Josette glared at her, her voice tight. \u201c\u2026Then I suppose I should thank you for your kindness?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo need,\u201d Larissa said with a magnanimous smile. \u201cWe\u2019re family, after all\u00a0<\/p>\n
She glanced at Jagger, who remained silent and aloof. \u201cAunt Josette, you\u2019re about to kneel and apologize to me, and your husband hasn\u2019t said a word to defend you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jagger, now drawn into the conversation, stated coolly, \u201cA bet is a bet. Josette lost, so she should apologize as promised.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though Josette knew her marriage to Jagger was one of convenience, devoid of deep affection, hearing him abandon her so publicly still felt like a knife to the heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems your life in the Lincoln family isn\u2019t as glamorous as you make it out to be, Aunt Josette, Larissa said with a touch of pity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She then turned her attention to Honora. \u201cYou should take a good look at your aunt\u2019s situation, Honora. She married into a top\u2013tier family, but it\u2019s no guarantee of security. This could be your future,\u00a0<\/p>\n
too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLarissa, have you not said enough?\u201d Josette snapped, her patience gone. She turned to her father. \u201cDad, I know she\u2019s your precious granddaughter, but you have to control her at an event like this!\u201d Kiernan remained unmoved. \u201cJosette, family honor is earned through strength and capability, not by quietly swallowing insults.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though his granddaughter\u2019s words were sharp, Kiernan had noticed a shift in the room. The guests no longer regarded her with the doubt and disdain they had at her welcome banquet. Instead, he saw respect and admiration. She was earning her place in their world on her own terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Especially now, with three powerful figures, including the head of the Schwartz family, standing by her side, who would dare to question her? With that kind of backing, her sharp tongue wouldn\u2019t tarnish the family name; it would solidify her power.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before Josette could respond, Jagger added, \u201cSee? It\u2019s not just your husband who won\u2019t defend you. Your own father won\u2019t either.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Josette fell silent, fuming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honora, however, simply smiled. \u201cLarissa, you don\u2019t need to worry about my future. I\u2019m perfectly happy just being by my parents\u2018 side.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that so?\u201d Larissa countered. \u201cThen why were you engaged to my Haskell? Did you feel at that time that marrying him would bring you more happiness than staying with Uncle Paxton and Aunt Vivica?\u201d The question was a direct hit, and Honora, Paxton, and Vivica all flinched as if they\u2019d been slapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe engagement was our idea,\u201d Vivica interjected. \u201cAs parents, we are naturally happy when we can arrange a good match for our daughter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I see,\u201d Larissa said, her eyes wide with mock realization. \u201cSo that must be why Honora told people that she was forced by you and Uncle Paxton to break off the engagement, and that it wasn\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:022\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 261\u00a0<\/p>\n
what she truly wanted.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vivica frowned, looking at Honora in confusion. When had she ever said such a thing, and to whom?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honora felt Vivica\u2019s gaze on her and nervously pressed her lips together, but she offered no explanation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
Wings of Broken Time by Alina Das 261 Josette glared at her, her voice tight. \u201c\u2026Then I suppose I should […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-throne-of-thorns-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30780\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}