"Don’t make this ugly, Sarah."

"Then what is it?" she demanded. "Because from where I’m standing, you were ready to throw me away the moment you thought Aymara might let you back into her life!"

Dylan’s expression darkened. "You were the one who encouraged me to leave Aymara in the first place."

Sarah went still. "What?" She felt like she heard him wrong.

Wasn’t he the one who came running to her when she returned to the city? Wasn’t he the one who claimed he’s never stopped loving her? And was just playing pretend with Aymara?

"You heard me. You knew what we were doing. You knew we were taking her money and leaving her behind. You agreed with me because you thought it was the best way for us to survive," his voice grew colder. "So don’t stand there acting as though you’re innocent. You wanted her gone just as much as I did."

Smack!

Sarah slapped him. The sound cracked through the corridor.

Dylan’s head turned slightly. After a moment, he slowly faced her again, his expression frighteningly blank. "Are you finished?"

Sarah’s chest rose and fell rapidly. "You bastard."

"Maybe. But at least I’m being honest about what I want."

"Honest?" She laughed bitterly. "You call this honesty? You used me to get rid of Aymara, and now you want to crawl back to her because she’s richer and more powerful than I am!"

"I never said I was going back to her because I loved her."

Sarah stared at him and Dylan swallowed when he realized what he’d said. He spoke the truth he had been avoiding, finally exposed between them.

He wasn’t calling Aymara because he had suddenly become a better man. He wasn’t seeking forgiveness because he had finally understood the depth of his betrayal. He wasn’t even certain that he wanted the woman she had become.

He wanted what she could provide: a warm bed, a full stomach, a safe ship, and the certainty that he would survive tomorrow. He wanted the life he had lost and if pretending to love Aymara was the price of getting it back, he was willing to pay.

Sarah took a step away from him.

"You really are a disgusting excuse of a man!"

Dylan’s face hardened. "Think whatever you want."

"I will. And I’ll remember this conversation the next time you tell me you love me."

She turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"Somewhere I don’t have to look at you!"