On the Wedding Day, I Married the Groom’s Uncle Chapter 11

On the Wedding Day, I Married the Groom’s Uncle Chapter 11

Mr. Hamilton’s hair had gone almost completely white overnight. His face was exhausted. Ravaged.

He walked up to me. Breathing hard. Shame in his eyes. “Avery. That idiot Jagger couldn’t tell black from white. He destroyed your child with Beckett. His crime is beyond forgiveness…”

I gripped the bat tighter. My gaze was cold.

Jagger’s parents died young. Mr. Hamilton raised him with his own hands. The attachment ran deep. Of course he came to beg.

But his grandson’s life was a life. My child’s life wasn’t?

Yesterday. The squirming inside me. The desperate kicking. My baby crying out for help. I could still feel it. No one’s plea would work today.

But then the old man did something I didn’t expect.

His hand trembled. He took off his glasses. Tears streamed down his face. His voice came out hoarse. Broken.

“Avery. I raised this animal with my own hands. The crime he committed today… that is my failure.”

“If you want his life, you’ll have to walk over mine first. Let me use this old life to atone to your child.”

He held out his ebony cane. The symbol of his authority. Shaking. Offering it to me. For me to use on him.

Jagger lost it. “Grandfather. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.”

He broke free and ran to the old man. Tried to pull him up. “Grandfather. Why would you take my punishment? Get up. Take me out of here.”

Mr. Hamilton threw Jagger off. The cane came down mercilessly. “You monster. Crawl over there and repent to Avery and that dead child.”

Jagger was beaten into submission. Or maybe it finally hit him that his grandfather couldn’t protect him anymore.

He collapsed at my feet. Clung to my leg. Snot and tears. Wailing.

Beside him, Mr. Hamilton bent his waist toward me. “Kill me first. Then when I die, I can face Jagger’s parents.”

I stumbled back a step. The bat felt heavy. This old man. A titan of industry. Proud his entire life. Now he was bowing. Broken. Begging.