?Chapter 163:


    Lillian exhaled sharply, frustration evident in her voice.


    “Cedric, I can’t believe how shy you be around her!”


    Once Cedric had departed, Lillian shook her head disapprovingly. Ryan, tilting his head and wearing a mischievous grin, inquired, “Didn’t you have reservations about Cedric before? You used to say he was too aloof.”


    “Yes, and my feelings haven’t changed,” Lillian retorted, her tone a mix of irritation and resignation.


    Dani was a survivor of a troubled past. She wore a smile like a mask, yet beneath it, she was distant and detached, her childhood wounds far too deep for any wealth to mend. And Cedric? He had plunged into the corporate world on his own, adept at unmasking the true intentions of those around him. Could someone like that truly possess warmth?


    The notion of two such detached souls together seemed doomed. Rather than warming each other, they were likely to pull each other further into the cold. How could they possibly make a good match? Lillian sighed, her voice softening.


    “But watching Cedric act so humble, I can’t help but feel a pang of pity for him.”


    Despite this, Cedric behaved as though he had the upper hand.


    Such foolishness!


    Once her reflection ended, Lillian questioned Ryan, “Why do you back Cedric so fiercely? Has he promised you something?”


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    Ryan drew his sweatshirt’s hood over his head, casting his features into shadow.


    “No.”


    “Then why…?”


    “Because, on the day Dani married, I saw him cry.”


    Stunned, Lillian fell silent.


    Without another word, Ryan turned and walked away.


    Lillian stood against the sharp, biting wind, her mind reeling from the unexpected sight of Cedric—a normallyposed man—visibly crying.


    Alexander was waiting for Dani’s reply.


    At breakfast, Richard had maintained hisposure.


    “Today, you need to ask Dani whether she’ll give you the contract, or if she intends to remain indebted to you. Should she choose thetter, suggest remarriage.”


    Alexander bowed his head, his turbulent emotions now quelled.


    “But the person Dani cherished from her childhood wasn’t…”


    “Wasn’t who? It was you! Dani has harbored feelings for you for many years. Does the truth even matter at this point? Feelings are the most deceiving of all. Don’t let them lead you astray. Confront Dani today. If she refuses, then marrying Joyce isn’t such a terrible fallback.”


    Although Richard always put thepany first, he secretly believed that Dani’s affection for Alexander wasn’t just a relic of the past.


    Her sentimental heart hadn’t been hardened by their separation.


    She surely still held Alexander in high esteem.


    As long as she harbored love for him in her heart, there was hope that all could be mended.


    Alexander avoided Elite Lux; he had no desire to have his true intentions discovered by Dani.


    With the knowledge that Dani was due at a social function that evening, he cleverly picked the same restaurant to dine in, setting the stage for an inadvertent encounter.


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