Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 1029

It was only when she talked with Lillian that Camila finally understood the truth. She had been set up while trying to save her daughter, and that’s how she’d ended up like this. Watching Lillian, so sweet and thoughtful, massaging her shoulders and insisting on telling her stories, Camila’s heart melted. Her daughter really was the sweetest thing, and for this little angel, she knew she’d do anything, even risk her life.

Mother and daughter chatted in bed for ages. By the time night had settled in, Lillian was running on empty. She started yawning, eyes barely staying open, but she just couldn’t bring herself to leave her mom. Halfway through a sentence, she curled up in Camila’s arms and drifted off to sleep.

Dennis arrived soon after and leaned over to gently pick up Lillian. “Camila, let me take her,” he whispered. “I’ll put her to bed in the next room.”

Camila shook her head softly. “No, it’s fine. Let her sleep here with me. I just… feel safer with her close.”

The truth was, just as Lillian didn’t want to be apart from her mom, Camila couldn’t bear to let her go either.

Dennis smiled, giving in right away. “Alright. You two stay here. I’ll keep watch.”

Camila nodded, but then hesitated. After a second, she murmured, “Thank you… husband.”

Dennis went completely still. For a moment, it was like time stopped. He stared at her, trying to process what he’d just heard. “Wait… what did you just call me?”

She blinked at him, a little lost. “Husband? Isn’t that right? Master said we’re married… Did I get it wrong?”

Dennis didn’t answer, but his gaze grew deeper and darker. She had no idea what those two little words did to him, especially when she said them in that gentle, almost shy voice. For someone as restrained as Dennis, it was almost dangerous. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and in that instant, he felt like he could give her anything—his whole life, if she asked.

He hadn’t meant to scare her, but suddenly, he reached out, tilting her chin up and leaning in close.

A warm shadow fell over her. Camila froze, unsure what to do, until she felt his lips press against hers. The clean scent of cedar from his shirt filled her nose, and her mind just… blanked.

He was kissing her.

She had no idea how to react. She just sat there, letting him kiss her, his lips moving over hers with a hungry insistence. Strangely, she didn’t feel the urge to pull away. Instead, his touch awoke something familiar and warm deep inside her. Almost without thinking, she closed her eyes and leaned into him, meeting his kiss halfway.

“Good night,” Camila replied, ducking under the covers fast, as if she could hide from her own racing thoughts.

Dennis smiled at her, dimmed the bedside lamp, and moved to the couch nearby to keep watch.

Sleepiness crept in, and Camila drifted off, her heart still pounding.

Over the next two days, Camila’s condition steadily improved. She still couldn’t remember much, but at least the headaches were gone. Creating an antidote would take time, even with the elder Mr. Williams working on it. On the third day, he suggested Dennis take her home. Compared to the sterile medical room at the institute, their house was more comfortable, and being somewhere familiar might help her memories return.

Dennis agreed without hesitation and brought her home.

Meanwhile, at the Smith Group, things weren’t looking good. Jordan Smith had rushed back to the country as soon as he could, but the damage was already done. The company had suffered huge losses, and his mother’s family, the Joneses, were in even worse shape. People were being detained or investigated, and a lot of the Jones Group’s projects were frozen, waiting for official results before anything could move forward.