The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 113

Jotham felt a flicker of emotion at those words.

In the past, he’d never wanted to sleep with Ramona. They weren’t married; he had no intention of taking responsibility for her, and the last thing he wanted was to have her use a child as leverage against him when things inevitably came to a head.

But now, he could see that Winnie had a point.

No matter how fiery Ramona’s temper, if she had a child, she’d be tied to him, just like Brianna was. She wouldn’t be able to walk away.

The thought flashed through his mind and was gone.

Jotham snapped back to the present and rushed to defend Milo. “Milo made a mistake, but that doesn’t mean we need to send him back to foster care. If it comes to it, I’ll ground him and make sure he learns his lesson. He won’t leave the house for a while.”

Milo was his son, his only legitimate connection to the Holt family, a place he’d fought hard to bring him back to. Sending him away now would make it almost impossible for Milo to ever return.

“This is your father’s decision, and it’s one that your grandmother and I both agree with,” Winnie said gently. “Jotham, I know you’ve grown attached after two years of raising him, but you can still visit whenever you like. Just don’t bring him back to the Holt house. In time, when you have your own child, you’ll understand there’s no reason to keep holding on to Milo.”

Winnie’s words were soft, but Milo dissolved again into tears. Clinging to Jotham’s leg, he sobbed, “Dad… I don’t want to leave… I want to stay with you… I want to go home…”

Winnie crouched down and tried to tease Milo, hoping to lighten the mood. “Listen up, kid. If you don’t behave, no one will want you. Maybe if you go back to foster care, you’ll learn your lesson, and next time you’re adopted, you’ll know better.”

But the words cut through Jotham, sharp as a knife.

“Mom! Milo is my son. I’m not sending him away!” Jotham’s voice shook as he scooped Milo into his arms, ignoring Winnie’s outrage as he strode out of the room.

“Jotham—!” Winnie’s furious voice echoed down the hallway, but he didn’t look back.

Milo’s thin shoulders trembled as he clung to Jotham, still crying and apologizing. “I’m sorry, Dad… Please don’t leave me… Please…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t abandon you,” Jotham said softly, patting Milo’s back.

But his heart twisted painfully. He’d always thought he could calculate anything, sacrifice anyone for the bigger picture. Sometimes, he’d been so cold, he wondered if he had any humanity left at all.

But not anymore. He didn’t want to keep living this way.

Ramona had told him to take a hard look at himself, and she was right—he needed to.

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