A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 1187

It wasn't just Herbert and Fairfax. They were simply the ones who had shattered her faith completely. Now, she felt that way about everyone.

Anyone at all.

"Even family loyalty means nothing to me anymore, let alone whatever it is between you and Fairfax."

As she said, it had happened too many times. In Marina City and Cyrus Sea, Fairfax had chosen to abandon her. In Yoran Country, Yardley and Herbert had discarded her for the sake of leverage and power.

Faced with all that betrayal, how could she ever dare to make a choice again?

She didn't have the courage. Especially when it came to love, something she had never truly understood or seen clearly. It all just felt like a twisted, cruel fate.

Herbert was entirely speechless.

He didn't know what to say to fix this. She was right. If she couldn't even trust her own family, how could he expect her to trust a man's romantic promises?

"Your brother... he just doesn't know what family is supposed to look like. After all, that's how he and your father lived for years," he tried to explain.

No matter the situation, the Hoggart family's bottom line always came first. Yardley's entire worldview was structured around it. His definition of family was worlds apart from what Starla craved. They weren't even speaking the same emotional language.

If they had been, Yardley wouldn't have forced her into those brutal training regimes the second she returned to the family.

It was truly a tragedy. No matter how ruthless Starla was toward the Yelchins, she was incredibly fiercely loyal at her core. But after being repeatedly gutted by the people she trusted most, she had completely shut down emotionally.

"Your father is still in the hospital," Herbert added gently.

Speaking of Elmer Hoggart, Herbert had assumed the man was just as unfeeling, having molded Yardley into such a weapon. But when Starla faked her death to escape, the blow to Elmer had been catastrophic. Yardley was currently drowning in work, forced to take over everything Elmer had left unfinished.

Hearing about her father, Starla remained completely silent.

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