Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 155

Once Lena headed downstairs, Hester lay down to rest.

She scrolled through her phone for a bit before drifting off to sleep.

Her morning sickness this pregnancy had been relentless, coming and going in waves. It was only now, having crossed the 12-week mark, that the nausea had finally subsided.

However, she was incredibly lethargic, often sleeping away entire afternoons.

Today was no exception. She slept heavily until Lena came upstairs to gently wake her.

The sky outside was already dark.

Standing in the doorway, Lena said softly, "Mrs. Weston, dinner is ready. Would you like to come down and eat now?"

Hester sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Sure."

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Weston called earlier to say he won't be coming home for dinner tonight."

Hester's expression remained perfectly flat. She wasn't surprised in the slightest. "Got it. Let me wash my face and I'll be right down."

"Of course."

Hester walked into the bathroom, rinsed her mouth, splashed cold water on her face, and threw on a light cardigan before heading downstairs.

The first floor was brightly lit. In the dining room, Lena was ladling soup into a bowl.

There were five dishes and one soup spread across the table—all of Hester's favorites, prepared in portions meant for two.

But with Julian not coming home, the spread felt overwhelmingly large for just one person.

Taking her seat, Hester looked up. "Lena, why don't you sit down and eat with me?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly!" Lena laughed, waving her hands. "That's against the rules."

"Julian isn't here, and I don't like eating alone. Just consider it keeping a pregnant woman company. Provide some emotional support for me."

Lena offered an awkward, apologetic smile. "I can keep you company standing right here. It's the same thing."

Hester genuinely hated eating alone. Before, at her own place, she had Gael to keep her company. Now that she was back at Stellamare Villa, it felt like she had instantly regressed to her old life.

Even though she had mentally prepared herself for this, sitting at this exact dining table inevitably dredged up memories of the past five years—all those countless nights Julian hadn't bothered to come home.

While those bitter, agonizing memories kept her grounded, they still ruined her appetite.

But Lena was clearly a woman bound by traditional staff rules. Asking her to sit and eat at the main table was too far outside her comfort zone.

Hester decided not to force the issue.

She ate her meal in quiet solitude.

Thankfully, the food was delicious, and Lena had specially simmered a rich fish broth. Hester managed a small bowl of rice and two bowls of the soup.

By the time she set her chopsticks down, she realized belatedly that she was overly full.

She decided to take a slow walk around the yard to digest, scrolling through her phone as she strolled.

Suddenly, a video from a blogger named 'Thrice' popped up on her feed.

He was crying so hard his face was a mess, yet his first instinct was still to worry about the baby she was carrying.

Hester's heart ached fiercely. Sighing, she stepped forward and pulled him into a gentle hug. "It's okay, you don't need to apologize. I know how much you care about the baby. I know you're a wonderful big brother."

Clinging to Hester, Caden let out a loud wail and completely broke down.

"Everyone keeps telling me I have the wrong mommy. They say that new lady is my real mom, but I don't even know her! I only remember you being my mommy. I don't want to live with her, and I don't want to call her mom..."

It was as if Caden had finally found his safe harbor. He poured out every ounce of grievance he had stockpiled all day.

"Daddy tried to make me call her mom. I didn't want to. I really didn't want to. But when I wouldn't say it, she started crying..."

Caden was hyperventilating through his tears. "When she cried, Daddy got mad at me. Mommy, Daddy has never yelled at me my whole life until today. I think Daddy has changed too. I'm scared. I don't want to live over there anymore..."

Listening to Caden's broken, hiccuping confession, Hester felt a tangled knot of emotions in her chest.

She had guessed Julian would be desperate to make Seraphina happy, which meant he would aggressively push Caden to accept his biological mother.

She had fully expected that approach and felt absolutely nothing about it.

However, she hadn't anticipated Caden's resistance to Seraphina being quite this intense.

She assumed blood ties and maternal instinct would bridge the gap. Even if Caden couldn't accept Seraphina right away, he shouldn't have been this deeply traumatized by her.

With no other choice, Hester guided Caden inside. She had Lena call Silverstream Villa to inform them the boy had run over here.

Less than five minutes after Lena made the call, Julian came bursting through the door.