Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 62

Hester stared at Julian in sheer disbelief. She never could have imagined in her wildest dreams that Julian would ever attack her with such sharp, vicious words.

It turned out that when a man's heart strayed, he wouldn't even offer the most basic level of respect. No wonder people always said that a ruthless man was the most cruel.

She looked at him, a chill sweeping through her chest. “Julian, even if I really was going to be a stepmother to Mr. Kane's daughter, it has absolutely nothing to do with you. Our marriage is dead. You have no right to dictate my life!”

“As long as that certificate isn't in our hands, we are still husband and wife.” Julian locked his deep gaze on her, his tone dropping into a cold warning. “Don't even think about being someone else's stepmother. As for Caden, it doesn't matter if you refuse to acknowledge him. The adoption paperwork is legally binding. Under the law, Caden is our adopted son.”

Hester was furious. “You—”

“Sir, Ma'am.”

Lena's voice called out from downstairs, cutting through their argument. “Dinner is ready. Bella asked me to call you down.”

Their fight abruptly halted.

Hester spoke coldly. “Go down first. I'm going to wash my face.”

Only then did Julian notice how utterly drained and pale she looked. A flicker of emotion passed through his eyes. He sighed, his tone softening a fraction. “Hester, I don't want to fight with you. But Caden is innocent. You shouldn't drag a child into our adult problems.”

“I never intended to drag him into anything.” Hester rubbed her temples. Arguing was mentally exhausting, and she was entirely spent.

She took a deep breath, her voice laced with fatigue. “You're the one who can't see things clearly. Caden was raised by you and Melody. In his world, you two are his parents. To him, I'm just a stranger he's met a handful of times. I mean nothing to him, yet you keep trying to force me to claim him as my son!”

Julian frowned, doubling down. “I told you, I only had Melody take care of Caden because your emotional state was too fragile.”

Julian took a step forward, then abruptly froze. He watched her retreating figure, his gaze turning somber.

...

By the time Hester reached the ground floor, Bella and Caden were already seated at the dining table.

Seeing Hester, Caden politely greeted her. “Hello, come eat with us!”

Hester paused, looking down at the little boy. Meeting the child's eyes—which bore a striking resemblance to Julian's—she pursed her lips slightly.

Bella looked at Hester. “Hester, Caden just told me everything. He said he tripped and scraped his forehead all on his own. Julian completely misunderstood you.”