I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 549

Hearing his faintly resentful tone, Zoe's heart leaped into her throat, terrified that he was about to casually expose their entire history right in the middle of dinner.

Garrett tensed up too—not because of his association with Zoe, but because he worried she would face disciplinary action.

But Hayden wasn't finished, his eyes locked dead onto the two of them.

"I really envy Mr. Kendall and Ms. Lynd. Even though they only have a platonic bond, her son still takes his last name. I wonder how her husband feels about that. You really picked a great partner, Ms. Lynd. Does he not have any objections? Or did you just take it upon yourself to trample your husband's dignity and strip away his rights as a father?"

Hayden's passive-aggressive sarcasm made Zoe want to strangle him on the spot.

His words were enough to send anyone's imagination running wild.

Sterling stepped in to smooth things over. "This shouldn't reflect poorly on Ms. Lynd. Mr. Kendall already explained that her husband is practically a monster. He mistreats his wife and child. If she didn't care about keeping up appearances, she would have divorced the man ages ago. Rules are rules, but reality is reality. If her husband truly is that irresponsible, I'm sure The Military Personnel Command will give her justice. Besides, her son is under protection, and we completely respect the Kendall family for standing up for the two of them."

Sterling's impartial defense finally let Zoe's racing heart settle.

Hayden's clenched fists tightened, then slowly relaxed.

Sterling then turned his comforting tone toward Hayden. "I had no idea your family was going through such a crisis. I misunderstood before. Look, couples fight—it's part of marriage, especially now that you have a son. A marriage isn't something to throw away lightly. As the man, you should be the bigger person and think before you act. If your wife has grievances, tell her to reach out to Command HQ. We'll help resolve whatever we can. Let her know we won't allow a woman to suffer injustices, especially someone who has made such massive contributions to the country. You just need to swallow your pride a bit."

Sterling's words sounded incredibly bizarre to Garrett and Zoe.

It was one thing for the Commissioner to be clueless about the actual dynamic between Zoe and Hayden, but Hayden playing the victim was infuriating.

Fortunately, once the food was served, the topic was dropped.

Zoe ended up plastered against him. He held her so tight their faces were mere inches apart.

"A mother of two, yet still stumbling around so carelessly. I really don't know what Sterling and the others see in you. Can you actually handle a project as critical as military robotics?"

Zoe was convinced he was fishing for project secrets, likely plotting another scheme to steal her work for Sienna.

Annoyed, she pushed at his chest to put some distance between them, but his grip on her waist was like iron. He had no intention of letting go.

When his shameless grip held firm, she let out a cold laugh. "Did you forget your last lesson, Hayden?"

If he didn't back off, she had zero issues kicking him again and giving him a reminder he'd never forget.