Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 66

Hester didn't try to argue with Gael. Gael's blunt words had served as a sharp wake-up call.

She suddenly realized that when a relationship rots, it was rarely just one person's fault.

The reason Julian and Bella felt so entitled to expect her to compromise was simply because she had accommodated them far too much over the years.

“Gael, you're right. I'm part of the problem.” Hester stared out the car window, her eyelashes fluttering lightly. “Bella watched me grow up. She knows exactly what I care about most. Yet, knowing that, she still made that ridiculous request for Caden's sake. The moment she asked, she had already calculated that I would cave. She knew that because I loved her, I would swallow my pride and agree.”

Her voice was incredibly soft and her tone perfectly calm, but tears were already streaming freely down her face.

Whether it was Julian's betrayal or Bella's blatant favoritism, everything had left Hester deeply wounded and utterly exhausted. Forcing herself to face this brutal reality was incredibly painful.

She was crying because she had once firmly believed that even if the entire world abandoned her, Julian and Bella would always stand by her side. That was why she had given them her soul, doing everything in her power to treat them well. She hadn't anticipated that it had been entirely one-sided from the very beginning.

Gael pulled a tissue from the box and handed it to her. Hester took it and gently wiped the tear tracks from her cheeks.

Gael watched her, her heart aching with helpless sympathy. But she also knew that in a moment like this, empty words of comfort would do absolutely nothing. As a true friend, she chose to give Hester the hard truth she needed to hear.

“I know it hurts, but seeing their true colors now isn't too late. You're still young, and you have your own assets. Hester, you are not some helpless damsel who needs to cling to a man to survive. Pull yourself together. Think about your own future. Think about the baby in your belly.”

Hester closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The suffocating ache in her chest still lingered, but her mind was finally starting to clear.

Keeping her eyes closed, she steadily regulated her breathing. A few moments later, she placed a gentle hand over her flat stomach.

From the moment she was born, her mother had never loved her. Her father and her half-siblings treated her like an outsider. She had never known an ounce of affection from the Carrington family. Because of that, she had foolishly believed she had finally found her true home, her real family, with Julian and Bella.

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