A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 1019

It was true—Starla had explicitly said she just wanted to see the consequences play out. Now, she was changing the rules.

But what could they do? They had absolutely zero leverage against a woman like her.

"You've doomed us all!" Rowena shrieked.

Darian didn't flinch.

"Yulisa's reputation is entirely destroyed. Have you even looked at the vile things they're calling her online?!" Rowena's heart bled at the thought. She had been counting the seconds until Yulisa returned so they could scrub the internet clean and do damage control. Instead, Shaw had delivered the devastating news that they had to endure this for another week. Rowena felt like the sky was caving in.

"And what exactly do you want me to do?" Darian repeated flatly.

He was right. What could they do? Starla held all the cards, and she wanted them to suffer.

"If you want to blame someone," Darian added coldly, "blame yourself for being so ruthless."

Rowena bristled. "You're calling me ruthless? If I hadn't been ruthless, would she have ever left you? If you ask me, she hasn't given up yet! I bet that baby is still in her stomach."

If she hadn't played dirty, that gold-digger never would have left.

"Enough!" Darian roared.

Rowena flinched.

Darian stared at her, his eyes filled with an icy detachment he had never directed at his mother before. "That baby was your grandchild."

He finally understood how Fairfax had become so completely obsessed with Starla. Tanya had the same effect on him—an undeniable gravitational pull he couldn't escape.

"What are you saying?" Rowena demanded. "But you and Yulisa are different! You grew up together. You care about her—"

"I've never had feelings for her!" Darian interrupted, knowing exactly where she was going.

"That's impossible! You just haven't realized your own feelings yet. You—"

"Who knows my own heart better, me or you?!" Darian finally exploded. He had never seen Yulisa as anything more than a friend, yet his mother insisted on writing this delusional romance for them.

"As far as I'm concerned, Yulisa is in this mess because you pushed her into it. I want absolutely nothing to do with her."