Chapter 479
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Chapter 479:
“She’s good with him,” Justin said. His tone was carefully calibrated to suggest a man defending a business arrangement rather than a husband speaking about his wife.
“She’s a stranger.” The voice came from the leather armchair beside the fire. Justin’s grandfather — the Collins patriarch, ninety-two years old and still sharp enough to cut glass with a single look. “Aaden asks about her constantly. He calls her ‘Auntie Carmen’ in front of the staff. The household is confused. The staff is confused. And confusion in a senator’s household becomes speculation. Speculation becomes scandal p>
Elbert tossed the magazine onto the desk. It landed with a heavy slap.
“The board called me yesterday,” Elbert continued. “Three separate donors have expressed concern about your unconventional family situation. They’re asking whether the boy’s mother is dead or simply absent. Your approval ratings among family-values voters have dropped four points in two weeks p>
Justin said nothing. He crossed to the window and stood with his hands clasped behind his back, staring out at the frozen gardens. His face wore an expression of contemplative concern. Inside, a precise, cold satisfaction was spreading through his chest like warmed honey. This was the pressure he had been waiting for.
“The solution is simple,” his grandfather said. “End this arrangement. Send the woman back to her hotel job. Hire a proper governess for Aaden — one who understands the meaning of boundaries p>
“Or,” Elbert said, his voice dropping to the register that had commanded boardrooms for forty years, “you marry her p>
Justin turned. He allowed one eyebrow to rise — just one. The expression of a man surprised by an idea he had, in fact, planted himself three weeks earlier through carefully placed whispers in his father’s ear.
𝗙ol𝘭о𝘸 𝗎𝗌 о𝗇 𝗀а𝘭ոo𝘃е𝘭ѕ.𝖼о𝗺
“She’s a career woman,” Justin said. “She values her independence. I doubt she’d agree to p>
“Then make her agree.” Elbert cut him off. “You are a United States Senator, Justin. You are the heir to this family’s legacy. You do not ask. You negotiate. You find leverage.” He held his son’s gaze. “You have one month. Either Carmen Golden becomes Carmen Collins, legally and permanently, or she disappears from this family’s narrative entirely. Those are the only options I will accept p>
Justin held his father’s gaze for five long seconds. Then, slowly, he nodded — the movement heavy, reluctant, absolutely perfect.
“As you wish,” he said. “I’ll handle it p>
Three hours later, Justin’s black Cadillac pulled up to his Georgetown townhouse. He climbed the front steps slowly, allowing his shoulders to carry just enough slump to suggest a man burdened by impossible expectations.
Inside, the living room was warm and filled with afternoon light and the sound of cartoon theme music. Carmen sat cross-legged on the Persian rug in a soft cashmere sweater, Aaden curled against her side, his small body radiating heat and trust, his eyes fixed on the television screen. Carmen’s hand rested on his hair, moving in slow, absent strokes. The gesture was maternal, unconscious, and devastatingly natural.
Justin stood in the doorway and watched them.