The Fragrance Queen's Final Note novel Chapter 10

He was her husband, the man she had poured her entire youth into loving. After her life's work was literally turned to ash, he didn't offer a single word of comfort. Instead, for the sake of an unrelated child, he immediately tore into her without bothering to learn the truth.

Queenie really wanted to laugh. So many things lately were just incredibly hilarious.

"Why don't you let her answer that? Did I force her to kneel?" Queenie's glacial eyes locked onto the girl.

Romy lifted her head and immediately shook it dramatically. "Queenie didn't make me do it! I did something bad, so I deserve to be punished."

Only then did Zander realize he had completely misunderstood the situation. He set the girl down, a flash of apology entering his gaze. "Sorry. I didn't know."

"Well, now that you know, how do you plan on handling this?"

Queenie honestly didn't expect him to give her an ounce of justice.

Zander had already gathered the gist of what happened from the phone call. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he offered a placating smile. "Come on, she's just a kid. She didn't mean to do it. There's no need to hold a grudge against a child."

"Do you have any idea how important that garden was to me?"

He knew full well. But what was important to her was completely worthless to him. Slipping right back into his dismissive tone, he scoffed. "What's the point of playing around with those plants all day? Do you actually harbor some delusion that you'll become a master perfumer? Stop dreaming. Just stay at home and play the good Mrs. Calvert. Once I'm cured, we'll have a kid. Taking care of me and raising our child will be the greatest achievement of your life."

Queenie listened to his speech with absolute calm.

Back when they were dating, he used to tell her, "I'll take care of you."

At eighteen, she thought it was the most romantic promise in the world. Her heart had fluttered with absolute adoration.

Now, she realized it wasn't a promise. It was a terrifying prophecy.

A prophecy stating that he would trap her in domestic servitude while he went out to applaud another woman's dreams.

She let out a soft laugh.

Her eerie reaction caused a sudden spike of panic in Zander’s chest. Shifting his tone, he tried to coax her. "Fine, fine. If you like playing with perfumes, then do it. But the flowers are already gone, so let Romy off the hook. I'll just have someone import another batch for you."

"So we just let this slide? A kid makes a catastrophic mistake, and since they can't take responsibility, shouldn't an adult step up? There's a saying: an unruly child is the fault of the parent. Shouldn't the mother come out and offer a sincere apology?"

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