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.

---

(Flashback)

A few evenings ago.

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