Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 146

About ten minutes later, the house finally fell completely silent.

Hester opened the security camera app on her phone.

The living room was empty.

They had all left.

She let out a slow sigh of relief.

After thinking for a moment, she dialed Sabrina's number. "Sabrina, are you free right now?"

...

Half an hour later, the doorbell rang again.

It was Sabrina.

Hester went to open the door.

Sabrina stood there, shaking a small cake box in her hand. "Sea salt caramel from that bakery on West Street. I actually had to wait in line for this!"

Hester took the cake, offering her a soft, genuine smile. "Thank you."

Sabrina walked in, swapped her shoes, and glanced around as she headed further inside. "Wow, it's so quiet in here. Where are Lena and Caden?"

"Julian brought Seraphina over this morning. Caden and Lena went back with them."

Sabrina stopped in her tracks. "Julian actually brought Seraphina here today?"

"Yeah." Hester walked over to the sofa and placed the cake on the coffee table. "What do you want to drink?"

"As if I'd let a pregnant woman serve me!" Sabrina playfully rolled her eyes at her. "You sit down. I'll go grab some plates and forks. Are there drinks in the fridge?"

"Yes," Hester replied. "There's fruit too. Just grab whatever you want to eat or drink."

"Don't worry, I'm going to make myself right at home!" Sabrina flashed an 'OK' sign and marched off toward the kitchen.

Sabrina slammed her fork down, took a deep breath to steady her emotions, and continued her rant.

"Just thinking about Declan makes my blood boil! You know Julian went abroad with Declan this time, right? I honestly thought they were going on a business trip. But last night, Declan texted all of our mutual friends to meet up at Elysium, claiming it was just a casual 'friends gathering.' Well, when I got there, I found out the so-called gathering was actually an elaborate welcome party Declan threw specifically for Seraphina!"

Hester frowned. "Are Declan and Seraphina close?"

"Close, my foot!"

Sabrina fumed. "Declan is a massive simp! He chased Seraphina for two solid years back in college and got absolutely nowhere. After she went abroad, she never even bothered to contact him. I thought he would have moved on from her after all these years. But no! The second he heard Julian was going to pick her up and bring her back, he instantly reverted to full simp mode!"

Hester pursed her lips. "I suppose that's the lingering power of an unattainable first love."

Sabrina rolled her eyes hard. "Men are just delusional! Seraphina came back as the esteemed sister-in-law of the Weston family. It's not his place to act like her lapdog! I was so furious. You didn't even see it—at the party, Seraphina acted all delicate, saying she couldn't handle alcohol, and Declan instantly jumped in to drink on her behalf! He went around toasting everyone in the room for her. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was their damn wedding reception! Ugh, stupid simp, I hope he drinks himself to death!"

Listening to Sabrina's account, Hester's impression of Seraphina dropped even further.

After a moment of silence, she asked, "Did Julian go to the party last night?"