Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 77

She slowly rolled up her sleeve, revealing a trail of bruises along her forearm, each blotch a testament to the small stones that had been hurled at her.

The injuries weren't serious, but at first glance, they looked shockingly severe.

"Take a good look," Celestine said flatly, pointing to the crescent-shaped bruise at the corner of her eye. "Every mark you can see on me—each one is your doing."

Chester choked on his words. "You've lost your memory. Whatever you're saying now—I can just ignore it."

"What if I told you, I haven't lost my memory at all?"

"Don't be ridiculous. You think the hospital's diagnosis is fake?"

Celestine let out a bitter laugh.

He had always chosen to believe only what suited him.

Their marriage—what did it mean to him, besides gaining a convenient live-in maid? What else was in it for him?

Chester was stung by her laughter, and the sight of her bruised arm brought a faint pang of guilt.

"I'm… sorry. I didn't know." He pulled out a platinum credit card, offering it awkwardly. "No spending limit. Buy yourself whatever you want. Think of it as compensation."

A genuine apology from Chester was almost unheard of.

Celestine accepted the card with a cool ease. "All right."

She no longer felt any guilt about using his money. Every cent was his debt to her.

The moment she took the card, Chester realized—something about her had changed for real.

But maybe that was for the best; everything was out in the open now, no more pretense.

Once she got her memory back, things would return to normal.

"That's wonderful—Celly isn't mad anymore! Does this mean you'll stay tonight?" Joanna chirped, feigning delight as she stepped forward to grab Celestine's arm.

Celestine recoiled from her touch, twisting away in disgust.

A beat later, Joanna performed a dramatic tumble, collapsing to the floor out of nowhere.

"Joanna!" Chester rushed over.

Joanna's towel slipped, baring a generous swath of creamy shoulder and chest.

Chester didn't even flinch. He wrapped his arms around her without hesitation.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify