When Love Breaks (Josephine) novel Chapter 105

Zayn's jaw tightened. "I didn't have a choice," he ground out. "I'm not about to let Yvan take my hard-earned money for free. I know you have high moral standards—that's why I never told you. I didn't want to drag you into this."

Then, his expression softened, and he cupped her face, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "But, baby… You've misunderstood me for far too long. I'm afraid if I don't tell you the truth now, you'll walk away from me for good.

"I let Nadine stick around because she knows everything; she's part of it. And with her personality, if I cut her off now, she'll burn everything down—even if it means destroying herself."

Was that really the case? Josephine took a deep breath, her chest tightening with the weight of his words. For a second—a brief, painful second—she almost believed him. But then... Something didn't add up.

Her eyes narrowed as she met his gaze. "You're lying. If that's all she was to you, then why did you two sneak off to kiss at the Forbes Group celebration? Was that part of your plan too?"

As soon as her words fell, Zayn's face went deathly pale. He stammered, "I-I was close with her, but it never went that far. She's into me, okay? And I used that. I dangled just enough of what she wanted to keep her in line. If I didn't—how else would I get her to do my dirty work?"

Josephine let out a soft, bitter laugh. and to think... Just moments ago, she'd actually wavered.

"Zayn, you're more than capable of building another empire from scratch if you wanted to. But you chose profit over us. You chose this path, and now you're stuck on it. You can't have it all!"

The air was warmer in the ward. Josephine walked in and hung her scarf on the coat rack. That day, she wore a cream-colored, turtleneck knit dress. The snug knit clung to her slender frame, highlighting every curve. The long waves of her slightly brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her soft skin seemed to make the delicate fabric melt into her form.

Joe glanced at his daughter-in-law and couldn't hide a trace of satisfaction. Still, his mouth, ever critical, didn't let up as he nagged at Yvan. "You're a grown man now—what the hell are you wearing? Aren't you worried people will laugh at you? Cut that ridiculous hair of yours and dye it back to black. And for God's sake, what's that thing on your mouth? Take it off right now!"

Yvan flashed a carefree smile, patiently listening to Joe's rant. He sat at the edge of the bed, eating cherries from the table, clearly tuning him out.