Betrayed and Dumped: She Rose Stronger Than Ever novel Chapter 30

Kristin jumped up with a bright smile as soon as Hector walked in, looking travel-worn and tired. She didn’t leave things to the housekeeper. Instead, she took Hector’s coat herself, hanging it up before pouring him a warm glass of water. As she handed it to him, she asked the housekeeper to put the tea on. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d be home early? If I’d known, I would’ve had your tea ready.”

Watching Kristin move around the living room, Hector felt a deep sense of peace. The thing he loved most about her was always her gentle, thoughtful way. He sank into the sofa and glanced at Bruce, suddenly remembering something. “You said on the phone there was something you wanted to tell me in person. What was it?”

Bruce hesitated. He’d meant to talk to his dad about getting engaged to Rebecca and was hoping Hector would be there for him. In the entire Lamont family, only his father ever seemed to support him. But things had changed. Ever since his mom mentioned that Sonja’s engagement got called off, Bruce’s plans shifted. Pressing his lips together for a moment, Bruce said, “It was about the company’s financing situation, but it’s already been handled.”

“Did you get new investors?”

“Yeah, someone from Redwood Capital came to talk. They decided to add another five hundred million.”

Hector smiled, clearly impressed. “That’s great. NovaStack Cloud is getting a lot of attention. On my last trip, people kept telling me you have a bright future ahead of you.”

Kristin couldn’t hide her pride. With things going the way they were, she figured it was only a matter of time before Bruce could join Lamont Inc. If he had the right marriage to help, it could happen even sooner. That thought made her sit down beside Hector and start rubbing his shoulders. “It’s all because you taught him so well. Bruce is still so young, but he’s learned everything from watching you.”

Afterward, he sat on the sofa and opened his laptop, planning to get some work done, but his eyes landed on two little teddy bears sitting on the couch. He picked them up, holding them in his arms. Rebecca had bought those. Actually, most of the decorations in here were things Rebecca picked out. When he first bought the place, he just used it as a place to sleep, never bothering to decorate. It was Rebecca who noticed how cold and empty it felt, so she bought little things to make it feel more like a home.

Rebecca… He realized he hadn’t seen her in ages. Samantha’s illness must be serious, otherwise Rebecca never would have ignored him for so long. She used to always be there for him. Bruce pulled out his phone, scrolled to Rebecca’s name almost without thinking, but then his finger paused above the screen. He lowered his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. With a soft sigh, he put the phone away without calling her.

Rebecca’s team of three finished a major product update in record time. When word got out, everyone was shocked. People from both the development and delivery teams would gather during breaks to talk about it. “Wow, Ms. Harper really knows her stuff. I thought she was just a pretty face, but I guess I was wrong.”