?Chapter 1103:


    Her eyes flickered to the clock—past one in the morning.


    Blood had dried into dark patches on Cedric’s suit and shirt, even staining the fine arch of his brows.


    Dani rose instinctively, but before she could move, Cedric was already closing the distance.


    A limp in his stride betrayed an injury, yet he moved with urgent determination.


    Before Dani could utter a word, she was pulled into a firm embrace.


    Dani was taken aback. “Cedric, what happened?”


    Cedric held on to his silence, his grip tightening around her.


    Pressed against his chest, Dani could hear the steady, powerful thrum of his heartbeat. Each beat echoed through her. “Tell me, Cedric. What’s going on?” she pressed.


    Right now, Cedric felt like a storm barely contained within a man’s body.


    The way the blood clung to him, it was as if he had just killed someone. A sense of unease gnawed at Dani. She hesitated, then gently patted his back. His erratic heartbeat, once hammering against his ribs, gradually settled into the quiet.


    “Dani…” Cedric’s lips parted, but the words hesitated on his tongue.


    He wanted to ask—was it true? That she could never bear children?


    Or did it even matter? Because, child or not, she was the only one he wanted. Even if fate had stolen that possibility from her, his love for her remained unshaken.


    But the words never surfaced. Guilt coiled in his chest, drowning everything else.


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    All he could do was hold her, his voice thick with emotion. “Dani, you’re the only one I love. Only you.” Cedric’s turmoil was so overwhelming that his secretary had to intervene, insisting he see a doctor.


    As Dani walked him downstairs, Carol intercepted her, phone in hand, disying the night’s biggest rumor.


    Only then did the pieces click—someone had exposed her supposed inability to have children.


    “The source?” Carol asked.


    “Bet Group,” Carol informed her.


    Dani let out a cold chuckle. “Alexander really outdid himself this time—so reckless. Where is he hiding?”


    “Seems like he went abroad,” Carol answered.


    Dani’s eyes darkened. “The second he sets foot back here, I want to know. He and I have unfinished business.”


    Carol let out a shortugh. “Got it!”


    That night, a topic surged to the top of the trending list.


    Just as Dani was about to drift off at 2 A.M., Carol burst into the room, phone clutched in her hand. “Dani, you have to see this!”


    Dani reached for the phone.


    The top headline disyed two all-too-familiar faces—her father and stepsister. One sat before the camera with glistening eyes, while the other sobbed theatrically, as if auditioning for an award-winning role.


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