Betrayed by Blood: My Second Life as a Queen novel Chapter 174

Her face was deathly pale. Julian wasn't sure if his own paranoia was clouding his judgment, but in that second, she looked incredibly guilty.

But what did she have to be guilty about?

Julian couldn't figure it out.

Xavier looked at Tessa with heartache. "Stop picking that up. Let the nurses handle it before you cut your hands."

Watching the scene unfold, Julian suddenly detached himself from the moment. A long-buried memory surfaced in his mind.

Three years ago, Willow had accidentally dropped a plate. The noise had startled Tessa. In response, Xavier had forced Willow to kneel on the floor and pick up every single shard.

The sharp porcelain had sliced Willow's hands, but Xavier hadn't shown a shred of sympathy. He hadn't even allowed her to bandage the cuts first, forcing her to clean the entire floor while bleeding.

Julian distinctly remembered Willow crying as she wiped her own blood off the tiles.

So dropping a plate didn't automatically mean you had to clean it up yourself.

So Xavier wasn't actually a ruthless tyrant to everyone.

It was only when Julian viewed the situation as an outsider that he finally realized just how abhorrently they had treated Willow.

Still, he rationalized, that wasn't an excuse for her drastic change in behavior. If she had grievances, she could have communicated with them. They were a family, after all.

Tessa approached cautiously, shooting a pitiful glance at Julian before lowering her eyes. "I'm sorry, Julian. I just wanted to wash some fruit for you and Xavier, but I haven't eaten all day. My hands were shaking, and I dropped the plate..."

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