Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 111

Neil's efficiency was unparalleled; he quickly ruled out the possibility that Caden was being bullied at his preschool.

Deep down, Hester had already suspected as much. The preschool administration knew exactly who Caden was—the heir to the Weston family. They treated the boy like absolute royalty. There was no way they would have let anyone lay a finger on him.

But in situations like this, even the smallest possibility had to be thoroughly investigated.

Now that the preschool was cleared, Hester's suspicions zeroed in entirely on the nanny who had recently resigned from Silverstream Villa.

...

Hester tried a few more times to gently pry Caden's little hands from her clothes, but he held on with a vice-like grip. Eventually, she gave up. She adjusted herself into a somewhat comfortable position against the sofa, closed her eyes, and unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

That afternoon, Caden stayed curled up in Hester's arms, sleeping soundly until the sun began to set. When he finally opened his eyes and realized where he was, he froze in sheer panic.

The slight movement of the little body against hers woke Hester instantly. She opened her eyes and met Caden's wide, pitch-black gaze.

"P-Pretty Lady..." Caden stammered, overwhelmed and utterly terrified. He scrambled to sit up, lowering his head. His voice was barely a whisper, laced with a heartbreaking desperation to please. "I'm sorry. I accidentally fell asleep."

Hester sat up, her movements pausing slightly at his words. She looked at him. "Why are you apologizing?"

Caden picked nervously at his fingernails. "I-I bothered you..."

Hester pursed her lips, her heart twisting with a complex knot of emotions as she watched the boy's overly cautious demeanor.

When she first met Caden, he had been sick, curled up obediently in Julian's arms. Despite feeling awful, he had been so quiet and well-behaved.

Later, at his preschool, he had shown genuine concern and curiosity about her. When her blood sugar had dropped, he had been the one to sweetly hand her a piece of candy...

The truth was, Caden was an incredibly sweet and understanding child. If it weren't for all the ugly history, Hester knew she would have adored him just as much as she adored Gigi.

If Julian had chosen to bring Caden home from the very beginning and told her the truth—even while she was freshly grieving the loss of her own children—she would have poured her entire heart into raising him. Perhaps Caden's presence might have even helped heal the gaping wound in her soul.

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