Eric dialed his assistant's number, and the moment the call connected, he commanded coldly, "Arrange for Lyndsey to leave the country as quickly as possible!"

On the other end of the line, the assistant responded hastily, "Understood, sir. However, we just received word from the hospital that the Elder Mr. Arthur..."

"Speak!"

"The old gentleman suffered a sudden heart attack and has been hospitalized!"

The hospital ward.

Eric stood outside the door, and before he could even turn the handle, he could hear a woman sobbing loudly beside his grandfather's bed.

There was no need to guess; it was his stepmother, Isabella.

Upon spotting Eric, Isabella's weeping grew even more theatrical: "Father, you must demand justice for our son! Eric sent his men to drag him away, and his whereabouts are still unknown. That is your own flesh-and-blood grandson!"

Faced with Isabella's dramatic display, Eric's expression didn't shift in the slightest; he was no longer that defenseless, homeless child who had lost his mother and been tormented by this woman.

He replied blandly, "I quite enjoyed the lavish gift you sent my way a while ago, so I merely returned the favor to your son in exact fashion. Why, do you not care for it?"

Isabella was consumed with a mixture of fury and panic, wishing she could tear him apart alive.

A frail cough echoed from the bed as Grandpa Arthur waved his hand weakly: "You leave us for a moment. I will speak with Eric alone."

Isabella shot a venomous glare at Eric before pushing the door open and exiting.

Grandpa Arthur looked at Eric, his expression turning solemn as he brought up an entirely different matter: "What do you intend to do about you and Chloe?"

Eric remained expressionless, his tone completely detached: "I have no intention of marrying anyone."

Women were natural actresses; even those who were born kind-hearted would turn foolish and vicious the moment their own interests were threatened.

Grandpa Arthur felt a profound sorrow in his heart, though he could only blame himself for raising a worthless son.

His son had married one woman only to provoke another, leaving two women to fight to the death and dragging his grandson into the crossfire.

Tears streamed down the elderly man's lined face: "I am nearing the end of my days, so I suppose I can no longer control you. But if you want the shares I hold in the company, you must marry Chloe! Once you have been married for three years, the shares will automatically transfer to you!"

Outside the ward, Isabella overheard every single word, her fingers clenching into tight fists as a ruthless light gleamed in her eyes.

The rain fell from the sky, cold and unfeeling.

Chloe gently caressed Zack's freezing tombstone while his classmates stepped forward one by one to lay flowers before his grave.

The last person to place a flower was a pale, fragile young girl who looked as though she might collapse at any moment.

Chloe recognized her; her brother's phone wallpaper was a candid photograph he had taken of this very girl while she was fast asleep.

Perhaps a fleeting youth truly could blossom into brilliant red flowers.

Yet everything had come to an abrupt halt, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

In the photograph on the tombstone, Zack smiled at her with immense warmth and brightness, though the rainwater left streaks across his face that resembled tears.

When her brother passed away, did it hurt terribly? In his final moments, perhaps his greatest regret was never confessing his feelings to that girl...

Chloe thought blankly, her tears falling like the rain, soaking the flowers laid before the monument.

The city night was deep and piercingly cold.

Chloe dragged her exhausted body back to her apartment, only to discover Eric waiting right outside her door.

After a moment of silence, she pushed the door open: "Please, come in."

Stepping inside, Eric surveyed the old yet cozy residence.

The magnets on the refrigerator, the flowers on the table, the certificates pinned to the wall... it held the unmistakable scent of a home.

Chloe poured a glass of water and set it down before him: "Is there something you need from me, Mr. Vance?"

She hadn't asked anything unusual, yet Eric stared at her with an expression she couldn't quite decipher.

Chloe's grief-numbed senses slowly awakened just as she heard him speak: "I am here to ask you—to marry me."

Chapter 6: Does He Truly Love Her?

For a fleeting second, Chloe believed she was experiencing an auditory hallucination.

Yet Eric continued smoothly, "My grandfather wishes for me to marry you..."

Chloe knit her brows, preparing to decline, when Eric added, "And I wish to marry you as well. Last time at the hospital, you said you no longer had a home. I believe I can provide one for you."

The refusal died in Chloe’s throat.

Into her vacant, despairing world, a sudden ray of light seemed to pierce through the darkness.

"I... need to think about it," she heard herself whisper.

Three years later, at the hospital.

Chloe waited patiently in the consultation area.

"Mrs. Vance, your test results are ready."

She accepted the report handed over by the nurse, and under the results column, it clearly stated that she was two months pregnant.

She was expecting a child! Three years after marrying Eric.

Chloe stroked her abdomen, a pure and joyful smile blooming across her face.

The Vance villa.

The sky had turned pitch black, and the clock on the wall already pointed to midnight.

With a soft click, the front door finally opened, and Eric walked inside.

Chloe stepped forward to greet him with a trace of nervousness, prompting Eric to ask in surprise, "Why are you still awake?"

Chloe couldn't suppress her smile any longer: "Eric, I'm pregnant..."

Eric's footsteps halted for a fraction of a second, his gaze dropping to the results column of the medical report.

After a long pause, he spoke in a deep, low tone: "Grandpa has not been in good health lately. Let us keep this news from him for the time being."

Chloe was caught off guard by this revelation, her mind instantly filling with worry for the old man, which prevented her from questioning why such happy news had to be kept hidden from Grandpa Arthur.

"I still have some work to attend to. Go on to bed," Eric added.

"Alright... get some rest soon." Chloe wanted to say more, but the words wouldn't form.

They had been married for three years, yet she constantly felt as though Eric was drifting further and further away from her.

There were moments when she couldn't help but wonder: did Eric truly love her?

But if he didn't love her, why had he insisted on marrying her in the first place...

Perhaps... she was simply being overly sensitive.

Casting a lingering, affectionate glance at Eric, she turned and retreated to her bedroom.

Behind her, Eric watched her departing figure, the complexity in his eyes deep as an abyss.

He recalled the events that had unfolded in the hospital ward earlier that day.

Grandpa Arthur had gripped his hand, the strength in his skeletal fingers shockingly immense: "Eric, I know you have always wondered why I insisted so fiercely on you marrying Chloe."

Eric had merely knit his brows, remaining silent.

The elderly man’s voice was filled with absolute remorse: "The capital I used to start my business back then was actually the inheritance left behind by Chloe's grandfather. I was blinded by greed and failed to deliver that money to Chloe's grandmother, causing their entire family to endure a lifetime of bitter hardship."

"Therefore, Eric, you must treat that child well. Our family owes them a debt that can never truly be repaid!"

Upon hearing this, Eric fell into a deep silence, finally offering a single word after a long pause: "Understood."

On his drive back from the hospital, his mind had been plagued by an uncharacteristic wave of turmoil.

In truth, when he initially proposed to Chloe, he had fully intended to divorce her after three years.

He had no desire to deceive her, but he absolutely had to secure his grandfather's shares in the company.

Only by doing so could he stand undisputed at the absolute peak of the Vance Group, grinding that man and Isabella completely beneath his feet.

Leaving Chloe by his side would only serve to create a weakness for his enemies to exploit.

Yet now... he found himself hesitating...

After spending the entire night buried in work inside his study, the piercing ring of his phone shattered the early morning silence.

Eric pinched the bridge of his nose and answered the call.

His assistant's frantic voice rushed through the speaker: "Mr. Vance, the old gentleman is fading fast! You must get to the hospital immediately!"

Without a moment's delay, Eric woke Chloe, and the two rushed toward the hospital in absolute silence.

Inside the ward, Grandpa Arthur was drawing his final breaths.