Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 65

Julian's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. After a long pause, he answered in a low voice, “Grandma, I understand.”

“Understanding isn't enough; you actually have to say it out loud!”

...

The next morning, by the time Hester came downstairs, Julian had already left for the day. Bella was still resting in her room. Caden was playing with building blocks by himself in the living room, and Lena was busy making breakfast in the kitchen.

Hester gave Caden a brief, impassive glance before walking to the kitchen doorway. “Lena, I'm heading straight to the office. If Bella asks, tell her I went to work and won't be back until tonight.”

“Ma'am, you aren't having breakfast before you go?”

“No,” Hester replied. “I'll grab a coffee at the office.”

When she walked out of Stellamare Villa, Gael was already waiting in her car.

Hester opened the passenger door, slid in, and shut it behind her. “Let's go.”

“Celeste made this breakfast with love.” Gael handed her a packed container. “Eat it while it's hot.”

“Thanks.” Seeing the meal Celeste had carefully prepared, Hester's mood instantly brightened.

“How was it staying over there yesterday?”

“Actually, I can pretty much guess what Bella is thinking,” Hester explained. “She believes I'm inherently kind and soft-hearted. She thinks that even though I'm verbally rejecting him now, if I spend enough time with him, I'll naturally develop feelings for him and eventually just accept him as my adopted son.”

Gael was speechless. "...Wow."

"I can't even blame her." Hester looked down at the sandwich in her hands, a bitter, self-deprecating smile forming on her lips.

“At the end of the day, what do over twenty years of affection mean in the face of literal blood relations? No matter how much she treated me like her own granddaughter, she was never going to make her actual great-grandson suffer for my sake. This is just human obsession with bloodlines.”

“Bullshit! It's because everyone in the Weston family is entirely selfish!” Gael snapped sharply. “Stop making excuses for them. You think everyone operates like you do? You've just been starved for love your whole life. The second someone treats you a little bit nicely, you rip your own heart out and treat them like absolute family!”

Gael delivered the harsh truth without missing a beat. “I'm being serious, Hester. You're amazing in every single way except for one fatal flaw: you are too damn soft! Someone gives you an inch of kindness, and you try to repay them a mile. Not everyone deserves that kind of loyalty from you!”