Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 3

"Daddy, I'm scared. I don't want a shot..."

The little boy tilted his chin up to look at the man, completely revealing his handsome, delicate face.-

Hester's breath hitched in her throat. She stared unblinking at the boy's features. He looked exactly like Julian!

And he was calling Julian 'Daddy'? Had Julian... cheated on her?!

All the color drained from Hester's face. It felt as though someone had reached into her chest and violently ripped a piece of her heart out. The pain was so agonizing she began to violently tremble.

Julian coaxed the child with infinite patience. "Be a good boy, Caden. You need the medicine to get better. Daddy will stay right here with you. Let's be brave, okay?"

"If I'm brave and get my shot, will you sleep in my room tonight? Mommy said tomorrow is my fifth birthday, and I want to see you the second I open my eyes!"

Julian's large, elegant hand gently stroked the boy's hair. "Alright. I promise."

"Thank you, Daddy! You're the best! I love you!"

Julian's lips curved into a smile. "I love you too, Caden."

The child's innocent, sweet demands and the man's tender promises felt like a thousand cuts slicing Hester to the bone.

Fifth birthday. That boy was five years old!

Her stomach violently lurched, her heart squeezed so hard it felt like it would burst.

Hester slapped a hand over her mouth, stumbling away from the corner to dry-heave over a nearby trash can.

The retching sound caught the boy's attention. He peeked around the corner and pointed a small finger at her. "Daddy, that lady over there is sick too. She looks really sad."

Julian frowned. Hearing the agonizing retching, a strange, inexplicable knot tightened in his chest.

He picked the boy up, intending to walk over and check on the stranger. But before he could take a step, the frantic click of heels echoed down the hall—

"Julian!"

Julian stopped and turned toward the voice.

...

By the time Hester came back to her senses, her Porsche Panamera was parked under the shade of a tree outside a luxury estate.

Through her windshield, she watched Julian's Maybach roll smoothly onto the property.

The heavy, custom bronze gates slowly glided shut, completely severing her line of sight.

Her hands shook uncontrollably on the steering wheel. She stared dead at those gates, the air in the enclosed cabin growing thinner and thinner.

"Ugh—"

She threw the door open, practically falling out of the car, and leaned against the trunk of a tree by the sidewalk, vomiting violently.

It took several agonizing minutes for the spasms in her stomach to finally subside. Trembling, she wiped her tear-streaked face and slowly turned back around.

She took in the sight of the estate—an architectural style that was sickeningly familiar—her heart completely numb to the pain.