However, Antoney''s father, Nicolle Watson, had tly rejected the proposal, forcing them to turn to the Chapmans. Coleman, on the other hand, was leaning toward an alliance with the Burton family, though nothing was confirmed. As for the Lerman family... Skyler and Jonathan had such a poor impression of Leonard that a marriage alliance with them was almostpletely off the table.


    Israel''s face darkened, feeling the sting of public humiliation. He, a Williams, had just been rejected?


    Jonathan rubbed his temples, a headache forming. "This needs to be buried, and we need a solution, now. Otherwise, the reputation of our entire family will be dragged through the mud."


    "Aurora," Israel snapped, his frustration boiling over. "What''s wrong with Leonard? Even if his position is unstable, he can''t even suppress a little story like this? I did him a favor by telling him Ste''s pretty boy was injured so he could get his revenge, and this is how he repays me? Did losing a hand really turn him into aplete waste of space?"


    Coleman, ever the pragmatist, wasn''t as quick to dismiss the situation. "Aurora," he said thoughtfully, "do you think... maybe Leonard is upset because you''ve been so distant with himtely?"


    Aurora said nothing, her brow furrowed as she considered the possibility.


    "Regardless," Coleman continued, "Leonard is still the head of the Lerman family. He''s an extremist. For your own safety, you should probably cate him for now, before he does something to hurt you."


    "I understand, Coleman," Aurora replied, then turned to her other brother. "Israel, try not to worry too much. This can still be resolved."


    Although the mood in the room was grim, no one was truly panicking yet. It was just a bit of bad press. If they needed to, they could find a way to fix it.


    None of them could have imagined that, in the end, Israel would be forced to marry the very maniptive woman he despised, marking the beginning of his own miserable downfall.


    ***


    When Ste pushed open the door to the hospital room carrying breakfast, she found Joshua


    watching the news on television


    The story about Israel was still raging, so much so that it had made the morning news broadcast.


    "When did you wake up?" Ste asked as she walked in.


    "Not long ago," Joshua replied.


    Harold, who was sitting nearby, smiled when he saw her. "Well, since Ms. Cameron is back, I''ll be on my way."


    Harold had only found out Joshua was awake when he arrived for his shift that morning. Now that Joshua was conscious, his services as a caretaker would likely no longer be needed. However, Ste had asked him to stay and watch Joshua fona little while as she went to prepare some soup for him.


    After Harold left, Joshua nced at the television. "Star, you didn''t have to go to war with the Williams family for my sake."


    The moment he saw the news, he knew it was her doing. He had seen firsthand how much effort she had put into digging up that information.


    Ste set the bowl of soup on the bedside table. "I should have known I couldn''t hide anything from you."


    It seemed she could never keep a secret from him. Even when she said nothing, he could always figure it out. Sometimes, having someone so perceptive around wasn''t necessarily a good thing.


    Joshua''s deep gaze rested on her.


    "Star, there are things I can do that you can''t. Just like Leonard acts as Aurora''s de, doing the things she cannot. A knife is meant to wound, but the hand that wields it must remain clean."


    "If someone care about gets hurt," Ste countered, "and my first thought is whether my hands will get isv dirty, what''s the difference between me and an unfeeling machine? Wat makes us human is our emotions. Too much logic just means you have more to lose."