Chapter 17
The insult in his words drained the color from Juliana's face.
Her voice trembled despite her efforts to control it. "Can't you see how unhappy your son is in that photograph?"
"Whether my son is happy or not isn't your concern." Lucas's patience snapped. His hand clamped around Juliana's wrist, the pressure so brutal it felt like her bones might crack. "Who the hell do you think you are, sticking your nose into my family business?"
"Let go!" Juliana struggled, her back slamming against the edge of the desk. She let out a muffled grunt of pain. Lucas lost his balance from her resistance and pitched forward, his body pressing into hers.
The distance between them collapsed to nothing in an instant. Their breathing tangled together. The position was obscenely intimate.
"Lucas..."
A shocked, sugary-sweet voice drifted from the doorway.
Bianca stood frozen with a bowl of soup in her hands, every drop of color draining from her face.
Lucas had that woman trapped between the desk and his body, positioned like lovers caught in an embrace.
Lucas glanced back at her but didn't immediately release Juliana.
"Lucas, you two..." Bianca's voice shook. The tray in her hands trembled dangerously.
Lucas straightened his rumpled shirt cuffs without sparing her a glance, his words coming out ice-cold.
"I called you here today to discuss ending our engagement. Well. Looks like I don't need to bother now."
The words hit Bianca like a lightning strike. The soup bowl slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor with a crash, liquid splashing everywhere.
"Why?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Because of her? Lucas, I've been by your side for years! I've taken care of Dami for years! You can't do this to me!"
Lucas turned his gaze on her.
"Because despite being Dami's biological mother, you've somehow managed to earn less of his affection than a complete stranger. That's pathetic, frankly."
The words were surgical, cutting straight to the most vulnerable part of her.
Lucas didn't acknowledge her further. He simply walked past her and left the study.
Bianca stood rooted to the spot, frozen to her core.
After a long moment, she whipped around, pouring all her venom and resentment toward the woman still standing by the desk.
It was her! All of this was because of that bitch!
"Juliana!" Bianca's scream was feral as she lunged forward, hand raised to slap her across the face.
Juliana was still reeling from how quickly everything had spiraled. She didn't register what was happening until it was almost too late.
She dodged on pure instinct as those crimson-painted nails came at her face, twisting to the side and swinging her arm up defensively.
The momentum of her movement connected.
Bianca stumbled back, clutching her face in shock.
Juliana froze too, staring at her own tingling palm in disbelief.
Had she just... hit Bianca?
...
Central Hospital.
Joshua paced the corridor, his phone screen lighting up and dimming in his hand over and over.
"Uncle Joshua, when is Mommy coming back?"
A small voice piped up from beside him.
Joshua looked down to find Damian gazing up with those clear green eyes filled with poorly concealed worry.
Joshua crouched down and ruffled his hair. "Soon. Don't worry about it."
Even as he said it, he wasn't entirely convinced himself. He couldn't help muttering under his breath, "All because of that Sharp family old hag. If she hadn't back then—"
He cut himself off abruptly.
Couldn't curse in front of the kid.
Damian's small face tensed up.
Uncle Joshua's "old hag" was Grandmother.
Mommy and Uncle Joshua both hated Grandmother so much. If they knew his real identity, would they hate him too? After all... he was Daddy's son.
The thought lodged itself like a splinter in Damian's chest, making him fidget uncomfortably.
The elevator chimed.
Juliana stepped out, her face pale and drawn, exhaustion written across her features.
"Mommy!"
Damian launched himself at her like a missile, wrapping his arms tightly around her legs.
Juliana's heart melted into a puddle.
All the tension and ugliness from the Sharp Estate dissolved in that single small embrace.
She knelt down. "What's wrong? Did you miss me?"
Damian made a muffled sound of agreement against her shoulder.
Joshua approached, taking in her pallor with a deeply furrowed brow. "Are you okay? Did that old bat—"
"I'm fine, Josh." Juliana cut him off. She didn't want to discuss any of that in front of her son. She took Damian's small hand. "Come on. Let's go home."
Back in the hospital room, Juliana carefully washed Damian's hands and face, then poured warm soup from the thermos and watched him take small, careful sips.
Under her gentle attention, Damian felt something unfamiliar bloom in his chest. No one at the Sharp Estate had ever treated him like this.
Grandmother only wanted him to be obedient. Bianca only cared about using him to curry favor with Daddy. And Daddy... Daddy was always so busy that Damian could barely remember the last time they'd sat together like this.
After finishing his soup, Damian twisted the hem of his shirt between his fingers. After a long hesitation, he finally worked up the courage to speak.
"Mommy, today... you saw people from the Sharp family, didn't you?"
Juliana's hands paused in the middle of clearing the dishes. She continued without missing a beat. "Yes, I did."
"And... that Mr. Sharp," Damian's voice came out tentative as a testing paw, "what... what's he like?"
Mr. Sharp?
Lucas's mercurial face immediately filled Juliana's mind.
She considered the question seriously before answering honestly.
"He's got quite the temper. Very unpredictable."
Damian blinked. That assessment... wasn't quite as terrible as he'd been expecting.
...
The Sharp Estate.
The study was a disaster zone. Ashley had tearfully escorted Bianca out already.
Lucas sat alone on the sofa. He had Paul bring Matthew up from downstairs.
The child climbed into the chair across from him without assistance and sat there quietly.
"Why don't you like Bianca?" He got straight to the point.
Matthew's response was equally direct.
"Because she's not my mother."
Lucas hadn't expected such decisive rejection. Just how much had Bianca been doing behind his back?
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Then who do you want as your mother?"
There was a note of probing curiosity in Lucas's tone.
He was almost certain the child would say Juliana's name.
"The mommy I want has very pretty eyes. Even prettier when she smiles. She has long hair and she smells really nice, but not like perfume. It's like... a really clean smell."
Matthew struggled to find the right words. "She came to the house this afternoon. To examine Grandmother."
Every single detail pointed to the same person. Juliana.