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Chapter 8
Monica sighed. “Your father and I have said everything we needed to. Think about it carefully.
She gave Justin one last disappointed look before walking away with Francis. Justin staggered to his feet, ready to go after them, but Leah grabbed his arm. I
“Justin,” she begged, her voice shaking. “Even if Lara doesn’t want you anymore, you still have me. Can’t you just look at me?”
As she reached for him, something slipped from her pocket and fell to the floor. A tom piece of fabric. Justin’s breath caught. Lara’s amulet. The one her parents had left her.
The one she had placed on his pillow when he was dying in the hospital for the fifth time. The one he had given to Leah, humiliating Lara like it meant nothing.
And now, it was ruined. Something inside him snapped. Before he knew it, his hand was around Leah’s throat, his grip tight, his voice low and lethal.8
“Leah,” he said slowly, his eyes burning with rage. “Are you trying to die?”
Leah’s lips trembled. She had never been more afraid. Over the next few days, her world crumbled. Justin threw her out without hesitation.
Then, the truth about her past came crashing down. Her academic records were exposed, she had cheated on her exams and her degree was revoked.
A scandalous video of her with another man spread like wildfire across social media. With nowhere left to turn, Leah attempted suicide multiple times before finally leaving Hartmere in disgrace.
And Justin spent every waking moment searching for Lara.
***
Lara’s POV:
By then, I was a world away, lying in the back garden of a villa abroad, basking in the sun, completely unaware of the mess I had left behind.
Shane Simmon, my uncle in name but not by blood, walked over with a plate of fruit and set it beside me.
He was ten years older than me, a man my father had once mentored in business.
They had become sworn brothers over the years and after my parents passed, Shane took over the Kessler family’s overseas operations in Meridion.
He had tried so many times to bring me here, to take care of me, but I refused because of Justin. And now, after all those wasted years, I was finally here.
And for the first time in a long time, I was free. I took the fruit Shane handed me and gave him a small, guilty smile. “I’m sorry, Shane. I was so stubborn before… I made you worry for nothing.“%
Shane ruffled my hair, but his expression turned serious as he leaned in, his sharp gaze locking onto mine. My breath caught.”
“If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me,” he said, his voice low. “I had no idea you were suffering like that with him.”
His jaw tightened. “If I’d known Justin was this worthless, I never would’ve let you stay. I should have taken you away the moment your parents were gone.“%
His fists clenched, just like they had when he picked me up from the airport two weeks ago.
I had arrived weak, fresh out of surgery, my body still recovering. My face was swollen from Justin’s slap, my forehead marked from the vase he had thrown.“]
The second Shane saw me, his anger was instant. He nearly booked a flight back just to make Justin pay. It took everything I had to calm him down.
That night, he held me close, his arms tight around me, whispering over and over how much he regretted not protecting me sooner. And in that moment… his embrace didn’t feel like an uncle’s.
It felt like something else.
1 Burned Mdo Alive After I Donated My Kidnow
