Chapter 1284:
They hardly spoke. They simply stayed close, sharing the quiet between them.
When she grew tired, Rylie would slip off her shoes and climb onto the bed beside him. He would turn toward her, draw her into his arms, and bury his face against her neck—sometimes breathing in slowly and exhaling with a soft, contented sigh, as though the world had finally stopped pressing down on him.
“It’s getting bigger,” he murmured one afternoon, his hand resting gently on her belly, his voice softer than usual. “I really want to be a good father.”
“So—do you want a son or a daughter?” Rylie asked quietly.
“I would love either,” he said. After a short pause, a faint smile crossed his lips. “Actually… if it’s possible, I’d like two.”
Rylie laughed under her breath. “Keep dreaming.”
𝗙𝘪n𝖽 𝘯𝘰𝘃𝖾𝗅 𝖯𝘋Fs 𝗈𝗇 𝗴𝘢l𝘯𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗅𝘀.𝗰𝘰𝗆
Brad shifted down slightly and pressed a gentle kiss to her stomach, then spoke in a soft, unhurried voice. “Hang on a little longer for Daddy, okay? I want to be the very first one to see you when you arrive.”
Rylie let out a quiet laugh and ran her hand slowly along his back, soothing him as though he were the one who needed it most.
By the time the cruise finally returned to port, Brad had improved slightly, though he was far from fully recovered. A wool hat pulled low over his head, a cashmere blanket draped across his legs, he was wheeled off the ship in a wheelchair, his pale face making clear he still hadn’t regained his strength.
Kari brushed off the reporters waiting at the dock and personally wheeled him back to the villa. “Dad said you’ll be stepping in as CEO for Havenridge Group’s Arindel-Miraquayan region soon,” she said. “You’ll be in charge of the entire market there. Are you happy about that?”
Brad squeezed her hand gently. “Yeah, I am.”
Kari smiled faintly. “That’s good.”
Of course, Luther had never truly trusted Brad from the beginning. For a long time, he had viewed Rylie as a potential threat. After carefully weighing his options, he settled on a drastic course of action—having her removed quietly and permanently.
Following the earlier missile strike on Ares Global, the Indoria Federation had tightened its defenses by three levels, making any attempt by Rylie to move undetected nearly impossible. If he could eliminate the one person his daughter worried about most during this period of heightened security, Havenridge Group’s future would be secure.
Kari knew about her father’s plan, but she wasn’t entirely on board. “Dad—Brad really cares about me now. He loves me,” she said quietly. “You don’t need to kill Rylie. We both know how capable she is, and honestly, I respect her.”
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