?Chapter 1488:


    She blinked until his features came into view. It was Cedric.


    “You’re awake,” Cedric said quietly.


    She nodded once.


    “What time is it?”


    Cedric handed her a ss of water.


    “The day’s over.”


    Dani took it, sitting up slowly.


    Her eyes remained dazed.


    Then Cedric’s voice cut through the silence.


    “You had a meal with Hamilton, didn’t you?”


    Dani’s hand tightened around the ss. She hadn’t nned on telling him, especially since the McCoy family was behind her mother’s death.


    Dani understood one thing clearly: if Cedric ever had to choose between her and his family, he would choose her without hesitation.


    But she didn’t want him caught in that web. Hamilton wasn’t worth the trouble.


    Now that Cedric knew, Dani no longer wanted to hide it.


    She replied honestly, “Yes, I had a meal with Hamilton. Carol’s probably already spilled every detail, hasn’t she?”


    Cedric hadn’t expected Dani to be so straightforward today. For a long moment, he just watched her, uncertain.


    She shifted in her seat, curling her fingers around a ss of water.


    The soft light cast a frosty calm over her expression, making her seem even more distant.


    A knot of worry tightened in Cedric’s chest.


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    Questions swirled in his mind, but none seemed safe to ask. After a heavy pause, he finally said, “Are you nning to leave me?”


    Dani’s lips pressed together, and her silence stretched the moment thin.


    Cedric’s chest tightened, his pulse thudding as he waited, barely breathing. He was certain that the promise of long-buried secrets would lure Dani away.


    A hollow sense of powerlessness washed over him. He dropped his gaze, knuckles whitening as his fists pressed hard against his knees.


    Breaking the heavy silence, Dani finally spoke, her tone calm, almost gentle. “Today, Hamilton told me something else.”


    Her smile softened, losing its usual edge, and Cedric felt the tension in his chest loosen just a little.


    “He mentioned that when you visited himst time, the Loglil princess happened to be dining upstairs. She saw you and wants to marry you. It sounds like Hamilton is more than a little invested in the idea.”


    Dani paused, taking a careful sip—the cool water soothing her throat before she continued, “She wants you to divorce me and marry her. Hamilton keeps talking about how wealthy they are, and I checked—he’s right. Their kind don’t drink from anything less than gold. They don’t need to lift a finger in their daily lives—servants do everything for them. They spend their days lounging in sprawling estates, sipping wine under crystal chandeliers, floating from one party to the next.”


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