?Chapter 1578:


    The Dawsons froze for a beat before the insult sank in.


    “You’re the stupid one!” they all shouted back in unison.


    Robin nearly exposed Ynda’s scheming, ready to tell them how she had yed them all for fools—but he caught himself. If he opened their eyes to the truth, they would only crawl back to Christina, clinging like parasites. He wouldn’t give them the chance.


    Christina had fought her way out of the Dawson family’s grip once, and he’d be damned if he ever let these toxic people drag her down again.


    “Just wait and see,” Robin said, his toneced with irond confidence. “Her skills are going to blow your minds.”


    He had absolute faith in Christina’s abilities.


    But that unshakable faith made Brendon’s blood boil. It was obvious Robin had feelings for her. If those two ended up together, his own chance with Christina would vanishpletely.


    A dark thought began to fester in his mind. What if Christina’s surgery failed? The Miller family would never stand by a woman with that kind of stain on her record.


    That failure could be the very thing that brought her back to him. When she was broken, shunned, and at her lowest, he would be the one to reach out, the savior offeringfort. Out of gratitude, she would have no choice but to return to him.


    Time crawled by, painfully slow.


    The Dawsons waiting outside the operating room grew restless, some stifling yawns.


    The surgery had gone on so long they were practically nodding off in their seats.


    “Ynda, have the driver take you home and rest,” Brendon suggested softly.


    Ynda blinked through her drowsiness, smiling faintly as she shook her head. “No, I’ll stay here with you. I can’t just leave you alone.”


    Her words sent a wave of guilt crashing over Brendon. She was such a kind, devoted woman—yet he had betrayed her, with the ghost of another woman still haunting his heart.


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    The thought made him unable to meet her earnest gaze. Each time his eyes met hers, that crushing guilt welled up inside him all over again. To soothe it, he buried her in gifts and surprises. But even he knew this could onlyst so long—until the day their marriage finally copsed.


    Oblivious to the depth of his guilt, Ynda watched him carefully. From the distant look in his eyes, she could tell he was thinking about someone else—Christina, or perhaps Vickie. Her teeth clenched in quiet rage, her fingers curling into tight fists.


    Why couldn’t men ever be satisfied? Why did he have to keep testing her tolerance, over and over again?


    A flicker of murderous intent shed in her eyes. The hatred boiling inside her was so raw and deep it seemed to seep through her skin.


    Just then, the doors to the operating room burst open.


    Christina emerged from the operating room alongside the doctors. The Dawson family barely spared her a nce before rushing straight toward them.


    “Doctor, how’s my grandmother?” Katie asked, her voice trembling with tension. She was bracing herself for the worst.


    “The surgery was aplete sess,” the lead doctor began, then went on to exin the post-operative precautions.


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