Chapter 526

“You think I’d be foolish enough to make the same mistake twice?” Juan’s cold, sharp words hit Hester like a slap, leaving her stunned. “I didn’t drink that wine. And the person who came to your room that night wasn’t me. Do you need me to spell it out for you before you’ll stop this?”

For the past few days, Melody had arranged for Hester to stay at the Nichols family’s ancestral home, hoping she’d familiarize herself with the household. A few days ago, Hester had drugged a glass of wine and sent it to Juan’s study, thinking she’d trap him. But Juan had known all along that it was a scheme orchestrated by Melody. To save Melody from embarrassment, he had Joe switch the wine ahead of time and send Hester away before anything could happen. As for what happened next, Juan had no idea, but one thing was certain: the person who went into Hester’s room that night wasn’t him.

“That’s impossible! Melody told me that…” Hester stammered in disbelief.

“Melody told you that Juan came to your room because he’s interested in you?” Debra interrupted, stepping forward. “Oh, sweetheart, did you actually believe that one day Melody would step in and make Juan marry you?”

The truth was that Melody had only ever used Hester to keep Juan distracted. Now that Juan and Debra’s remarriage had been publicly announced, Hester had outlived her usefulness as a pawn.

“If you want answers, I think you should ask Melody herself. I’m sure she’ll tell you the truth,” Debra added coolly.

Hester couldn’t accept it. She backed away and bolted toward the elevator. The maids, worried she might cause a scene, quickly followed her inside.

Juan pressed his lips into a thin line. “Debra…”

“You don’t need to explain anything to me. I know you. You don’t make the same mistake twice,” Debra said. “But for the sake of our agreement, I do hope you’ll keep the women around you in check. Don’t drag me into unnecessary drama. And if you really can’t resist, at least be discreet.”

She gave him a polite, distant smile that felt like a wall between them.

“Does it have to be like this between us?”

“There shouldn’t be anything between us at all. We’re practically strangers, aren’t we?”

Other than their marriage on paper, there was nothing left between them. The tension was thick as they stepped into the elevator, neither saying a word. The silence stretched until Juan broke it.

“Earlier, in the ancestral hall, why did you mention my grandfather?”

Juan had always been perceptive, and Debra readily covered it with a lie.

“I was just curious, that’s all. Your family business is huge. I’m impressed your grandfather built it from the ground up.”

Though Juan’s father had been the one to truly dominate Seamar City, and Juan had taken the family to new heights, no one could deny the foundation laid by his grandfather.

“It wasn’t built by my grandfather.”

“What?”

The elevator doors slid open. Juan stepped out, but Debra hurried after him, uncertainty gnawing at her. She had been digging into the Nichols family’s history for a while now. Juan, always quick to pick up on subtleties, glanced at her.

“You seem unusually interested in the past today.”