THE DIVORCE GAMBIT From Dumped Wife to CEO's Forever novel Chapter 325

The doctor’s words shattered both Yara and Liam.

Yara collapsed onto the floor, her grief so intense it stole the breath from her lungs.

She couldn’t begin to imagine what their son had suffered before the end. How much pain had he endured? He must have been in agony. He’d been banging on the study door, begging her to let him in, pleading for her to take him to the hospital.

And she’d closed the door in his face.

Worse than that—she’d accused him of faking it.

A raw cry tore from Yara’s throat as the realization hit her, plunging her into a depth of pain she’d never known. She could barely breathe. “Harlan! Harlan! I’m so sorry! This is all my fault, Harlan! Mom is so sorry!”

Now, regret consumed her. She hated herself for being so strict with her son. She hated herself even more for dismissing his pain, for calling him a liar, for not taking him to the hospital sooner.

Liam suddenly lunged at Yara, grabbing her by the collar, his voice shaking with fury. “Yara! Give me back my son! Give me back my son! Why isn’t it you who died? Why Harlan? He was innocent! Why couldn’t it have been you?!”

It should have been Yara. It should have been her.

Yara didn’t resist. She let Liam clutch her collar, limp and unresponsive.

Seeing Liam’s breakdown, the doctor and a nurse rushed to pull him away from her.

The nurse looked at him, exasperated. “Sir, I know this is devastating, but your son wasn’t only hers, was he? You can’t blame all of this on her alone.”

Liam, still shaking, jabbed a finger at Yara. “You don’t know what this fool did! You have no idea! My son kept saying he felt sick, that he was dizzy! He begged her to take him to the hospital! But this idiot—she not only refused to take Harlan herself, she stopped me from doing it too! She said he was pretending!”

That prescription had come from Dr. Nanthea herself!

But the doctor just shook his head. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Somerset. Heartsteady Elixir can only help with symptoms—it can’t cure a condition like this. Mr. and Mrs. Somerset, was he your only child?”

Yara, through her tears, answered, “We have two daughters.”

The doctor was about to reply, but Yara cut him off, her voice cold and bitter. “But what’s the point of daughters? They just grow up and marry off. Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. Only a son can inherit the family business.”

To Yara, daughters were worthless.

If a son was essential, the very lifeblood of the family, then daughters didn’t even count as an afterthought.