He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 307

Nelson sat beside her, radiating a freezing aura.

"Juniper, you actually brought up Kieran. I thought you were going to avoid talking about him for the rest of your life."

Juniper's brow furrowed, and a cold smirk touched her lips. "I certainly didn't want to."

She wanted absolutely nothing to do with anyone connected to the Saint family.

Nelson slowly closed his eyes, desperately trying to suppress the surging irritation, but the fury boiled over anyway. "My brother met you several times. He treated you to dinner. He was nothing but kind to you..."

"Was he? I forgot."

Mirabelle Thorne had treated her to dinner once, too. In anyone else's eyes, Mirabelle had been incredibly kind to her, but the woman's only goal had been to humiliate her.

Juniper truly didn't remember much of the few times she interacted with Nelson's older brother. His face was nothing but a blur now.

"Juniper!!"

Nelson's breath hitched violently. He had never outright asked Juniper if she felt even a shred of guilt!

Did she even have a heart? The Thorne family had funded her education, and she considered it an insult to her pride.

His brother had driven her to Cillian Xavier's grave, and when they got into a car crash, she bolted out of pure fear of taking responsibility.

That was when he realized he had never seen the ugly side of Juniper Lane. She wasn't just cowardly and weak; she was infected with the same vile trait as the rest of the Lane family—an absolute terror of accountability.

Neither Walter Lane nor Brooks were men who could shoulder responsibility.

And Beatrice was so obsessed with money she probably would have sold Juniper to the highest bidder if she could.

Nelson had always believed Juniper was a pure, stainless flower blooming out of the mud, but everything that happened later proved him wrong.

Look at the family, look at the environment. A person's upbringing shaped them entirely.

There was no way Juniper could remain untainted by the Lane family's toxicity.

His rose-tinted glasses had simply been too thick back then. He had been so obsessed with protecting her that he deliberately ignored the red flags.

Or perhaps he had just been young and naive enough to think love could conquer everything.

Juniper opened the door and walked away without a backward glance.

Nelson watched her retreating figure, his lips pressed into a tight line. Annoyed, he called out after her, "I drove you all the way home and I don't even get a thank you? You're deaf, not mute!"

Her only response was the slamming of the door, which nearly clipped his nose.

He was furious. Every single time he swallowed his pride or hit a wall in his life, it was because of Juniper Lane.

It was always Juniper.

His chest heaved violently. Just then, Quinn Fletcher called to report that they had caught the guy.

Nelson needed to interrogate the man, so he shoved his anger aside and drove to the location.

But halfway there, Josie Saint called him. "Dad, Luna is sick again. I'm really worried."

Nelson frowned, instructed her to call the mobile vet, and offered a few comforting words, but Josie's voice wavered. "I haven't gone out to play with you in so long, Dad."

Nelson had genuinely been swamped lately, so he let out a soft sigh. "I'll be right there."