Cold husband burning regret

Regret 72 Evander stood still for a moment, then gently took Tricia by the shoulders and eased her away from his embrace. "You're hurt. You should be resting." Tricia stiffened, her gaze dropping as she bit her lip. "I'm just worried about Hans..." "Uncle..." Hans had woken up, his eyes wide and anxious, haunted by his nightmares.

Evander moved to the bedside and took the boy's hand, his voice gentle and reassuring. "Don't be afraid. I'm right here." "Uncle, will you stay withtoday?" Hans looked up at him, hope shining in his eyes. Evander hesitated, then nodded. “I'll stay with you." Hans clung tightly to his uncle's hand. As long as Evander was there, the nightmares wouldn't come, and he wouldn't have to worry about his mother's temper.

Tricia, on the other hand, hardly spared a glance for Hans. Hearing that Evander would be staying, she felt a surge of satisfaction-her goal was accomplished.

Back at the Sterling family home, the food was growing cold, and there was still no sign of Evander.

"Didn't you say the Howard family's son-in-law would be joining us? So where is he?" Abigail, exasperated, could no longer hide her impatience.

The rest of the family looked equally displeased.

Xavier's face had completely darkened. He slammed his fork down and glared at Charlotte. "Didn't you promise us Evander would come? Were you lying to us?" "Dad, how can you say that about my sister?" Hiram jumped to her defense.

"Shut your mouth!" Xavier snapped, his temper flaring. Even his son wasn't immune to his wrath.

"He really did say he'd be here..." Charlotte tried to explain, but the words caught in her throat, her chest tightening with a thousand pinpricks of pain.

If he hadn't wanted to come, he could have just refused. There was no need to promise and then break his word.

1/3 "You idiot! Couldn't you have gotten a straight answer?" Xavier's patience finally snapped. He slammed his palm on the table, sending a wine glass toppling over, its contents spilling onto Charlotte's clothes.

Hiram shot to his feet, slapping his own hand on the table in defiance. "Enough, Dad! It's my birthday, not yours. I never even asked for him to come, so why are you making such a big deal out of it?" "And how is this Charlotte's fault anyway? You all wanted Evander here, not me!" Charlotte reached out to calm him. "Hiram, let it go." He flopped back into his chair, seething. If not for his sister, he would have flipped the entire table. Xavier sat there, fuming in silence, his anger unresolved but his pride even more battered.

Their aunt couldn't help but smirk. “Jensen, really, there's no need to embarrass yourself in front of the children. Besides, if our family's son-in-law really was from the Howards, don't you think it would've been made public by now?" Her husband nodded in agreement. If the Sterling family truly had someone from the Howards as a son-in-law, they'd have climbed the social ladder ages ago-instead of still relying on his wife's family for support.

"Sis-in-law, Lottie really is married to Evander-it's just that...it hasn't been made public," Rachel, Charlotte's mother, tried to explain.

Their aunt scoffed. "Oh, Rachel, con. Not to be harsh, but while your daughter's pretty, the Howards are on another level entirely. If the marriage is real, why keep it a secret? Unless, of course, he's not who he says he is." Rachel's mouth snapped shut, her face turning an ugly shade. It was true-the Howards had insisted on keeping the marriage under wraps. But now, being suspected of lying, it was like swallowing glass.

"These days, there are plenty of men out there pretending to be wealthy just to trick women into marriage. You all better keep your eyes open, or you'll end up disgracing the whole Sterling family," their aunt added, her voice dripping with condescension.

Abigail chimed in, piling on, “Jensen, at your age, you still can't see through people? Why can't you be more like your brother for once?" Xavier, humiliated and furious, could barely breathe for all the pent-up anger. He'd lost his appetite completely.

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"Lottie, you're still young-there's tto reconsider," their aunt said, turning to Charlotte with feigned concern. "Better to ditch & fraud now than E regret it later. I know scousins on my side-nice houses, good jobs. Sure, they're a bit older, but they'll treat you right!"

Before Charlotte could respond, Hiram snorted. "Oh, really? If olden men are so good at baring for people, why not set them up with your own daughter?" Their aunt was left speechless, and Abigail quickly stepped in to change the subject, smoothing things over.

Halfway through dinner, Charlotte excused herself to clean the wine stain from her pants.

As soon as she left, Hiram noticed her phone lighting up on the table. Thinking it might be a message from Evander, he picked it up and entered her passcode-0322. It wasn't her birthday, nor Evander's, and definitely not their wedding date. He'd never figured out what it meant.

The moment he opened her messages and read the newest one, his face darkened instantly.

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