A shadow flickered in Henry's eyes. Once again, he was a step too late. If only he could have been there for her first-would he have mattered more to her then?

"He really does care about you,” Henry said quietly. He'd seen it for himself: whenever Vanessa had even the slightest ache or pain, lan's concern was written all over his face.

Even when it came to something as trivial as a drink, lan kept a strict watch over her, as if Vanessa were a priceless piece of art and he wouldn't allow the tiniest scratch.

Vanessa pressed her lips together in a small smile and gestured for him to relax. "There's some tea over there-help yourself."

Henry glanced at the glass of water beside him, picked it up, and took a sip. Vanessa stopped him, her voice flustered. "Wait-that's mine-"

He'd already heard her, but finished drinking anyway. He smiled at her, teasing, "Do you mind?"

Vanessa's cheeks turned faintly pink as she dropped her gaze. "Of course not. I'm just grateful you came to see me."

At that moment, Gavin walked in, carrying a takeout bag from an upscale restaurant. Noticing Henry, he greeted him a bit awkwardly, "Mr. Holt. I didn't realize you were here."

"Gavin, where's lan?" Henry asked before he could stop himself.

"Mr. Goodwin had to go back to the office. He asked me to bring this over," Gavin replied, lifting the bag.

Vanessa looked up with a bright smile. "Thank you for running the errand, Gavin."

"It's nothing," Gavin said, then added, "Mr. Goodwin also insisted you eat a proper meal." He hesitated, recalling how stern lan had sounded-almost angry, as though he blamed Vanessa for skipping meals.

Of course, lan's overbearing tone was only because he was worried-Vanessa had fainted earlier from low blood sugar.

Another wave of melancholy swept through Henry. Sitting here now, he felt almost foolish.

lan's concern always shattered Henry's illusions. He had to admit: among the three of them, lan had endured the most. He was sharp, ruthless, and had pulled Goodwin & Co. back from the brink of collapse, elevating himself to heights neither Henry's nor Xavier's families could match.

Henry remembered lan's breakout moment vividly. Back then, Goodwin & Co. hovered on the edge of bankruptcy. The Montclair banking trio had joined forces to short the company's stock-it plummeted to rock bottom. Ian was just twenty- one, barely recovered from a coma, when he walked straight into that disaster.

Henry and Xavier had rushed to find him, worried sick, but lan shut himself in the boardroom for seventy-two hours straight. He calculated every debt to the cent, leveraging every connection their father had left behind, and forced open a path where there was none.

With just five million in capital, he leveraged it to move fifty million. Henry and Xavier had thought he'd lost his mind.

But lan pulled it off.

After that, Henry couldn't help but admire him. And once Goodwin & Co. bounced back, lan immediately shorted the three rival banks that had tried to take him down. Wall Street dubbed him the youngest Wolf of the West.

Years later, Henry and Xavier still talked about that time, always admitting that, in lan's shoes, neither of them could have pulled it off.

Since then, lan's business moves had grown even more enigmatic-by the time anyone realized what he was up to, he'd already claimed victory.

How could Henry possibly believe he stood a chance against a rival like that?

"Henry? You look miles away. What are you thinking about?" Vanessa's voice broke through his thoughts.

He blinked, snapping back to the present, and forced a sheepish smile. "Oh, nothing. Just tired, I guess."

"Then eat something with me?" Vanessa slid off the bed, inviting him to join her. Gavin, sensing the moment, quietly excused himself and slipped out.

At least, Henry thought, even if lan's world revolved around his business empire, Vanessa still had a place in his heart.

As soon as Gavin left, he called lan to report in.

"Mr. Goodwin, Mr. Holt is with Miss Shannon now," he said.

There was a brief silence on the other end. "I see."

Gavin couldn't help but wonder-was Mr. Goodwin feeling jealous?