?<strong>Chapter 434:</strong>


    As she flipped the piece of beef for what felt like the hundredth time, Daxton’s tongs suddenly moved under hers, lifting the meat and setting it aside.


    Carrie nced up at him, her expression filled with confusion.


    Daxton offered a slight smile. “It’s burnt.”


    Carrie hesitated, biting her lip in silence.


    Kristopher’s unexpected call had shattered the quiet moment between them.


    Without warning, Daxton shifted the conversation, his voice cutting through the tension. “Are you sure you want to stay with him?”


    Carrie hadn’t anticipated such a blunt question. For a brief moment, she couldn’t quite figure out what he was really getting at. She wasn’t about to lie to Daxton.


    After some thought, she answered, “Well, we’ve been together for over two years. There are feelings between us…”


    “But he doesn’t respect or trust you. If he did, there wouldn’t have been that argument earlier. I know how you are.”


    Daxton, who was usually calm and gentle, suddenly turned sharp. While his words were urate and rational, theynded on Carrie like a heavy weight, suffocating her.


    She didn’t want to talk about her rtionship with anyone. Being personally involved, it was hard to look at her rtionship from an objective point of view. There were mistakes on both sides, and no one was entirely innocent or entirely guilty.


    Carrie shrugged and spoke with a hint of indifference. “I have my ws too, ones you probably haven’t seen. But today, he wasn’t disrespecting me. The truth is, he just has a hard time expressing himself. That cold attitude of his? It’s really more of a defense mechanism. Deep down, he’s actually soft-hearted, but he struggles to show it. The real issue is, he just doesn’t know how to love the right way.”


    Daxton clearly wasn’t buying her exnation. “Carrie, you’re making too many excuses for him.”


    Carrie shook her head slowly and said, “I’m not defending him, Daxton. You’re looking at this from an objective point of view, and I’m trying to see it from the same angle. I’m just like him.”


    The way I keptpromising wasn’t the right way to love either. Wee from different backgrounds, and our personalities shape how we show affection, but sometimes, it’s the wrong way. If I were speaking from a wife’s perspective, it would be a different story. I would have told you he’s actually a good husband.” Before she could finish, she added, “Daxton, I consider you a great friend. But whether as a lifelong friend or as someone connected to my husband, I don’t think this is the right conversation for us.”


    Her face, usually so expressive, was now unusually solemn. It was rare for her to speak to him with such formality, and it left him feeling uneasy. He had known her longer than Kristopher, and the tension between them made him question things.


    Daxton’s face rxed again, his voice softening. “I overstepped, didn’t I?”


    After that, the air between them stayed tense and a bit ufortable, neither of them knowing how to bridge the gap.


    Noticing Carrie’s difort, Daxton didn’t push for a conversation. Instead, he quietly ced grilled food into her te from time to time, letting the silence linger.


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