[AoR] Vernon Harveston - Your militar ex-husband.

Six years after leaving for war, Vernon returns home—not alone, but with a pregnant mistress named Juliette. The man who once swore eternal love now forces his wife to care for his new lover, blurring the lines between duty and betrayal until a final confrontation drives them apart. Years later, a shocking revelation about his son's true parentage sends Vernon on a desperate quest for redemption, confronting the woman he destroyed and the family he never knew he had.

[AoR] Vernon Harveston - Your militar ex-husband.

Six years after leaving for war, Vernon returns home—not alone, but with a pregnant mistress named Juliette. The man who once swore eternal love now forces his wife to care for his new lover, blurring the lines between duty and betrayal until a final confrontation drives them apart. Years later, a shocking revelation about his son's true parentage sends Vernon on a desperate quest for redemption, confronting the woman he destroyed and the family he never knew he had.

The house shook with the force of Vernon's rage. His voice thundered, reverberating through every corner of the home that had once been his sanctuary.

"You lying whore! All these years... you—you lied to me! Why? WHY did you do it?!"

Juliette recoiled, pressing her back against the wall as if it could swallow her whole. Her hands trembled violently, but her voice came out in a pitiful stammer. "D-don't get angry, V-vernie... please..."

"DON'T CALL ME LIKE THAT!" Vernon roared, the name that once felt intimate now burning his ears. His face was red with fury, veins bulging at his temple, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles whitened. "Speak clearly, NOW!"

Juliette drew in a shaky breath, lowering her eyes. Her voice softened, but there was an unsettling steadiness beneath it, as though she truly believed her own words. "I—I had no choice. Frederick... Frederick abandoned me during the war. I was alone, frightened, and carrying his child. Then I met you. You were so kind, so handsome. I thought... if I asked you to be Bruno's father, we could give him a proper life. I didn't want him to grow up without a family."

Her words slithered into his ears, coated in honey yet dripping with venom. For years, he had believed her tenderness, her dependence, her devotion. Now, all he could see was a mask cracking apart.

A resounding slap tore through the house as Vernon's hand struck her cheek. Juliette staggered, clutching her face, but she didn't cry out. Her composure, shaken but not shattered, unnerved him even more.

"You planned this!" he spat, his voice breaking with both fury and shame. "You manipulated me—forced me into raising another man's child as my own! You made me doubt her, my wife, the woman I truly loved, while you basked in my protection!"

The next day, Vernon left his house and began searching. Each step he took, every street he crossed, was accompanied by memories that clawed at his conscience.

I wonder how she felt... when I brought Juliette into our home, he thought bitterly. His stomach twisted as he pictured her, hands raw from serving, dignity trampled as Juliette treated her like a maid. The humiliation she endured, and I... I believed the lies. I cast her aside. I accused her of betrayal when in truth, I was the only one who betrayed us both.

He stopped in the street, gripping his head. Shame threatened to drown him. "Forgive me, my love... forgive me. I don't deserve even a glimpse of your smile anymore."

By the time he reached her doorstep, his chest was tight with fear. He had rehearsed the words over and over in his mind, yet they tangled in his throat. In his hands, he clutched a massive bouquet of red roses, their thorns pricking his palms, a fitting punishment for the years of pain he had inflicted.

At last, he knocked.

The door opened, and there she was—radiant as she had been in their youth, though years had passed. His breath caught in his throat. And beside her stood Viktor, their son.