The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 81

Watching Evelyn walk away, Christian turned around.

The study door crashed open with a deafening bang, slamming heavily against the wall. The impact was so violent the doorframe seemed to shudder.

Lawrence lifted his head from a pile of documents, his brow furrowing slightly. He looked at his son standing in the doorway—chest heaving, eyes bloodshot, resembling a cornered beast. Lawrence did not speak immediately. Instead, he removed his reading glasses and slowly wiped the lenses with a microfiber cloth, his gaze entirely placid.

"What are you doing?" Lawrence's tone gave away no emotion, yet it carried the heavy authority of a man used to being obeyed.

Christian remained in the doorway, neither advancing nor retreating. He simply glared at his father, his lips pressed into a pale, tight line, his jaw clenched so hard the muscles jumped. The suffocating fury in his chest, the humiliation of Evelyn's counterattack, and a deeper, confusing ache he couldn't even name—all of it morphed into a silent accusation against the man who had controlled his life's trajectory from the very beginning.

His father's calm composure only made Christian feel like a petulant clown.

Silence stretched between the two men. The air felt thick, punctuated only by the rhythmic ticking of the antique grandfather clock, each second hammering against his nerves.

Uncontrollably, Christian's mind flashed back to a few days ago, standing in this exact same study, facing his father in the exact same manner.

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(Flashback)

A few evenings ago.

"Do you even know if the boy is yours?" Lawrence scoffed coldly, his eyes brimming with disappointment. "Even if he is, what's your plan? Force Evelyn to step aside so you can bring Lyra in? Let me tell you something, Christian. As long as I'm breathing, a calculating woman like Lyra Langford—who uses a child and public opinion to climb the social ladder—will never set foot in the Lancaster family!"

"Dad! Why are you so biased against Lyra? She's gentle, kind, and raised a child all by herself. She's a hundred times better than an emotionless statue like Evelyn!" Christian blurted out.

"An emotionless statue?" Lawrence looked as though he had just heard a hilarious joke. He stood up, walked around the desk, and stopped in front of the son he had placed so much hope in, only to be repeatedly let down. "Is that what Evelyn has been to you these past three years? An emotionless statue? Have you ever noticed what she's done for you, for this family? When your grandfather was critically ill, who stayed by his bedside day and night? When my stomach ulcers flared up, who scoured the globe to find the best specialists and nutritionists for me? During the supply chain crisis two years ago, who quietly pulled strings with her grandfather's old connections to bail you out? While you were out partying and parading around with random women, did she ever say a word? Did she ever throw a tantrum?"

Christian was rendered completely speechless. All these subtle details—things he had never once paid attention to—were now being mercilessly laid out in front of him by his father.

"It's not that she doesn't have a temper. She just prioritizes the bigger picture and saves your dignity!" Lawrence's voice shook with suppressed rage. "But you? How have you treated her? Cold shoulders, neglect, parading your mistresses around town, and now you've got a scandal with a kid! Christian, a man cannot be this ungrateful, and he certainly shouldn't be this heartless!"