<h4>Chapter 463: Seeking Coboration</h4>


    "What’s wrong? Did our daughter kick you again?" Eric asked nervously, noticing the fine sheen of sweat on E’s forehead. He was genuinely worried she was overexerting herself.


    E couldn’t help butugh. "I can’t really tell if they’re kicking me or not. I just felt them move a little."


    "Let me listen!" Eric said excitedly,pletely ignoring the room full of friends. He crouched down and pressed his ear against E’s belly.


    "Eric, do you really have to show off your love like this?"


    "Come on, guys, don’t be so sour!"


    "Oh my gosh, the world’s most perfect and loving dad is about to be born!"


    ...


    Time flew by.


    In the blink of an eye, E’s belly had grown noticeably bigger. She was now six and a half months along.


    Neither E nor Eric had stepped out of the house during this time. Fortunately, their friends visited often to keep herpany, so she didn’t feel too bored.


    Besides, the seaside estate was vast, with plenty of artificial scenery behind the vi.


    Whenever E felt restless, she’d take a walk in the hills behind the vi, and with Eric apanying her, the days weren’t too hard to endure.


    One day, Henry and Lauren came over to visit and brought along a wedding invitation. They were nning to get married, hosting a small and low-key celebration with family and close friends.


    E was overjoyed. Lauren had finally found her happiness, and as the matchmaker, she couldn’t be prouder.


    "E, if you weren’t pregnant, I’d have made you my bridesmaid for sure!" Lauren said with a smile, her eyes brimming with excitement and gratitude.


    E’sughter rang out brightly. "Too bad you’re getting married a bitte. If we’d walked down the aisle together, wouldn’t that have been lovely?"


    Henry smiled faintly but didn’t say anything, while Lauren excused herself to take a phone call outside.


    Eric was in his study reviewing documents. Whenever E had friends over, he used the opportunity to catch up on work.


    John and the others would send important documents to his email or fax them to him, and unless it was urgent, Eric would handle them in the evenings or when E hadpany.


    For a moment, only E and Henry remained in the living room.


    E smiled at him graciously. "Henry, I’m so d to see you’ve moved on from the past."


    Henry’s heart, however, felt conflicted. He had indeed moved on, but sitting here now, looking at E—the woman who had once been his guiding light during the stormiest days of his life—stirredplicated emotions.


    If he hadn’t fallen for E back then, he might have directed all his hatred toward Eric after Grace’s tragedy.


    One wrong step would have led to more, and Henry knew that because E was his sister-inw, he had held his ground and remained steadfast, unaffected by his mother’s turmoil.


    "Sister-inw, I moved on a long time ago. Without Lauren, I might never have woken up."


    Henry’s smile was calm and thoughtful, his eyes filled with emotion. "She gave me the strength to wake up and the desire to repay her kindness."


    E’s expression softened. "I’m d to hear that. I wish you both a happy marriage and many children!"


    "Thank you, sister-inw," Henry replied with a smile as gentle as a breeze. He truly felt at peace now. Even though, during hisa, it had been Lauren ying E’s voice recordings that helped him fight to wake up, Lauren’s devotion could never be overlooked.


    If he couldn’t marry the woman he loved most, then marrying a woman who loved him wasn’t such a bad ending.


    Henry lowered hisshes, his handsome features softening as he sank into cherished memories.


    The two sat in afortable silence, both feeling as though they’d returned to the beautiful moments of the past.


    On the university campus, he always hid in the shadows, secretly watching E. He would quietly take pictures of her every smile, every expression, and gaze longingly at her back, wishing she could spare just half of her love for him.


    But time had flown by so quickly. In what felt like the blink of an eye, she was preparing to be a mother, and Lauren was about to be his wife.


    "Henry, thank you for standing up for me back then, for risking your life to save me twice. I hope you and your brother can get along. Even if you can’t... with me here, he won’t treat you the way he used to. And... please take good care of your father," E said softly after a moment of thought.


    Although James didn’t visit often, E knew he desperately wanted Eric’s forgiveness.


    Unfortunately, Eric was incredibly stubborn. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t forgive James easily.


    "I will, Sister-inw. You don’t have to apologize to me. This is my debt to my brother, and now that I’ve repaid it, I feel at peace," Henry replied with a faint smile, though a trace of sadness flickered in his eyes.


    E said nothing more. Lauren returned, sitting beside Henry with a radiant smile. She wasn’t suspicious or jealous, her cheerful demeanor like a blossoming flower.


    Lauren was exactly the kind of woman Henry needed.


    That evening, Eric pressed his ear against E’s belly again. "By the way, what did Henry say to you?"


    "What would you like him to have said?" E asked with a smile, her hand brushing through Eric’s hair.


    His short, neat hair felt so good to the touch. E often thought that their future son would probably have the same handsome hair as his father.


    "I don’t care what he said. In fact, I’d prefer if he said nothing at all," Eric scoffed, his tone dripping with disdain.


    "I thanked him for risking his life to save me twice. He said it was what he owed you," E replied, her voice calm and soothing, like a gentle spring. It slowly eased Eric’s irritation, washing it away bit by bit.


    Unable to hear anything from the babies, Eric sighed and sat down next to E. "Our daughters aren’t saying hi to me anymore. How much longer until the next ultrasound?"


    "About two weeks."


    "Two weeks? That feels like forever..." Eric groaned, turning E’s face toward him. As he stared at her flushed cheeks, his Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily. Without warning, his lips descended onto hers.


    E let out a soft gasp, her face growing hot. "Be careful... don’t press on the babies!"


    "I will, my love," Eric murmured.


    Soon, the room was filled with soft, intimate sounds, while the bright moon outside cast its silver glow over the city like a delicate veil.


    ...


    "Mr. Scott, what do you think of the coboration proposal I mentioned earlier? If our twopanies join forces, we can definitely crush Nelson Group!"


    A lean man stood before Mason, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He had long since discovered that Mason had stayed in Country S for so long specifically to deal with Eric.


    But Eric was like an indestructible cockroach—no matter how hard Mason tried to bring him down, he always bounced back.


    In a recent project, Mason had suffered a silent loss to Nelson Group.


    That bold move had, of course, been orchestrated by Eric.