Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 160

The man sat on the sofa, his long legs, sheathed in tailored black trousers, crossed elegantly at the knee. Resting on his lap was a copy of *The Complete Guide to Pregnancy*.

It was the exact same book Hester had brought with her when she moved back in.

His long, elegant fingers gripped the edge of the page. At the sound of the door opening, his movement halted, and he lifted his eyes toward the bathroom.

Hester stepped out, wearing a set of pure cotton, blush-pink pajamas. Her delicate face was scrubbed clean of makeup, her porcelain skin flushed a soft, peachy pink from the heat of the shower. Her beautiful eyes were bright and clear.

From head to toe, she exuded the warm, relaxed softness of someone fresh out of a hot bath.

The early autumn night carried a crisp chill, making a long, hot shower the perfect way to unwind.

But that sense of relaxation evaporated the second she laid eyes on Julian.

She honestly hadn't expected him to come back tonight.

Or, at the very least, she hadn't expected him back this early.

It wasn't even nine-thirty yet.

The two stared at each other. Neither spoke a word.

A couple who had once been wildly in love and deeply intimate now shared a room in suffocating silence, entirely stripped of things to say.

...

Looking at Hester right now, Julian was struck by a sudden sense of vertigo.

His mind flashed back to the early days of their marriage...

His dark eyes deepened, sweeping quickly over her flat stomach. His Adam's apple bobbed. Forcing his gaze down, he attempted to resume reading.

Raising his other hand, he pulled at his tie, loosening it, a faint crease forming between his brows.

He couldn't absorb a single word on the page.

Seeing that he had dropped his head back to his book, Hester completely dismissed his presence. She walked over to her vanity, sat down, and began her nightly skincare routine.

A woman must always cherish and take care of herself, no matter the circumstances.

She had learned that lesson the hard way.

During those five agonizing years after losing her twins, she had lost herself completely, abandoning any sense of self-worth. It was a bleak, pathetic period of her life that she refused to ever revisit.

Thankfully, she had crawled her way out of that darkness.

At twenty-eight, she was still young. It wasn't too late to start over.

For the rest of her life, she had plenty of time to fiercely love herself and her baby.

Finishing her routine, Hester glanced into the mirror, eyeing Julian, who was still anchored to the sofa, pretending to read.

She frowned slightly.

She had taken a long nap that afternoon and wasn't entirely tired yet. Her original plan was to get into bed, turn off the lights, and put on an audiobook to gently lull herself and the baby to sleep.

But now that Julian was here...

Hester pursed her lips, walked over to her nightstand, and pulled open the drawer.

She grabbed her earbuds and slipped them in.

Connecting the Bluetooth, she opened her app and hit play.

Pulling back her separate blanket, she climbed into bed and lay down.

The overhead lights remained off, leaving only the warm, amber glow of the desk lamp to pierce the darkness.

The soft circle of light illuminated the man's broad shoulders as he sat at his desk.

In his hands, he held a piece of paper.

It was the *Ultrasound of the twins*.

For five years, it had been secretly locked away in the bottom drawer of his desk.

In the 4D scan, the features of the two tiny babies were incredibly clear.

Julian always believed the one that looked like him was the boy.

And the other, the one that looked like Hester, was their little girl.

That day, when he had finally rushed into the hospital, Hester was still fighting for her life in the ICU. He had gone to see her first before hurrying down to see the babies.

The doctor had asked him, *"Do you want to see them?"*

In the end, he hadn't possessed the courage to look.

He was terrified that if he saw them, he would never be able to forget them for the rest of his life...

But lately, the memories of that day wouldn't stop haunting him.

He constantly asked himself: *If I had just found the courage to look at my children, would I be drowning in this much guilt and regret right now?*

No one could give him an answer.

His life had always been a calculated game of profit and leverage. His arranged marriage to Hester had been the very first unexpected variable.