Obedience No More He's the One I Deserved novel Chapter 213

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"I don't want to do anything." Austin's eyes were bloodshot, the rims raw and swollen like he hadn't closed them all night. His voice rasped out like sandpaper. "Dawn, I raised you. I can't let you marry Ethan. I won't agree to this."

Dawn didn't flinch at his words. She simply fell quiet for a breath, then gave him a thin smile. "Uncle Austin, there's no use saying that now."

"There is. The ceremony hasn't even begun yet."

"But Ethan and I are already married."

"Then divorce him!!"

Austin's voice climbed, sharp and ragged, his control breaking apart. His eyes blazed with fury as if fire burned behind them. "I told you long ago that men like him don't truly want to be with you. Ethan is no different. He only wants you because you're young."

Dawn's gaze stayed steady, her eyes calm and unblinking. She waited until his anger dimmed a little, then let out a soft laugh. "You've said that to me over and over. But I'm the one who's marrying him. Do you honestly believe I can't tell if he's sincere?"

"What you feel isn't always the truth."

Austin dragged a hand across his forehead and forced his eyes downward, as if grounding himself.

Then, with sudden force, he gripped her shoulders and fixed his stare on her. His voice cracked with urgency. "Dawn, you have to believe me. No one understands men more than I do. You're still young, and you don't know enough about love yet. When you're older, I—"

He stopped.

Dawn tilted her head, her lips curving faintly. "Why didn't you finish, Uncle Austin?"

Austin swallowed hard, his throat working, the words stuck.

"You were about to say that every man who comes close to me only wants me for my youth. You think all their sweet promises are lies. You believe that once they've taken what they want, they'll leave me and hurt me. Is that what you were trying to say"

He had said the same thing many times before.

Back then, she believed part of it. She thought he might be speaking out of care.

But her voice sharpened now. "You seem to forget something, Uncle Austin. You hurt me too."

So in the end, there was no difference at all. He was the same as the other men he talked about.

Men could be proud by nature. The only thing that mattered was who they were inside.

And Ethan, out of all the men she had known, was the one who carried real character.

Austin's jaw locked, his face hardening. His dark hair fell forward, shadowing his eyes, hiding the storm raging within.

The weight of his presence filled the room, pressing down as if he was fighting a war against himself.

The silence stretched until it grew heavy.

Then, finally, he lifted his head. His bloodshot eyes fastened on her face, his voice even yet absolute. "I'll take you away. I'll never hurt you again. We can go somewhere no one knows us, and I—"