Scarlett's glance was as cold as ice. Without leaving a single word, she grabbed Julian and turned away, decisively shutting Yardley out of her world.
Yardley stood frozen in place, his gaze locked onto their retreating backs, a mix of fury and indignation thrashing wildly in his chest.
Why did this make any sense?
He was her legal husband, yet he was locked out like a stranger.
While Julian could just openly waltz right into the Langley family home?
Despite the fire in his gut, he reined in his temper when facing Jacqueline and obediently followed her.
"Mom," he lowered his eyes, habitually using the title.
Jacqueline looked at him, her eyes devoid of warmth, filled only with a bottomless pit of disgust.
She didn't invite him inside, barely even giving him a proper look. She just stood on the steps, looking down at the man who was about to become her ex-son-in-law.
"Don't call me that. It makes me sick."
Yardley stiffened, looking up at her in disbelief. "Mom, I really don't want to lose Scarlett. I don't want to lose my daughter..."
"Don't want to lose?" Jacqueline let out a laugh as if she had just heard the most absurd joke in the world, a deeply mocking smirk curving her lips. "Yardley, does your version of 'not wanting to lose' mean repeatedly pushing her to the brink of a breakdown? Turning her life upside down until she has no peace?"
"Do you think your pathetic state right now is going to earn anyone's sympathy?"
She took a step forward. Her voice wasn't loud, but every word acted as a blade, striking precisely at his most painful spots.
"Five years ago, I opposed this marriage because I knew everyone in your Flynn family was inherently cold and selfish. I knew the arrogance and apathy in your bones were written into your DNA."
"For five years, I watched Scarlett endure endless cold shoulders at your house. I watched your mother torment her until she was haggard. I watched you ruthlessly exploit her at work under the guise of 'training' her. Where was your 'not wanting to lose' back then? Every time you visited my home, how many times did I hint that you should treat her better? Did you ever listen, even once?"
"And now that she's finally figured it out and wants to climb out of this mud pit, you come running over to put on a show of deep devotion?"
Yardley's face drained of color. His lips trembled as he tried to defend himself, but he found he couldn't form a single word of rebuttal.
The weight of his past failures pressed down on him like a mountain, suffocating him.



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