Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 279

Hester offered a cool, detached response. "He's a Weston. If Julian doesn't care enough to take real action, there's no point in us getting worked up over it."

She had no desire to defend Julian; based purely on what everyone had seen, his lack of action was genuinely infuriating.

"Hester's right. As much as our hearts break for Caden, Seraphina is still his biological mother. Julian probably has his own twisted reasoning. All that matters is Caden getting better." Chiara gave Hester a knowing look. "Besides, Seraphina is going to be far too busy to bother with Caden anyway."

"Exactly." Hester caught Chiara's drift immediately.

With the show's production bumped up, Seraphina would be scrambling to salvage her public image. She wouldn't have time to cause trouble here.

Jovie looked utterly lost, glancing between the two sisters. "Are you guys speaking in code? Am I out of the loop here?"

Chiara laughed and looked at Hester for permission.

Hester smiled. "It's fine, Chiara. Jovie is one of us. You can tell her."

With the green light, Chiara filled Jovie in on everything—revealing that Hester was the legendary designer 'Clio' and explaining the entire plagiarism scandal involving Seraphina.

Jovie sat in stunned silence for a long moment. Finally, she looked at Hester and shook her head in sheer disbelief. "Hester, you are incredible. And Julian... that man is blind. He deserves every bit of misery coming his way!"

Hester was speechless.

Chiara chuckled. "Keep your voice down, Jovie. If Julian hears you, I won't be able to save you."

"So what? Is he gonna bulldoze my Inn?" Jovie rolled her eyes dramatically. "I'm just speaking the truth! I swear, I’d love to crack his head open and see what kind of garbage is floating around in there..."

Under Chiara and Jovie's strict 'supervision', Hester ended up eating a little too much for dinner.

With Caden asleep early and Fiona stepping out to run a quick errand, Hester decided to pace the empty hospital corridor to digest her meal.

Swallowing the ache in his chest, he walked toward her.

Hester stopped when he was just a few feet away, her expression blank.

"I brought dinner," Julian said softly, holding up the bag. "I ordered all your favorites."

"Thanks, but I've already eaten," she replied briskly. "Dr. Fuller stepped out, but she's probably eaten, too. You can call and ask her."

Ignoring whatever reaction he might have had, she turned toward the lounge and opened the door. She tossed a glance over her shoulder. "Since you're here, keep an eye on Caden. Dr. Fuller will be back soon. I'm going to bed."

Without another word, she walked inside and shut the door.

Julian stood alone in the quiet corridor, staring at the closed door. Finally, he lowered his eyes, his heavy sigh echoing in the silence.