I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 622

"At the Annual Charity Regatta, Holden nearly drowned Lily. Did you ever blame him or his mother? No, it was always my fault and Lily's fault. Do you have any idea how rotten your heart is?"

Listening to Zoe's accusations, Hayden's heart trembled violently.

If Zoe had thrown a fit like she used to, he might have brushed those words aside.

But she simply used a calm, almost detached expression to state the facts. She recounted his sins without a trace of explosive emotion, laying bare just how much damage he had done to Lily.

Yet, ironically, Zoe hadn't demanded any justice for herself.

She didn't mention his coldness toward her, nor his refusal to acknowledge her as his wife.

Her only true concern was the healthy upbringing her daughter had been denied.

"Hayden, it's not that I won't forgive you; it's that there is absolutely nothing redeeming about you. Lily and Ian are with the Kendall family now. They are learning proper values, and they have a loving godfather, grandparents, and a great-grandfather."

"With Garrett here, Lily doesn't feel the absence of a father. Her family is whole. In other people's eyes, she might be from a single-parent household..."

"But with Garrett's family, Lily, Ian, and I finally have a real home. We have people who love us."

"You were once my husband, and Lily's father. But have you ever asked yourself where your heart was? When we had you, we didn't have a home. Having you just meant we had no one to protect us."

"Because of you, we were bullied by the Thorne family and by outsiders. Because I tried to protect my stepsister from you, even my own biological mother teamed up with my stepfather to oppress me."

"Do you even remember what you did when Terrence Winters tried to cross the line with me? Is marrying you a crime against heaven? Are you truly family to me, Lily, and Ian?"

Zoe arched an eyebrow, her voice dropping into a register of cruel indifference. "So, you're telling me you protected Sienna to save your brother?"

"Hayden, your brother's life matters, but what about mine, Lily's, and Ian's? If you hadn't brought up Charles, I might have just assumed you and Sienna were truly in love, which would at least make you someone who values affection."

"But by bringing him up, you've only made me disgusted. You reaped the benefits of your brother's death, slept with his wife, treated his son as your own, and then slept with me."

"I worked for Easton Group for free for five years while you enjoyed the best of both worlds, keeping two women at once. Now that everything has blown up in your face, you want to wipe your hands clean. Do you really think you get it that easy? You've had your cake and eaten it too—how is anyone else supposed to survive around you?"

Hayden's eyes slowly turned red. Looking at Zoe felt like staring across an insurmountable divide.

"I never touched Sienna. In my entire life, I've only ever slept with you. Believe it or not..."