Imprisoned While Pregnant, She's Back for Payback novel Chapter 348

Chapter 348 Adulterous Family

Chapter 348 Adulterous Family

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“The most important thing a woman can ever have is her face.”

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Shannon chin dipped with grace as her soft curls slid forward, framing her cheeks in a way that gave her an elegance almost impossible to ignore.

Nadine watched Shannon’s every movement as if committing it to memory.

It was no surprise now why her father never warmed to Kylie despite having lived with her for years. He treated her like a colleague, not a partner, coming home each night with the same blank face he wore at work. Nadine finally understood. Her mother’s beauty was the kind that could unravel a man.

The realization sent Nadine’s chest swelling with pride, her spine lengthening as if to match the power of that truth.

Kylie had once been a rare beauty in her own right, flawless in her youth. Yet time and compromise had dimmed her radiance. What had once shone like a flawless pearl now looked faded, as if its surface had been rubbed dull by years of neglect. And that only made Nadine’s mother shine brighter in her elegance and beauty.

“Thank you, Mom.”

Nadine’s brows softened as she accepted the compliment with poise.

The longer Shannon studied her, the more pleased she became. Yet a shadow crossed her eyes, and her lips pressed into a thoughtful line.

“But I can’t understand how Kylie raised you the way she did. I hear you’re working as a lawyer now? That’s no life for you. A woman should be cared for, not ground down in some ordinary job. You’re your father’s daughter. You shouldn’t be wasting yourself like that.”

She spoke, and at the same time she cast Henry a quick, teasing look.

That playful spark, light and feline, stirred something in Henry’s chest, making him ache as if invisible claws had grazed across his skin.

Nadine’s face warmed and she lowered her gaze, her voice soft with modesty. “It’s not too hard

on me.”

Then her tone brightened, unable to contain her excitement. “Mom, do you know Finn? He’s the richest man in Aetheris. I … I like him.”

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16:34 Mon, Oct 20

Chapter 348 Adulterous Family

Color spread hot across her cheeks, and her eyes fell to the table.

“Really?”

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Shannon’s gaze sharpened at once, intrigue dancing across her features. “That’s my girl. You aimed for the very best.”

Nadine’s embarrassment deepened, but in her mind she could see Finn’s sculpted, serious face, and the thought made her vision blur with longing.

In all of Aetheris, and perhaps across the entire country, no man stood equal to him.

“But from what you’re saying, you haven’t won him yet?”

Shannon’s tone teased, her interest clear.

Nadine curled close against Shannon’s arm, her voice sweet as a child’s. “Mom, he just got divorced, but it won’t be long until I snag him for myself.”

“Just divorced?”

Shannon’s fingers grazed her perfect chin as she thought aloud. “A man that wealthy and powerful is bound to be surrounded by women. Who was his ex–wife? Whoever she is, she must have had something to capture a man like that.”

The question made Nadine’s expression sour, irritation clouding her pretty face.

“You know who it is. It’s Kylie’s daughter, Tess.”

The words dropped heavy into the room, and silence followed, thick and stifling.

For a long moment, no one spoke. Then Shannon’s lips curved, and a laugh slipped through.

“Tess?”

Her eyes narrowed, her beauty sharpened by the contempt that flashed there. “Don’t you worry, Nadine. What kind of daughter could Kylie ever raise? She lost to me back then, and now she’s still spinning in circles at our mercy. I believe in you. You’ll be the one standing at the top, as the wife of the richest man in Aetheris.”

She gave Nadine’s hand a gentle pat.

Nadine lowered her face as if shy, but beneath her lashes her eyes burned with fierce light.

Kylie had lost to her mother in the past, and Tess would lose to her as well.

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16:34 Mon, Oct 20

Chapter 348 Adulterous Family

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“Enough of this. We’re together as family tonight. Why waste our breath on outsiders?”

Henry’s tone cut through, steering the moment back with case.

“Tess, you gave me a hard time this morning, but I still helped you. Buying me dinner isn’t too much to ask, is it?”

The familiar lazy drawl rang out, and Abel’s voice carried with it that careless, taunting edge no one could mistake.

Nadine’s knife stalled against her steak, her back going rigid in her chair.

Tess halted, her glare snapping toward the man who clung to her every step like a shadow she couldn’t shake. “Say another word, and you can stay here eating alone.”

The threat hit its mark, and Abel went silent at once.

Relief rolled through Tess at the quiet that followed.

Her gaze shifted toward a round table by the window, lingered there for a heartbeat, then drifted back as if she had noticed nothing at all.

“We’ll take a parlor.”

Abel spoke first at the host stand.

“No. We’ll sit outside. The night looks good.”

Tess’s interruption came calm and final.

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