The Rose He Showed Off Is Putting Down Roots in a Garden of Her Own novel Chapter 200

"Then what exactly was your plan? Aside from trying to trap me into raising the bastard your dirty little secret is carrying, I can't imagine any other reason you'd suddenly act so accommodating."

Julian was completely speechless for a moment before weakly defending himself. "I never intended for this to happen. I have absolutely no idea how she got pregnant."

"Never intended? So you didn't sleep with her? Is this all just a figment of my imagination? Am I just being unreasonable?"

"I used protection every single time," Julian insisted, desperation bleeding into his voice.

"Wow, what a tragic tale of betrayal. Do you want me to applaud your efforts?"

"Elara, I know I messed up. Let's just put all of this behind us," Julian pleaded.

"She's keeping the baby, isn't she?" Elara struck directly at the heart of the matter.

"Elara, we haven't had a child in years. Raising this one is vastly superior to bringing an outsider into the family."

Elara's heart turned completely to ice. He hadn't changed at all.

"Fine. Give me the money, or sign the loan agreement, and I'll accept the child."

Julian went completely silent.

Elara sneered inwardly.

It didn't matter what the situation was; Julian evaluated everything through a lens of cold, calculated self-interest. Even the birth of a child was just another asset on a spreadsheet. He never once considered the psychological toll it would take on her to raise his mistress's baby.

"Do you really have to be so ruthless?" Julian's voice hardened, dropping its pleading edge.

"I just agreed to your terms, didn't I?" she shot back.

A heavy, suffocating silence hung between them.

"You can reach me anytime before the court date," Elara said, and ended the call.

What a man truly possessed was never a conscience; it was only pure, unfiltered selfishness.

Her thoughts unexpectedly drifted to Zane.

If she were the Chairman of the Whitaker Group, she would never have approved the Vance Properties bailout. That meant Zane must have traded something extraordinarily valuable—a massive personal sacrifice—to secure his father's blessing.

Whatever that sacrifice was, Zane had paid a terrifying price.

But why? What had she ever done to deserve such blind devotion?

Just for a few moments of physical pleasure?

Zane wasn't stupid enough to make a trade like that.

What was his endgame?

***

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