?Chapter 1049:


    Anyone familiar with Hester knew her rtionship with Dustin’s father was anything but peaceful. She had always loathed being called Mrs. Wade. Without Dustin’s uing inheritance of the Wade Group, Hester would have cut all connections to the Wade family without a second thought. Dolores’s chosen form of address had struck exactly the wrong chord with Hester.


    Dustin felt the rising tension and intervened before his mother could explode. “Just call her Hester,” he said quickly.


    Displeasure clouded Hester’s features. “That won’t be necessary.” She regarded Dolores, her voice turning sharp. “Ms. Davidson, if you’re unwilling to help Joanne select a ne, we’ll manage without you. We’re unlikely to cross paths again anyway.”


    Something dim flickered through Dustin’s gaze at her words.


    That morning, Collin’s invitation had arrived at his doorstep. Originally, he had no intention of joining his mother and Joanne for their shopping trip. Yet something inexplicable had driven him to use the outing as his excuse to decline Collin’s offer.


    Running into Dolores here was thest thing he had expected. Collin had mentioned that Linsey would spend the day with Dolores, with him watching over both children. Lately, Linsey and Dolores had be practically inseparable. So where was Linsey now? What had drawn Dolores out on her own? Linsey neither needed to watch the kids nor attend to Gorman at the hospital. Shouldn’t she be with Dolores?


    Had Linsey been here, Dolores wouldn’t have faced Hester and Joanne alone.


    The more Dustin dwelled on the situation, the deeper his frustration grew. Without realizing it, his irritation toward Linsey intensified with each passing thought.


    “Mom, that’s enough,” Dustin said, his brow creasing with displeasure. Dolores met his gaze with cool indifference.


    Moments before she stepped into the jewelry store, excitement coursed through her veins as she nned ways to make Dustin’s birthday truly memorable. How foolish she had been to hope again. Dustin never intended to celebrate his birthday with her. Instead, he would host a grand birthday banquet with Joanne at his side as his chosenpanion.


    While Joanne and Hester subjected her to open mockery and subtle barbs, Dustin merely watched in silence. His few lukewarmments held no real intention of defending her honor. The thought of his mother discovering their continued contact terrified him too much to find the courage he should have shown in protecting her.


    “Dustin.”


    Discover updates g?lησν???s


    The sound of her own voice calling his name reached Dolores’ ears. In the next heartbeat, Dustin’s brows drew together as shock flickered across his features, his eyes silently demanding an exnation from her. Would she really expose everything between them now?


    Hester fixed Dolores with a sharp, warning look. “Dolores, what exactly do you think you’re going to say?”


    Joanne, who had been relishing the spectacle with obvious entertainment, suddenly felt her expression grow cold.


    Dolores remained oblivious to the changing expressions around her. She kept her gaze locked on Dustin, her voice cutting through the tension like ice. “Dustin, I’ve grown weary of all this secrecy over the past few days. I refuse to continue skulking in shadows. We’re done.”


    That was when Dustin finally managed to collect his fractured thoughts. His eyes went wide with disbelief as he took an instinctive step toward her. “Dolores, what are you talking about?”


    .


    .


    .