Chapter 243

• After Ryan finished writing, his small frame visibly sagged with exhaustion. I gently coaxed him to lie down, brushing the damp hair from his forehead as he drifted into sleep. I couldn’t bring myself to leave his side. Some fragile part of my soul believed that the moment I stepped away, this thin thread of peace this quiet miracle might vanish, and I’d wake to find it all had been an illusion.
• He was so light in my arms. Watching him limp, seeing the pain etched across his face with every step it felt like a thousand invisible knives digging into my chest.
• I had always been composed. I’d survived boardroom betrayals, a cold divorce, and the smothering expectations of being the daughter of a dynasty. But nothing had prepared me for this. For watching a child I once tickled and taught to ride a bike walk like the world had broken him and then expected him to thank it for the lesson.