At the very beginning, Dylan Brooks had not understood why Jacob Lane kept swallowing his pride, why he endured humiliation after humiliation without ever truly pushing back.
Now, standing amid the lingering chaos, the smell of grease and spilled broth hanging thick in the air, Dylan finally understood.
There was no love left between Jacob and Nyla Taylor—not even a trace of the fragile warmth that once might have bound them together. What remained was something far darker, far heavier: resentment, bitterness, and a corrosive hatred that had festered for far too long.
And yet, despite that hatred, Jacob had endured. He had begged, lowered his head, and tolerated everything without daring to demand a divorce.
Why?
Because his mother—aunt Lane—was gravely ill. Her condition was fragile,
