His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex Wife novel Chapter 278

Chapter 278 A Proposal Rejected

Prished

Rain began to fall outside the window, tapping softly against the glass-a steady rhythm that seemed to echo the fractured beat of his heart in that moment.

She didn’t answ feeling the

“Iris, t

pa

‘s question. Instead, she looked down and rested a hand on her rounded belly.

sistent movement within.

gagement between me and Lily. That was something she imagined-and our d a press conference months ago to make that clear.”

chair and went down on one knee beside the hospital bed. He took her hand in his, his nest. “Iris, marry me again. Please. Give me-give us-a real chance. Let me be your t our baby have my name.”

meet his gaze. His eyes were deep,

u again?” She offered a faint, weary ne asked quietly, “Haven’t I been th

t let you go through any more pa y-every single day. I’ll give you

you know what I want most

at?”

1. A quiet life. S

ayer of defe

No dram

pain and raw honesty.

g along her lashes. After a steadying ady?”

voice low and intent. “I’ll make sure you’re

ld her hand tighter. “What if we go overseas? Just the three of ence from mine.”

ing to die for you. What wouldn’t she do? She’ll find us no matter e’ll haunt me until her last breath. Do you really think moving

Γ

is face into the curve of her wrist. His breathing grew unsteady, shoulders. weight of something too heavy to name

thing fails apart,” he murmured, voice thick with self-reproach. Now he deeply from the edge that day.

ing and released a long, tired sigh. “I heard Lily say your parents have started

in his chair. “I’m not

cars glimmer

Lily will

But if you don’t let me

8:57 am PPPP

Chapter 278 A Proposal Rejected

Abitter smile touched Julian’s lips, his eyes rimmed red. His voice came out rough and worn. “If you walk away with our baby… what happens to me?”

Iris couldn’t bear the sadness in his eyes. She closed her own and turned her face toward the window.

Julian looked utterly drained. He leaned back heavily into the chair. “Why do you have to be so cruel to

me?”

“Julian,” Iris said, tears spilling quietly down her cheeks, her voice soft and fraying at the edges, “it’s not me who’s being cruel. It’s the people around you-the ones who don’t want you with me. They’re the cruel ones. And since you can’t make them stop, you’re asking me to just accept it and move on. I can’t do that.”

Julian dropped his face into his hands, elbows braced on his knees, posture folded under the pressure.

“If your father hadn’t been so against us, if he hadn’t worked so hard to break us up–and if Lily hadn’t kept getting in the way-I never would have signed those divorce papers. Even when I didn’t know you loved me back then… I never wanted to leave you.”

Julian let out a slow, ragged breath. “I could cut them off.”

Iris gave another weary, humorless smile. “No, you can’t. One is a woman you’ve known almost your whole life. The other is the father who raised you. Just like I can’t completely walk away from my own family- those ties are bound by more than feeling. They’re held together by law, by expectation. If we push too hard or burn those bridges, we’re the ones society will judge.”

Julian’s hands tightened into fists, trembling slightly. Veins stood out along his knuckles, pale under the strain. “Then what do you want me to do? Tell me how to make this right for you.”

“You’re the eldest son of the Everhart family. Your father has plans for you-legacy, responsibility. Love is beautiful, but in the end, it’s just one part of your life. But family duty… that’s about generations. It’s about reputation, continuity, the kind of obligations that shape more than just personal happiness.”

Julian cut in, tone flat and drained. “Plain English, Iris.”

She drew another breath and said simply, “I’m afraid of what your father might do. I can’t afford to make an enemy of him.”

“I would never let him hurt you.”

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