# Chapter 231: The Apple She Peeled and the Secret She Hid
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? Thank you for keeping me company as we return to the tangled, heart-wrenching world of *The Untouchable Ex Wife*. Today's chapter is set in a quiet hospital room, but don't be fooled—beneath the sterile smell and soft sunlight, heavy words are exchanged, old wounds reopen, and new aches are born. So let's step inside.
The phrase Quinton had left hanging in the air lingered like a curse: *"The person you would never meet again..."* Renee's fingers curled tightly around the apple she was peeling. She wanted to ask him if that person was Joanne. The name burned on the tip of her tongue, desperate to escape. But she bit it back. Some questions were too sharp to touch.
The silence stretched between them until Quinton suddenly turned to her with a soft smile.
"Let's talk about you instead, shall we?"
Renee looked up warily.
"I heard that the neurosurgeon operated on me because of Stefan," Quinton said, his voice deceptively light. "Do you owe him a favor now—or is it me?"
That single question was enough to make Renee's hand tremble. The knife slipped, and a thin, sharp line of red bloomed across her finger.
Quinton's eyes widened immediately, panic flashing across his face. "Renee, are you alright? Let me have a look!"
He tried to get out of bed, but she pressed him back down firmly. With a soft sigh, she wrapped a piece of tissue around her bleeding finger, acting as if it were nothing.
"It's no big deal. I'm not that delicate."
But the wound kept pulsing beneath the tissue, a small, painful echo of the turmoil she refused to show. She continued peeling the apple anyway, her hands moving with practiced care, and sliced it into neat little pieces. Lifting one with a toothpick, she offered it to Quinton.
"Eat this."
He obeyed like a child, taking a bite. Then, with that relentless gaze of his, he returned to the tough topic.
"Don't avoid the subject. How should we return Stefan's favor?"
Renee's jaw tightened, and her eyes turned cold. "It's unnecessary. It's what he should do. After everything he's done, it's already generous of you to keep him alive."
There it was—the bitterness she had tried so hard to swallow. She still believed Stefan owed them, not the other way around.
But Quinton's expression grew complicated. He let out a long, low sigh.
"You can't say that, Renee. I've been fighting him for so many years, and so much damage was done on both sides. We're even now. And especially since he willingly hired an expert to do my surgery... He was truly generous. If I keep holding onto the past, I would just look ungrateful."
Renee could hardly believe her ears. "Quinton, you..." She looked at him as if she had never truly met this man. "Before this, you told me you wanted to fight him until the end. What is this sudden change? Do you want to be his friend now?"
Her voice was laced with frustration—and something deeper: trepidation. Renee had spent so many sleepless nights trying to keep these two men from destroying each other. But now that Quinton was offering peace with his own hands, she felt strangely afraid.
"No, I won't be his friend," Quinton said quietly, shaking his head. "But I also don't think we need to keep fighting. After all... I can't shift all the blame onto him for what happened that year."
He frowned deeply, as though the memory itself clawed at his chest. But he continued, his voice steady.
"After everything I've been through, after staring at death and coming back, many things have become clearer. Many things have changed."
Renee studied his face carefully, afraid to push too far. Then, in a soft voice, she asked the question sitting at the bottom of her heart.
"Quinton... what exactly are you referring to? Are you trying to say that he was innocent?"
Quinton stared at her strangely. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he shook his head.
"Forget it. It was so long ago, and it's no longer important who's at fault. Since you two have already buried the hatchet... you can make peace, and then live your lives separately."
The words landed like stones dropped into still water.
Renee, however, was still angry at Stefan for what he had done to Quinton. But she had to hide it, and hiding it was suffocating her. If Quinton ever discovered the depth of her resentment, he would jump right back into the war she was trying to end. The best result, she told herself, was for them to live far apart.
It became painfully clear that her old fantasy—that their broken families could one day sit together, laugh together, and heal together—was nothing more than wishful thinking.
Just as she was about to resign herself to that truth, Quinton looked at her with apologetic eyes.
"No," he said softly. "You must never stay out of his life."
Renee froze, not understanding.
"Renee, I know it has been very hard on you since we reunited. I know that before me, before all of this, you had a bright future with him. You had happiness within reach—and it was my fault that everything became so complicated. I'm sorry."
The smile he gave her was fragile, almost sorrowful.
"So please, follow your heart. No matter what choice you make, I won't stop you. Not anymore."
Those words hit Renee like a tender blow. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. The anger she had clutched so tightly suddenly felt heavier, like a shield she could no longer lift. Quinton had chosen to let go of the past—so why couldn't she? And more importantly, was letting go of her hatred the same as opening the door to Stefan again?
The apple piece remained untouched in her hand as her heart waged a silent war between duty, gratitude, and love.
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**Reader's Impressions & Star Rating:**
This chapter is a masterclass in emotional restraint. Nothing explodes, no dramatic fights, no screaming matches—just two wounded people sitting in a hospital room with an apple and a quiet confession between them. And yet it pierces straight through the chest. Renee's hidden pain and her inability to let go of her anger, while Quinton reaches an almost saintly level of understanding, creates a devastating contrast. I loved how the tiny cut on Renee's finger symbolized the unspoken wound she keeps hidden inside. Quinton's farewell gift to her is heart-wrenching—he's giving her permission to choose love again, not out of weakness, but out of real care for her happiness. This chapter is deeply moving and beautifully tense.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars
**Next Chapter Prediction:**
With Quinton stepping back and giving Renee his blessing, the real storm is about to begin. Now that her heart is no longer tied down by guilt, will Renee finally confront Stefan face-to-face and let the old flames resurface? Or will the mysterious name that almost slipped out—Joanne—come back to haunt them all? One thing is certain: the next chapter will force Renee to make a choice she has been avoiding for far too long.
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