On the Ruins of His Regret I Soar novel Chapter 49

Jessica froze.

Hearing the scream, Lance rushed into the room.

“Daddy!” Amy cried, reaching for him.

Lance shoved Jessica aside without a second thought. Her already frail body slammed into the corner of the bedside table. A sharp, agonizing pain shot through her lower back, making her face go white and a cold sweat break out on her forehead.

Lance scooped Amy into his arms. “What’s wrong, baby? What happened?”

Amy sobbed into his shoulder. “Daddy, I want Mom Catherine. I’m scared of her.” She pointed a small, trembling finger at Jessica. It was the same tiny hand that had once wiped away Jessica’s tears. Now, it was causing them.

“Catherine just left, sweetie,” Lance soothed. “She was with you for a long time today and needs to rest. You know she has a weak heart. Can’t Mommy and Daddy stay with you tonight?”

“I don’t want her here, Daddy,” Amy wailed. “She scares me.”

Lance’s brow furrowed. He turned on Jessica. “She was fine this morning. What did you do?”

Jessica was completely bewildered. “I didn’t do anything…” Then it hit her. The entire time her back was turned, Catherine had been alone with Amy. It was like a switch had been flipped.

“You’re still denying it?” Lance’s voice was dangerously cold.

She shook her head, desperate. “Lance, putting everything else aside, you know how much I love Amy. She’s my entire world. How could I ever do anything to harm her?”

“Maybe you didn’t mean to,” he sneered, “but your negativity, your paranoia, your constant drama—it’s all toxic. Amy is terrified of you, and you have no one to blame but yourself.”

“But she was fine this morning!” Jessica pleaded. “I was gone for a little while, and when I came back, everything had changed. And Catherine was the only one with her. Why can’t I be suspicious?”

Lance stared at her, his expression shifting from anger to frustration, and finally, to a profound, unshakable disappointment.