Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 86

She was completely deaf to the terrified screams echoing around her, her voice cutting through the panic as she cried out his name.

"Julian! Julian..."

Julian was pushing his way toward her too. His brow was furrowed, his expression deadly serious, and he seemed to be shouting something at her.

But the chaos was too deafening. She couldn't hear a word he was saying.

Then, suddenly, Hester froze.

Right in front of her eyes, Julian grabbed Melody and yanked her firmly into his arms. He held her tight, his movements urgent and fiercely protective, as if he were sheltering a precious treasure he couldn't bear to lose...

Hester's mind went entirely blank. For a single heartbeat, the entire world plunged into dead silence.

"Hester—" The man's desperate shout echoed from a memory buried deep in the past. She remembered being enveloped by his broad frame, the sickening sound of the blade piercing flesh, the warm spray of his blood across her face...

That year, Julian had used his own body as a human shield to take a fatal knife for her. It was the day she truly believed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Julian loved her—that he was just a cold man who didn't know how to express his feelings.

But now, everything had changed. In another life-or-death crisis, he saw her. Yet, as she instinctively fought her way to him, he chose to pull another woman into his arms. When it truly mattered, the woman he chose to protect was no longer her.

The image of the man who had once taken a knife for her slowly crumbled into dust in her mind. There was, truly, no going back.

"Hester!"

A strong hand gripped her arm firmly, and in the next second, a pair of solid arms wrapped around her.

Someone stumbled blindly in their direction, crashing hard into the arm Jasper was using to shield Hester. Jasper freed one hand and shoved the person away.

Hester snapped back to reality, her hands instinctively clutching her stomach.

"I've got you. We need to get out of here now!"

Hester nodded, leaning into his protective embrace. Given the life-threatening situation, personal boundaries were the least of their worries. Jasper shielded her body with his own as they fought their way toward the exit.

Through the madness, Hester could hear blood-curdling screams.

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