Chapter 482
Tessa didn’t say another word.
She looked entirely hollowed out, her footsteps unsteady as she walked away.
She couldn’t fathom how it had all gone so incredibly wrong.
When he was first born, she had loved him so fiercely.
At what exact moment did that love warp into complete, unconditional distrust?
She couldn’t find an answer.
The ward returned to a peaceful silence after they left. Lance’s gaze shifted to Camilla. “You forced her to come apologize p>
She didn’t try to hide it. “I wanted to clear your name. I don’t care how many years have passed, the truth shouldn’t be buried. I’m sorry for stepping out of line without asking you first, but if I had to do it again, I’d make the exact same choice p>
“Why are you apologizing? I’m not mad at you. Thank you, Camilla.” He dropped the joking facade, looking at her with an intense, burning warmth.
The sheer heat in his eyes made a furious blush spread across her cheeks.
The air in the room seemed to thicken with sudden romantic tension. Jasper immediately ruined it with a look of utter disgust. “Eww! Mom, Dad, can you stop being so mushy? It’s making me awkward p>
“What does a kid know about being awkward? Get over here and be mushy with us.” The playful arrogance instantly returned. He waved the boy over and pulled out his phone, opening the camera.
With a quick click and a flash, the three of them were immortalized on the screen.
The spontaneous photo hadn’t ruined the incredibly warm atmosphere in the slightest.
In the picture, his arm was wrapped securely around her shoulders, while Jasper leaned happily between them, flashing a brilliant smile.
It was, for all intents and purposes, their first real family portrait.
The very first photo they had taken together since his identity was officially confirmed.
Highly satisfied with the result, he set it as his lock screen and immediately posted it to his social media.
He didn’t bother adding a caption. The pure flex spoke for itself.
Seeing this, Camilla asked him to send her the photo and posted it to her own feed.
The second it went live, a flood of congratulatory messages started pouring in.
There was plenty of good-natured teasing mixed in, all of it overwhelmingly supportive.
She was halfway through replying to a few comments when her phone suddenly began to ring. An unknown virtual number flashed on the screen, ringing with psychotic persistence.
Annoyed by the interruption, she stepped out into the hallway to answer it.
The second the line connected, a weak, raspy voice drifted through the speaker.
It was Barnard.
He was panting heavily, his voice entirely breathless, yet the sheer, violently suppressed rage practically melted the phone speaker. “Camilla. You’re flaunting your affection for him again p>
The words were forced out through gritted teeth. She found the entire interaction completely baffling. “What does that have to do with you? Worry about your own pathetic life p>
She had zero patience to argue with him. Every interaction with him was just a massive headache.
He used to harass her using unknown numbers. Once he realized she stopped picking those up, he switched to untraceable virtual lines.
His obsession was bordering on full-blown psychosis.
“Is he actually going to treat Jasper well? Can you honestly guarantee he’ll love the boy as his own?” Barnard’s desperate, frantic voice echoed through the phone.
He still had absolutely no idea that Jasper was biologically related to Lance.
But the second he opened his mouth, she knew exactly what delusion he was about to pitch. Sure enough, he boldly declared, “I can. I already raised him for five years. We are the perfect match, Camilla p>
“Is that right? Unfortunately for you, Barnard, you’ve been wrong from the very beginning. He doesn’t need to treat him like his own, because Jasper is his biological son p>
Without giving a single damn about the apocalyptic shockwave she had just detonated in his brain, she cleanly hung up the phone and powered it down entirely.
She couldn’t care less who he was using to stalk her social media pages.
Normal people didn’t waste their breath arguing with rats in the gutter. In her eyes, his current behavior was no different from a pest scurrying in the dark.
Meanwhile, in a hospital in Valdoria.
Listening to the dead dial tone echoing in his ear, Barnard let out a primal scream of rage and violently smashed his phone against the hard tile floor.
The explosive crash startled Laura and Davina, who were waiting out in the hall.
Laura rushed in first. Seeing the shattered pieces scattered everywhere, she asked frantically, “What happened? Why are you so angry? The doctor specifically said you need to rest! If something is bothering you, just talk to Mom p>
She had been pushed to the absolute brink by the Carter family’s endless string of disasters. She was severely sleep-deprived and on the verge of a total nervous breakdown.
Yet, as a mother, she still forced herself to comfort him.
Davina, however, stared dead at the obliterated pieces of the phone. Her voice spiked into a hysterical shriek. “Barnard! Did you call her? Did you call Camilla again p>