Chapter 1052
[ 802 words ]
Before Yvonne could get another word out, Xander suddenly appeared behind her and swept her into his arms.
“Wait-!” Yvonne gasped, startled.
“We’re leaving,” Xander said, matter-of-factly.
They’d only recently finished a big breakfast—which might as well have counted as lunch-so there was no need to stick around for another meal. Without further explanation, Xander whisked her away.
Stella pouted, her expression full of childish resentment. “What’s with Xander? I wasn’t finished talking!”
Hmph, that Xander!
Ronald Quinn grinned at her sulking face and gave her hair an affectionate tug. “Come on now. She’s Xander’s wife-she probably won’t be staying home much from now on.”
“That’s not true!” Stella insisted quickly. “Yvonne promised she’s going to eat all her meals at home for a long while.”
Just thinking of Yvonne joining the family table always made Stella beam.
It also made her resent the Schultz family even more.
Ever since Tristan lost his first wife and brought Mona into the house, the Schultzes had been thrown into chaos. Or rather-Mona hadn’t just been brought in; she’d forced herself into their lives. Still, no matter what she did, Mona always managed to play the part of the sweet innocent in Tristan’s eyes.
The only one causing real trouble was Xander.
When you get older, it isn’t just your eyesight that starts to fail you it’s your judgment.
Across town, in Ferrowland, Stella and Yvonne had quietly dealt Mona a harsh blow.
To this day, Mona still had no idea that her secret-Berry was her daughter-had already been laid bare in front of Stella. Everything Yvonne did now was designed to turn up the pressure on Mona over that one fact.
Meanwhile, in Litamark, the news came that Ivanna and Leanne had been captured.
The update reached Susanna, who glanced over at Hull. “Do you think Derek is still going to bother with the paternity test?”
“He will,” Hull replied.
Susanna made a face. “Is he just looking to torture himself at this point?”
The fact that they’d run off said everything-what did he stand to gain from a test now? Was he just trying to send his blood pressure through the roof and finish himself off quicker?
At that moment, Susanna was sprawled out on the sofa, a bowl of blueberries balanced on her lap and her legs resting in Hull’s lap. He absentmindedly kneaded her calves as they talked.
Instead of answering her, Hull said, “Are your calves getting bigger, or are they just swollen?”
Susanna froze, her mind going blank. For heaven’s sake-did he really have no idea that every woman hates being told she’s gained weight? Who doesn’t wish they could eat whatever they wanted and never gain an ounce?
This man…
When Susanna didn’t answer, Hull looked up to find her pouting at him in protest. “What?” he asked, genuinely puzzled.
“Do I look fat to you?” she shot back, her tone bristling with annoyance.
Hull’s heart skipped a beat. “No, of course not.”
“Then why did you say my legs are fat?”
Hull hesitated truth was, they had gotten a little rounder, and so had her cheeks. Must be all that fruit she’d been eating lately Still, faced with her sulky expression, he could only say, “Must’ve been my O imagination. I was mistaken.
“Now you’re making sense,” Susanna huffed, finally satisfied.
Right then, for Susanna and Hull, everything felt peaceful—almost idyllic.
But back at Blacktower, a storm was brewing.
Ivanna’s injuries from her failed attempt to ambush Susanna still hadn’t healed, and after a frantic night on the run, both sisters looked utterly disheveled.
Their usual arrogance had vanished. Now, before Derek, their heads were bowed— their pride completely shattered.
“Dad, it hurts… Leanne really hurts…” Leanne whimpered, tears streaming down her face.
Ivanna had dragged her along all
night, ignoring Leanne’s injuries. By now, Leanne was barely able to move. The doctors had warned her to rest or she might risk being paralyzed for life. That brutabkie from Hull had already had her bedridden for months, never fully recovered. Between that and the night’s ordeal, she was utterly spent.
“Dad…” she cried, but Derek stayed silent.
Why had everything changed? Why wasn’t her brother Derek’s child, after all? It
was supposed to be her brother!
A dark fury radiated from Derek. His eyes had stayed clenched shut, but as Leanne’s sobs grew louder, he finally opened them-ice cold, stormy. He shot a fierce look at Leroy.
Catching Derek’s silent order, Leroy gave a small nod, and the waiting medical team approached. One of them held a syringe there was no question as to what was about to happen.
Ivanna and Leanne turned pale. “Dad!” Ivanna shouted, anger and panic in her voice, clearly not accepting Derek’s insistence on the test.
“You always knew, didn’t you?” Derek’s voice was brutally low, danger simmering beneath the words.
Ivanna kept quiet.
“This test—you know we don’t even need it,” Derek growled, each word squeezed out between clenched teeth. “But I’ll be damned if I die without knowing the whole, ugly truth!”
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.