These days, aside from spending time with Winston, Alyssa also made time to oversee work at KS Group.


    With Damien''s return, Julien''s rescue, and Jasper''s heartfeltfort, she was clearly in a much better state; she was more driven than ever now.


    She knew Uri was only a pawn. The one truly responsible for Mandy''s severe injuries, Jonah losing an eye, and Winston''s memory loss was Justin. He was behind everything.


    What she hated the most was anyone targeting her loved ones. From the very beginning, she had wanted to tear down Justin''s dark empire and bring justice to light. Now, that resolve had grown into something far more personal and unrelenting.


    She wanted to deal with him herself. For every person he had hurt, she would make him pay-precisely and painfully.


    After a full day of meetings at KS Group, Alyssa returned to the hospital at night. She visited Winston first, then Mandy, and finally headed to Jonah''s ward.


    At that moment, Jonah, dressed in a hospital gown, sat propped against the headboard. His left eye was bandaged, and he obediently ate warm fish chowder as Julien fed him like a child.


    "Open wide..." Julien coaxed.


    Jonah''s eyes softened with affection as he took the spoonful. "It''s delicious," he said.


    Julien''s fox-like eyes sparkled as he smiled. "Of course it is. I woke up at five this morning to buy fresh fish from the market. I cleaned it myself and made this chowder. Naturally, it''s good.


    "Look-I even cut-"


    As he raised his bandaged finger, his voice caught in his throat. He quickly withdrew his hand.


    Julien had always been willful and carefree. Whenever something upset him, he would vent to Jonah. Even the smallest cut would have him running over, pouting and seekingfort. But now, he couldn''t bring himself to do that anymore. Because of him, Jonah had permanently lost an eye.


    Although Jonah spoke of it lightly, Julien believed he was silently enduring immense pain. Jonah simply didn''t want him to feel guilty.


    But that didn''t ease Julien''s guilt. If anything, Julien''s silence only made it worse.


    The man he loved was no longer whole. Someone who had once been wless- how could he possibly ept such a loss? Even Julien struggled to ept it. He felt unbearably ashamed.


    "You cut your finger, didn''t you? Let me see."


    Concerned, Jonah took Julien''s cold hands and examined the wound. "A Band-Aid alone isn''t enough. If you got cut while handling fish, it could get infected. That would be serious."


    Julien hid the gloom in his eyes and curled his fingers slightly. "It''s fine. I''m a doctor. I know what I''m doing."


    "No, that won''t do. Let''s get it treated properly right now," Jonah insisted, clearly worried.


    Even the smallest injury on Julien made Jonah sick with worry.


    "Ho, ho... Just look at how worried you are, Mr. Jonah. Isn''t that a bit excessive?" Startled, both men turned at once. "Landon!"


    So absorbed with each other, they hadn''t noticed Landon and Lauren standing at the door. Alyssa had run into them earlier, and the three of them had been watching them with amused smiles.


    Julien''s face flushed bright red. He quickly pulled his hands away from Jonah.


    "Julien, you''ve been together for so long! There''s no need to be so shy," Alyssa teased.


    "You know how bashful he gets. Don''t tease him, Lyse," Jonah said gently. He took Julien''s hand again, brushing his fingers over his knuckles, unwilling to let him pull away even for a second.


    Landon wrapped an arm around Lauren''s waist. But when his gaze fell on Jonah''s bandaged eye, his throat tightened. He forced down the surge of grief, though his voice still came out hoarse.


    "Jonah, I only found out from Jasper after everything was over. Why didn''t anyone tell me something this serious had happened?


    "Yeah, I got married, but I''m still here. We''re like brothers! If you''re in trouble, of course I''ll do everything I can to help."


    He hadn''t been in Cyrris when everything happened. Now that Harper Group was stable and thriving with projects running smoothly and a bright future ahead, he had stepped back from_ leadership and gained the freedom to travel the world with Lauren.


    .n


    With his constant care andpanionship, Lauren had improved tremendously. She smiled more, her demeanor bright and lively no longer the timid girl who once kept her head lowered, afraid to meet anyone''s gaze.


    Loving someone was like tending a flower, and true to his name, Landon had been a steady, grounding presence in Lauren''s life—a warm beam of sunlight that helped her bloom.


    Jonah smiled faintly. "We had enough people to handle it. You don''t need to worry." Even so, Landon''s heart remained heavy. His brows furrowed with concern. "How''s your eye, Jonah? Does it still hurt?"


    Seeing how much weight Jonah had lost, Lauren couldn''t help but tear up.


    "Not at all. Thank you for asking, Lauren."


    Jonah leaned forward and kissed Julien''s cheek. "You might all think losing an eye is a tragedy for me. But honestly, I''m happier now than I''ve ever been. Juliemis back and he even made fish chowder for me. wouldn''t have dared to dream of a life like this before."


    Having once lost Julien, he now cherished him all the more after finding him again.


    "Oh? Wait—I just noticed something..." Alyssa''s eyes lit up as she walked over to Lauren, her gaze dropping to the slight curve beneath Lauren''s loose dress. "Lauren, are you..."


    Lauren blushed.


    With a tender smile, Landon pulled her into his arms, resting a hand gently on her belly. "You''ve all been so busy that I didn''t get the chance to share the news. Lauren''s pregnant. She''s four months along."