Chapter 1244:

Rylie watched as Brad simply lowered his eyes and gave an almost imperceptible nod in response.

He wasn’t performing. The realization pierced her like a blade of ice.

If this were an act, his eyes would have betrayed him — a flicker of hesitation, a trace of restraint, a careful glance scanning the crowd. But there was nothing. His gaze slid over her position without the slightest pause, as though she were part of the wallpaper, a framed painting no one bothered to look at twice.

“Wait — is that Brad Morgan from Eshea?”

“Wasn’t he rumored to be dead?”

“He’s Kari’s fiancé? Didn’t he already have someone? How could he switch partners like that — and fake his own death?”

Hushed whispers rippled through the crowd like waves, countless eyes wide with shock and bewilderment fixed on the couple descending the staircase.

𝗬о𝘂𝘳 n𝘦𝘅t 𝘧𝘢𝗏𝗼𝗋i𝗍e 𝗿𝖾ad 𝘪𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗀𝗮𝗹n𝗈𝘷𝘦𝗹s.сo𝗆

Kari was visibly pleased with the reaction. She accepted a microphone from a passing server and spoke in a soft, composed voice. “Thank you all so much for being here tonight. It is my privilege to introduce my future partner, and Havenridge Group’s most valued ally — Mr. Brad Morgan.”

A scattered, uncertain round of applause rose from the room, while many guests exchanged confused glances.

Brad remained at Kari’s side, his expression composed and completely unreadable. He offered a small, formal bow toward the audience, a restrained, faintly forced smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Rylie sat partially concealed in the shadows, her fingers pressing hard into her palm, the sharp sting barely enough to contain the storm building in her chest.

She stared at the face that had once been so deeply etched into her memory — the face that now looked so unfamiliar it sent a cold tremor through her heart.

Then, as though something had pulled at the edge of his attention — perhaps the sheer weight of her gaze — Brad’s eyes, which had been moving away, drifted unexpectedly back toward the corner where she stood. They found her, and they stayed.

Their eyes met.

The crystal chandeliers scattered light across his gaze in sharp, icy flashes.

Rylie’s chest tightened, her breath turning quick and shallow.

He studied her with a quiet, authoritative scrutiny — the way a powerful man might observe a complete stranger — his expression carrying only a faint, hollow confusion. Then, without hesitation or uncertainty, his gaze moved away and returned to Kari. He tilted his head slightly, appearing to listen to whatever she was saying.

That single glance cut through Rylie like a blade.

This was not mere forgetfulness. It felt like deliberate erasure — as though she had been coldly and completely removed from his world, from his memory, from even the most hidden corners of his heart.

Surrounded by glittering lights and the constant murmur of clinking glasses, Rylie felt as though she were standing alone in a frozen wasteland, her thoughts drifting through a numb and hollow haze. She watched the couple move gracefully among the guests, accepting congratulations, drawing steadily closer to her table.

.

.

.