All Chapters of What Blooms From Burned Love: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

After Raine got Suri to the Dudley estate, they spent the night hauling all her stuff out of Bruce's place."If we'd known Bruce was trash, you should've let that car flatten him back then."Raine was helping her unpack when she noticed Suri frozen, eyes glued to her phone. She peeked.Yolanda had posted.[Our family's first grandson has arrived! Who says we have no heir? Julie is truly a blessing to our family.]There was a photo of the baby.It had only been up a few minutes, and the comments were already rolling in.[Congrats, congrats! The Jerkinsons have an heir now.][Bruce is amazing. First kid and it's a boy.][So Julie really had the baby? And a big, healthy boy? That gift I gave her last Christmas was worth it.]Almost every comment was from Bruce's crew. Judging by their tone, the whole Jerkinson clan had been in on Julie—and the pregnancy—the entire time.Suri had been the only one left in the dark. For a year."They're sick," Raine snapped. "Posting like it's s

Yolanda snapped, "Seriously? Haven't you caused enough drama? What matters now is the baby—and Julie. Let Suri go. She's got no one here. How's she even gonna divorce you?"The baby wailed. Julie burst into tears too. "I'm sorry, Bruce. I didn't think it'd get this bad."If Suri still can't deal with it, I'll leave with the baby. We'll disappear forever. I'm not some homewrecker—I won't let my child ruin your marriage."She turned to go, baby in her arms. Yolanda tried to stop her, but Julie pushed past."Bruce, that's your son! What matters more—him or Suri? She probably just stepped out to cool off. She'll be back.""Sir, are you looking for your wife?" A maid stepped in, nervous. "The day Ms. Thrash went into labor, your wife passed out too."I rushed her to the hospital. She hasn't been back since. You were all there—didn't you see her?"Bruce spun, grabbing her arm. "What? What happened to Suri? Why didn't anyone say anything?""I called, but you told me not to bother you.

Riverbourne, Calvia.Bruce hit the rose garden at dawn—only to find a field of ash.The gardener was sweeping up nearby and looked up."Mr. Jerkinson? You're up early."Bruce stormed over. "What the hell happened? Where are the roses?" He yanked the guy by the collar. "I was gone a few months. You torch them or something? Do you even know what those meant to Suri? What I put into them?""Easy, sir! It wasn't us—your wife told us to clear them out. She lit the fire herself."Bruce's eyes went glassy.He just stood there, frozen."She burned them?" His voice cracked."Yeah. Said you weren't coming back, so why bother keeping them."He flashed back to that courtyard—roses everywhere. No wonder they looked familiar. He'd planted those for her.She'd chopped them down, handed them to Julie... then torched the rest.He let go, stumbling back like the wind got knocked out of him."You okay?" the gardener asked. "Should we replant something?""Roses. I'll do it myself." Bruce's j

After Raine stormed off, the crowd just stared."No way. He actually cheated?""So that scandal last year was real. He cheated, made his wife lose their baby, and she finally snapped.""Serves him right. Ugh. Rich people, man. Always the same."One by one, they walked off, shaking their heads.Bruce stayed there, broken and still, long after the crowd left.It took forever before he pulled himself together enough to even think about chasing down Raine to ask where Suri had gone.Then his phone rang. He fumbled to answer. "Hello?""Mr. Jerkinson, you sound... off. Are you okay?"He forced himself upright. "I'm fine. What's going on?""There's a situation at the company. We really need you back. Can you come in?""You can't handle it? I've only been gone a few days—don't bug me with this.""It's serious. Multiple partners are pulling out, suppliers are cutting ties, employees are quitting left and right. It's a mess. We don't know what to do without you."Bruce sagged agains

Julie knew the game was up. This was a hospital—what could they really do to her?She exhaled. "No. The baby's not Bruce's. He's someone else's."Yolanda shrieked. "What did you just say? That child's not from our bloodline?"She slapped Julie so hard her head snapped to the side. "You filthy liar! Whose kid is it?"Julie clutched her burning cheek, eyes on Bruce. "I swear, I did sleep with you. But I was already two months pregnant. You thought I was Suri that night and pulled me into that room... I just went with it."I didn't think I'd get caught this fast. But whatever. I'll take the baby and vanish. You won't see us again."Julie turned to leave, but Bruce stepped in, blocking her. His face was stone."You wrecked my marriage with Suri. You killed my kid. And now you think you can just walk away?""What?" Yolanda's eyes shot wide. "You divorced Suri? What kid? What do you mean, killed your kid?"She was panicking. "Bruce, talk to me!"He handed her the medical file and d