I Married My Ex's Billionaire Father-Chapter 184: He Would Have Her If It Was The Last Thing He Did

A wave of fear washed over her. She vividly remembered their last encounter and the way it had ended so badly for her, she had almost lost her life. She remembered the way he had acted crazy and tried to force her to go with him, his aggressive demeanor. She instinctively took a step back from him, her heart pounding in her chest.

His appearance at James apartment building could only mean that he had been following her. Lyse could not understand his obsession with her, she had been his girlfriend and he had cheated, lied to her and humiliated her.

And now that she was no longer with him, he did not want to let her live. Lyse looked around, as if looking for a way to escape in the event that Brandon tried attack her she would be able to escape. ’Where was Joel when you needed him?’

Brandon noticed her unease. His expression softened, and he released her then held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Lyse," he said, his voice surprisingly calm. "It’s...it’s good to see you."

Lyse eyed him cautiously, still wary. "Brandon," she acknowledged, her voice barely a whisper. "Wh.. what are you doing here?"

"I know that I am the last person you want to see, you’re probably not even happy to see me," he said, a hint of regret in his voice. "After...what happened the last time."

Lyse remained silent, her eyes fixed on him. Fearful that he might make a sudden move for her.

Brandon sighed. "I came here to look at an apartment," he explained and at Lyse’s look of confusion, he continued. "I lost my apartment and I needed to get a new one, there is a free unit available here." He paused, then added, "And... I wanted to apologize."

Lyse’s eyebrows furrowed in surprise. "Apologize?"

"Yes," Brandon said. "For everything. For my behavior that caused your injury. For humiliating you at our wedding, for cheating on you, for trying to manipulate you to being with me when you had lost your memories, It was...inappropriate. I was out of line. I hope that you can forgive me."

Lyse was taken aback. This was not the Brandon she expected or that she remembered, the aggressive, demanding man. This Brandon was calm, almost...remorseful. She did not know what to make of it or how to deal with it. She still felt wary and wanted to be as far from him as possible, apology or not.

"It’s...it’s okay," she said hesitantly. "I appreciate the apology, it’s all in the past now. We are good."

Brandon nodded. "I also wanted to say that...I’m sorry about Levi," he said, his voice low.

Lyse’s eyes widened. "You...you are?"

"Yes," Brandon confirmed. "I don’t believe that he is capable of murder, not of my mom or even Brett. I knew my mother...she could be...difficult. She did a very wrong thing to him, she lied and manipulated everything. But Levi... i don’t think that he would hurt anyone. You know he even gave me a job."

Lyse stared at him, speechless. This was the last thing she expected to hear from Brandon. He had been a mummy’s boy, his own mother was the one who had died and now, Brandon was saying he did not believe Levi was responsible for their deaths?

"I...I don’t understand," Lyse said, her voice filled with confusion. "Everyone else thinks Levi did it."

Brandon shrugged. "Levi knew about my mother’s deception a long time ago, if he wanted to then he would have acted on it since. It’s stupid to think he would do that when he had nothing to gain by her death."

Lyse was stunned by his reply. She did not know what to say. She had expected Brandon to be hostile, to blame Levi for everything. But instead, he was offering her an olive branch.

"Thank you, Brandon," she said, her voice sincere. "That...that means a lot to know that that’s how you feel." After a minute she added, "I am sorry about your mother’s death."

Brandon shrugged and gave her a small, almost sad smile. "She was horrible to you, you don’t have to apologize." he said. "And, I just wanted you to know, I don’t want you to think...badly of me."

Lyse nodded. "I...I understand, and it is fine. It’s all in the past." she said.

They stood there for a moment, an awkward silence hanging between them. Then, Brandon cleared his throat.

"Well," he said, "I should get going. The agent is waiting to show me the new apartment." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Right," Lyse said. "I...I should get going to my appointment too."

They exchanged a brief, polite nod, and then Lyse turned and walked towards the elevator while Brandon watched him go. As she stood in the elevator and the doors closed, she waved back at Brandon who stood watching her, her mind still reeling from their conversation. She could not believe how calm and reasonable he had been. It was a stark contrast to their previous encounter.

She reasoned that the change must have happened after everything that had happen with him and his mother. Lyse could only imagine what he was currently going through and she felt some pity for him. She knew that life would be hard for him to navigate at that point.

Brandon in the meantime stood staring at the silver doors of the elevator with a smile. It seemed that everything was falling in place and all his plans were going according to plan. If things continued in that way, Levi would be given the electric chair for double homicide and when that happened, he would be readily available for Lyse to be comforted by him.

Lyse was his prize, the reward for all the ache, all the suffering he had been put through by the people who had been involved in the deception of his birth. And he would have her if it was the last thing he ever did, or no one else would.