Loved You Once But He's My Forever (Chloe) novel Chapter 539

Lucian blinked his big, beautiful eyes and mumbled, "Buh-woo."

"It's not 'Buh-woo.' It's 'brother-in-law.' Come on, repeat after me—bro ... ther ... in ... law ... "

"Brubby-law."

"No, not 'Brubby-law,' it's—ouch!"

Zoey stomped on Harlan's foot, scooped Lucian up in her arms, and carried him away. Before leaving, she playfully shook his little head. "Quick, shake out all the nonsense from your brain."

"Janice Ne—ugh, I mean, Zoey! What do you mean by 'nonsense'?"

Harlan chased after them, only to have Bill toss a freshly changed diaper straight at his chest.

"What do you think you're doing, yelling at my daughter like that?"

Harlan instantly shrank back and carefully said, "My dear father-in-law, you misunderstood me."

"Father-in-law? In your dreams. Get the hell away from me."

Philippa took Zoey's hand and led her away. "Sweetheart, never settle for a man who's emotionally unstable. And definitely not for a man like—"

Her gaze landed on Bill. He looked at her expectantly, only for her to remark coldly, "A man like your father, he's a total sc*mbag."

Zoey nodded. "Got it."

It seemed Bill still hadn't won over Philippa, but they had a lifetime ahead of them. The hardships Philippa had endured in the last 20 years—he could spend the rest of his life making up for them.

Harlan hadn't grasped the gravity of the situation yet. He stood off to the side, gloating. "My dear father-in-law, looks like your status isn't much higher than mine."

Bill shot him a glare and snorted. "At least I had it all once. Our child is all grown up. Unlike you—you're an idiot with nothing, yet you're still laughing like a fool."

Harlan was speechless.

Ignoring him, Bill walked up to me and said, "It's getting late, so we won't bother you any longer. If you're tired, just tell Dad."

His words softened my heart. He pulled me gently into his arms and stroked my hair. "We're family. Don't endure everything by yourself. You still have us to hold it up for you."

I swallowed back my tears and nodded. "Mm, I know. You should focus on winning Mom over."

Bill chuckled. "That doesn't matter. As long as I can stay by their side, that's enough for me."

He really had become more at peace with things.

Kate stood quietly in the corner, watching the exchange between me and Bill. Her eyes held a trace of envy.

After they all left, she slowly walked over. "We're here for you, too, so don't be sad."

She wanted to hug me but hesitated, clearly afraid I wouldn't like it. In the end, she simply stayed by my side, keeping a careful distance.

After everything I'd been through, at least I still had two sets of parents. Compared to Carter, I should be grateful.

"Mom, can you hold me for a while?"

She froze for a moment, and tears streamed down her face as she said, "Yes."

She held me tightly in her arms, whispering my name, "Coco."

I hugged her back, tears streaming down my face as I screamed, "Mom ... "

"My child, you have suffered so much."

I sobbed uncontrollably, shouting her name, finally releasing all the pain I'd been holding in for years.

Over and over, I had been misunderstood. Perhaps on that snowstorm night, what I wanted most wasn't to survive—but to be understood by my family.