Chapter 538:

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Jaqueline swayed unsteadily, her knees buckling as though the weight of her years might finally bring her down.

Kristopher caught her arm, steadying her with quiet strength. His gaze flickered—a storm of emotions barely concealed beneath his calm exterior. “The one who hurt you is gone. If you keep drowning in the past… it’ll only destroy what’s left of you.”

Jaqueline’s eyes squeezed shut. Her teeth sank into her lip so hard, it bled.

“You should rest,” Kristopher urged, his grip lingering on her trembling hand. “Dayna and I have something to handle later.”

But Jaqueline barely heard him. Her voice cracked as she kept whispering—to herself, to the shadows, to anyone who might be listening—”Then what became of my suffering all these years? I married a coward… walked willingly into the Hudson family’s hell… two decades of suffering, of betrayal…” Her laugh was bitter, hollow. “What does that make me?”

The words weren’t meant for an answer. They hung in the air like smoke, heavy with grief.

Dayna’s eyes softened with something close to pity.

T𝘩e 𝗆𝘰𝗌t 𝗉o𝘱𝗎l𝖺𝗿 ո𝗼vе𝗹𝘴 𝗼n 𝗴𝗮𝗅𝗻𝗈𝘷е𝗅𝘴.𝖼𝗈𝗆

She knew Jaqueline’s story. Her marriage had been the result of a calculated alliance between affluent families. She hadn’t married into royalty or reached above her station, but she had still been devoured by the house she stepped into.

A husband who betrayed her openly. The humiliation. The years locked away in that psychiatric prison disguised as a clinic.

Her life dismantled, piece by piece.

And now, with someone finally telling her—however gently—that none of it had been her fault, she felt helpless, lost, and most of all, angry. So her rage scattered blindly, landing on the innocent just to survive.

Kristopher, watching her unravel, lowered his voice. “Stop tormenting yourself. The past isn’t something you can mend. You can only learn not to look back.”

But suddenly, Jaqueline’s grief exploded like a dam breaking. She tore away from his grasp, eyes wild.

“Then what the hell have I been living for?” she shouted. “Everything—everything—I ever had is in ruins! My husband betrayed me. My own son doesn’t even see me as a mother—there’s nothing left!”

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