Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 251

"But why do you always have to be so aggressive?!" Seraphina cried, tears streaming down her face in a picture-perfect display of heartbreak. "You can insult me all you want, but you shouldn't hurl baseless, jealous accusations at Julian and me! And you absolutely have no right to question my love for Adrian!"

It was a masterful performance—every sob and tremor perfectly timed.

Hester watched her without a change in expression, mildly regretting not pulling out her phone to record the meltdown. If she had caught this on video and sent it to Chiara, it would have made an excellent training tool for the actresses at her sister's studio.

Such a waste of a good acting lesson.

Hester pressed her lips together and let out a quiet sigh. She was genuinely exhausted and had zero patience left for Seraphina's theatricals.

"Do you honestly think I left because of you?" Hester asked, her voice calm.

Seraphina froze. After a moment, she slowly looked up, her brow furrowing in confusion.

Hester raised an eyebrow. "Has it ever occurred to you why I showed up at the exact perfect moment the other night?"

Seraphina blinked. A second later, her pupils dilated in sudden realization. "You..."

"Figured it out?" Hester let out a cold laugh. "Your little tricks are so amateur, Seraphina. From the very first day we met, your every move broadcasted exactly how you felt about Julian. While you were busy patting yourself on the back for your brilliant scheming, I was figuring out how to use your obvious crush to pick a fight with him. The harder you played your part, the better my excuse to argue with him."

Seraphina stared at her, completely dumbfounded. She didn't want to believe it. She couldn't accept that Hester had seen right through her from the start, let alone that she had been used as a pawn.

"Y-you still care about him," Seraphina stammered. "You're just saying all this because you know he treats me better. You're jealous, so you're twisting the narrative..."

"If I actually cared, I could have easily used the baby in my belly to force Julian to send you and Caden away. Even if he couldn't bring himself to abandon you entirely, at the very least, he'd never let you two set foot inside Stellamare Villa again. But think back to that night. When you nudged Caden to beg me to let you stay, didn't I agree to it almost immediately?"

Seraphina was speechless. Hester *had* agreed quickly. Too quickly.

Mentally replaying every detail of that night, Seraphina felt her stomach drop. She finally realized that Hester's softened attitude hadn't been a compromise—it had been premeditated. Hester had banked on the fact that Seraphina wouldn't pass up the chance to live under Julian's roof.

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