Chapter 24
Slade’s POV
My hands shook as I gently lifted the lid, my eyes red with tears.”
“Baby… Daddy’s here to see you…
“Did you know, lately I’ve been dreaming about the day you’d be born… You’d open your eyes and look at me, babbling and holding onto my finger…”
I took a harsh swig from the bottle, tears spilling freely.
“But you never came. I waited and waited… But you didn’t even leave me a shadow.“}]
I clutched the urn to my chest, curling into the corner of the couch like a broken child left behind by fate.”
“It’s not fair. We were supposed to be a family. Why did you and your mom leave me behind?}
“Virginia, how could you be so heartless?}
“I know I messed up… but why couldn’t you give me another chance…”
When Rhett arrived, he was breathless. He hesitated at the door before finally offering a blanket.”
“Mr. Forsyth… the company is falling apart–“>
“Company?” I scoffed, my voice hollow. “They don’t even listen to me anymore. What am I supposed to do?“}
I was furious.
I’d rushed back to fight Crawford head–on, only to be blocked by Grandpa–who had parachuted in a relative from a side branch to strip me
all authority.
I couldn’t do anything. I could only watch as Crawford dismantled my company piece by piece.
No one believed me when I said this was all about a woman. They couldn’t fathom someone waging a war this brutal–for love.
Furious, I shattered the shot glass on the floor.
Millicent’s POVD
I… I was committed to a psychiatric hospital.
“The doctors say her mental state is unstable,” a nurse explained.§
“She keeps crying about wanting a baby. She says Slade loves her and that Shepherd will kill her. She’s completely lost touch with reality.“}
“We’ve arranged her admission. The Slades can’t afford more embarrassment.“}
In my ward, I sat wild–eyed and disheveled, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“He loves me… He said so… He said I was the one he’d marry…”
Suddenly, I screamed and latched onto the nurse’s arm.}
“Shepherd! Shepherd is here! He’s coming for me! Stop him–he’s crazy! A murderer! He-“}
The nurse struggled and quickly administered a sedative.>
Siade’s POVE
A week later, at the company, as soon as I pushed open the boardroom doors with a cold expression, silence fell instantly.
The lawyer’s tone was grim. “The Alstyne Group has formally submitted a merger proposal. If you don’t surrender your shares, Forsyth & Co. Holdings will face bankruptcy. You have forty–eight hours.“>
I gritted my teeth. “I won’t agree.“}
The lawyer shrugged. “Then don’t. Just be ready to cry when the court freezes your assets.“}
That made me slump into my seat, my gaze unfocused.}
Everyone wanted my company.”
Everyone wanted to step over me.
But the only person I truly wanted to protect had already become someone else’s bride.
And now… I finally understood what it meant to be truly, completely alone.
Virginia’s POVE
The little house by the sea creaked softly in the morning breeze. The windows groaned like they were singing.
When I woke, a seagull swept past the sky outside, and sunlight bathed the man beside me in gold.
Fordy was still asleep, his breathing steady, lashes casting shadows against his cheeks.N
His arm rested across my waist, easy and affectionate.
He always slept like this–close, protective, like even in his dreams he needed to hold me.
I watched him quietly for a long while until his eyes fluttered open. His voice was still rough with sleep.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
I laughed and kissed the tip of his nose. “I was just thinking… How are you this good?”
He pulled me in with a lazy smile. “You should know best.”
*Fordy.”
“Hin?
11:32 AM
viuy. a
e
O
H
“Hm?“&
“I’m really happy now.”
He chuckled softly, eyes brimming with warmth. “Me too.”
I may never fully understand how much it meant to him… to finally marry me after all those years.
He wasn’t a man of grand words. He kept his feelings quiet.
But when he looked at me, it poured out of him–tender, unwavering, and deep as the ocean.”
