?Chapter 1396:


    Lance hesitated, his posture softening.


    Nina noticed it instantly andtched on. “Lance, please. I’ll do anything. I’ll apologize to Ste in front of everyone. I’ll make it right. Just give me a chance!”


    Lance pressed his lips into a tight line, staring down at her. Seeing her like this—broken, desperate—it did something to him. How could it not?


    He wanted to believe her. But part of him still wondered… was this another act?


    Nina seemed to sense that hesitation too. So she went even lower. “If you don’t want me as a Carter anymore, fine. I’ll be a maid in the house. I’ll sweep floors, cook, whatever you want. I’ll give up everything—just don’t shut me out. Please, Lance. I don’t want to lose all of you.”


    Her tears kept falling, nonstop. Her eyes were swollen, her cheeks red and streaked with rain and desperation.


    Lance stood still for a long time. Then finally… he stepped aside.


    “You cane in.”


    Nina looked up at him, stunned.


    “This is yourst chance,” Lance said, voice firm. “If youe back and start scheming again—even once—the Carter family will act like you don’t exist.”


    Her face lit up. The tears didn’t stop, but this time they wereced with joy.


    “I won’t! I swear I won’t hurt anyone ever again. Thank you, Lance. Thank you!”


    She threw her arms around him. Her cheeks, damp and ice-cold, pressed against his neck.


    And in that moment, Lance—who had grown up with her, who had once called her family—felt his heart soften.


    Maybe… maybe she really had changed.


    Nina’s old room was exactly as she’d left it. Nothing had been touched.


    Your hub for updates: g?lnσν???s?c?m


    Lance gave a quick order to the housekeeper to change the sheets and freshen up the space.


    Then he turned to her. “You’re soaked from the rain. Go take a shower and get some rest.”


    His tone was distant, like he was speaking to a stranger.


    Nina hesitated at the doorway, then turned back to look at him. “Lance… can you stay with me tonight? Ever since my hand got hurt, I haven’t been able to sleep alone. I keep thinking someone’s going to hurt me again.”


    She said it in the softest tone, one designed to hit his softest spot.


    Lance’s weakness had always been hispassion. And as a police officer, he was trained to believe people could turn their lives around if they truly wanted to.


    Nina knew that. She was banking on it.


    His gaze dropped to her hand—the deformed fingers wrapped tightly in bandages.


    He couldn’t say no, seeing her like that. After a pause, he finally nodded. “Take your shower first. I’ll stay with you afterward.”


    Nina smiled—bright and innocent, almost childlike.


    She turned and stepped into the bathroom. As soon as she closed the door, Lance walked down the hall to the study and pulled out his phone to call Karson.


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