Shattered Then Healed By His Love (by Haley Blanton) novel Chapter 123

Chapter 123 Too Close For Comfort

The moment her words fell, his voice rose a notch. “You really know how to wash your hands clean of this, don’t you?”

“I’m not trying to wash anything clean; I’m just telling the truth.”

Because the truth was, no secret stayed buried for long. The situation was already spiraling out of control.

Jackson might not know who the man from that night was just yet, but one day he would.

And Marcus was even more dangerous than she had ever imagined.

She didn’t dare keep gambling with her luck; she refused to end up branded with that filthy label.

“I told you, you can have the divorce,” Jackson said lazily, “but not until grandpa’s health stabilizes.”

Natalie’s expression darkened. “Can you stop using grandpa as an excuse?”

“What, do you really think I’m the one who doesn’t want this divorce?”

He didn’t answer her question; instead, he threw one back at her.

Natalie looked up at him, meeting his gaze, and saw the way his eyes were growing darker, deeper, unreadable.

“With your brilliant medical skills,” a voice, calm and sharp as a blade, sounded from behind her, “how could anything possibly happen to grandpa?”

Her back went rigid.

He was here.

“Uncle Marcus,” Jackson said quickly when he saw the man, rising from the couch.

Marcus crossed the room, stopping on her side, and settled onto the sofa beside her.

One arm draped casually over the backrest; his long legs crossed, his entire presence radiating the effortless dominance of someone born to hold

power.

Natalie kept her spine straight, sitting slightly forward, but to Jackson, watching from across

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the room, the scene before him looked… different. Intimate, even.

Especially that strange, charged air between them—something undefined, yet impossible to ignore.

“I didn’t want to get involved in this,” Marcus said, his upturned eyes carrying a faint trace of red, “but if you’ve decided to split, dragging it out like this isn’t doing anyone any favors. Don’t you agree, Jackson?”

“I’m just worried about grandpa’s health-”

“Don’t,” Marcus cut him off smoothly. “I’ve heard that line so many times my ears are getting calloused.”

He brushed at his ear lazily with his fingertips, but the subtle dip in the room’s pressure said everything.

Natalie could feel it; the tension humming between the two men was sharp, dangerous.

If this kept up, she was terrified Marcus might say something even more reckless–something they’d never be able to take back.

Quickly, she turned her head toward him. “Uncle, weren’t you here to see Aiden? You haven’t even gone upstairs to check on him yet. What will you tell grandpa if you don’t?”

Uncle.

ད

The word slipped into his ear, deepening that dark red glint in his gaze.

She was trying to send him away; her meaning couldn’t have been clearer.

But Marcus didn’t so much as flinch. His fingers tapped idly on the back of the sofa, slow and deliberate.

“Didn’t Ms. Foster just check on him?” he said evenly. “If there were truly something wrong with the boy, you wouldn’t be sitting here looking so calm, would you?”

Her hands tightened against her knees before she could stop herself.

His tone was mild, almost detached, but she could hear the undercurrent of displeasure thrumming beneath it.

When she didn’t answer, Jackson spoke instead, his voice soft. “Yeah. After taking the medicine, he’s much better. A couple more doses tomorrow and he should be completely fine.”

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The pressure beside her only grew heavier, almost suffocating.

Natalie couldn’t stay there a second longer.

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