I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 299

Hayden's words slammed into Zoe like physical blows.

A furious flush crept up her cheeks.

Lily was his own daughter. Did he even realize what he was saying?

"Who says my great-granddaughter needs to apologize? Even if Lily were at fault—which she isn't—I'll take the blame for it."

Drawn by the commotion, Arthur Kendall Sr. and the rest of the Kendall family emerged from their private dining room.

Zoe and Lily were being blatantly bullied.

Today, they had officially become Zoe's chosen family. There was no way they were going to let this slide.

The Winters family immediately recognized the elder Kendall and Garrett.

Garrett's parents were no ordinary figures either.

One was a formidable political committee member, and the other was a retired diplomat.

Although they rarely made public appearances, anyone with a shred of sense knew better than to cross the Kendall family in this city's elite circles.

Mrs. Winters, however, was clueless.

She bristled with indignation.

"I'm disciplining my daughter. What business is it of yours?"

Sienna couldn't believe the Kendalls were actually backing Zoe.

Zoe must have used some dirty trick to deceive the old man.

A man with Garrett's background wouldn't look twice at a married woman hauling around baggage unless he had been thoroughly conned.

Zoe's reputation was so toxic that every wealthy man in the city avoided her like the plague.

Arthur Sr. slammed his cane heavily against the floor.

"Hmph. Zoe is now the honorary granddaughter of the Kendall family. Anyone who insults her insults me."

Hayden's placid, dark gaze swept across Zoe's face. "Honorary granddaughter?" he repeated, his tone freezing.

Garrett stood firmly behind Zoe, reaching down to pull Lily safely into his arms.

Holden cowered behind Hayden.

The two men faced off like fathers fiercely guarding their respective children.

Yet, to anyone who knew the truth, the scene was devastatingly ironic.

The old man already harbored a deep-seated grudge against the Thorne family because Hayden's grandfather had stolen the love of his life decades ago.

Now that Hayden was bullying his grandson's love interest—who also happened to be his newly adopted granddaughter—he was done being polite.

Hayden didn't argue. He just cast a fleeting, dismissive glance at Zoe.

"That depends entirely on who is raising the child," he remarked smoothly.

It was a thinly veiled jab at Zoe's parenting.

Standing on the sidelines, Sienna felt a rush of absolute vindication.

It seemed she had overthought things after all.

Hayden had only married Zoe for Holden's sake from the very beginning.

She shouldn't have paranoidly assumed he actually harbored feelings for her.

A low-class woman like Zoe could only fool an idiot like Garrett.

Given enough time, she would expose Zoe's true colors to him.

Sienna stepped forward, resting a gentle hand on Hayden's arm. "Hayden, let it go," she said softly. "Zoe is my sister, after all. Let's just move past this. Holden only got a couple of blisters. It's not a big deal."