The Unwanted Wife's Return (Ex-Husband Wants Me Back) novel Chapter 304

The Argument Between Us 

ANDREW’S POV: 

Dad said: “Best team argument award. That was yours. That is not a small thing.” 

I had been going over the parts of my case that had not been strong enough. The places where Amelia had reached. something I had not fully anticipated: I was in the middle of this review when Dad said it and I stopped. 

“The debate format is a simplification,” I said. “Amelia and I agreed on that afterward. The real answer is that the two things are interdependent.” 

“I know,” Dad said. “But within the format you were given, your team’s argument was awarded best structural argument by the judges. Which means you argued your case excellently.” 

I thought about this. 

“Amelia was better,” I said. 

“Amelia was different,” he said. “She argued a different kind of case in a different way. That is not the same as better.” 

I recognized this phrasing. It was almost exactly what Amelia had said to me. I wondered if they had discussed it. I decided it did not matter. 

“She won,” I said. 

“The negative team won,” he said. “Which your sister was part of. And the affirmative won best team argument. Which you were part of. So you both won something.” 

“She deserved it,” I said. 

He looked at me. 

“You know what I noticed?” he said. 

“What?” 

“When you were making your argument,” he said, “the one about rules protecting the minority from the majority’s feelings. You were not reading it from your notes. You were not reciting something you had prepared. You were thinking it in that moment. I could see it on your face.” 

I had been. I had arrived at that articulation while I was speaking and had not known until I heard it out loud that it was what I meant. 

“Yes,” I said. 

“That is the thing,” Dad said. “You can prepare. You can build a case and know your material and structure your argument. But the best moments in any argument are the ones where you think something you did not know you thought until you said it.” He paused. “You had one of those moments today. Your opponent had one too. That means you both did something real.” 

“Rematch?” I said. 

Amelia looked at me. “You want a rematch.” 

“Different topic,” I said. “Different sides. No, same sides. I want to argue the same position with the things I know now.” 

“There is no rematch,” she said. “The debate is done. You cannot redo it.” 

“In theory,” I said. “At home. As a practice.” 

She looked at me for a moment. Then she said, “Fine. But I want to know your new argument for the minority protection point first so I can build a counter.” 

“No,” I said. “That defeats the purpose.” 

“Then no rematch,” she said. 

“Fine,” I said. 

“Fine,” she said.