?Chapter 1622:


    Carson turned his gaze toward the sunlight beyond the window. “I can offer you this opportunity. Your sincerity and courage have convinced me to grant you three days. If within that time Briggs Group provides a reasonable solution, our cooperation will continue as originally nned.”


    Relief and joy broke across Ste’s face like sunrise. She rose from her seat and bowed deeply, gratitude flooding through her. “Thank you, Mr. Carson.”


    She carefully ced the gift she’d brought on the bedside table, expressed once more her sincere sympathy for his injuries, and turned to leave.


    The moment she stepped out of the hospital room, her steps grew unsteady. The confrontation with Carson had drained every ounce of her strength. All the resilience and confidence she had disyed moments ago had been nothing more than a carefully constructed facade — one she had forced herself to maintain. Without that protective mask ofposure, she probably wouldn’t have possessed the courage to enter his room in the first ce.


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    What she failed to notice was that the instant the ward door clicked shut behind her, the bathroom door inside the room swung slowly open from within.


    William emerged from the bathroom, his expression twisted with conflicting emotions as he stared at the closed ward door. He had remained hidden inside Carson’s bathroom the entire time, listening with rapt attention to every word exchanged between Ste and Carson. Each one had struck his heart like the blow of a sledgehammer.


    He had assumed her mention of visiting Carson was nothing more than an idlement, never imagining she would follow through so swiftly.


    Carson’s teasing voice cut through the silence. “It appears your little fiancée harbors far deeper feelings for you than you ever gave her credit for.”


    William turned away sharply, his expression hardening back into its familiar mask of cold indifference. “She’s not my fiancée.”


    Carson chuckled meaningfully. “And yet she just dered that the CEO of Briggs Group is the man she loves. Mr. Briggs, did her words not move you even slightly?”


    William’s fingers clenched reflexively, his knuckles aching from the pressure. He crossed to the window and watched Ste’s slender silhouette disappear from the hospital grounds, his emotions churning in a chaotic tangle he couldn’t unravel.


    He turned back to face Carson, meeting his friend’s gaze directly. “You chose to believe me when others might not have. This time, I’m indebted to you.”


    Carson observed him with undisguised fascination. “No, no, no. This favor belongs to Ste, not you.” His curiosity about the remarkable woman named Ste had grown to eclipse even his interest in Briggs Group itself.


    Williampsed into silence, his thoughts spinning in turmoil. Ste’s words continued to reverberate through his consciousness, and only now did he begin to understand what Amon had meant about needing to experience certain truths firsthand. The false memories embedded in his mind insisted that Ste felt nothing for him — but the raw evidence before him contradicted that fabricated narrative entirely. When he’d heard her dere him as the man she loved, his heart had felt as though it had been struck forcefully.


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