?Chapter 397:


    “What do you mean, maybe? Why the hesitation now? What’s there to think about? Don’t tell me you still have feelings for Brylee! Remember, Caiden, Joyce and I are all you have now!”


    Her words stung like a whip, and Caiden pressed his lips together, swallowing the resentment that threatened to rise in his throat. He was silent, caught in the weight of her demands.


    Before he could even react, Katrina took control, grabbing his hand and signing the contract herself. Caiden stared at the document, his own signature ring back at him in stark finality.


    With a long sigh, he exhaled heavily, the burden of his decision sinking in. His eyes lingered on the paper, but there was no satisfaction, only the emptiness of a choice he knew would cost him dearly.


    Meanwhile, Dani,pletely drained, headed straight to her bed. She was exhausted, both physically and emotionally.


    Cedric, however, wasn’t at ease. He stood vigntly outside her door, his eyes constantly scanning for any sign of trouble. It wasn’t long before Ryan and Lillian arrived, both clearly on edge.


    Lillian seethed, her fury palpable.


    “Caiden’s a bastard! He knows exactly how to exploit Dani’s weaknesses, and he does it every time. He’s despicable!”


    Ryan’s icy stare matched his words, his face darkened with barely contained anger. The tension in the room thickened, and Cedric, feeling the weight of his own frustration, reached into Ryan’s pocket for a cigarette. He didn’t even bother lighting it, holding it absentmindedly between his fingers as his thoughts raced. His mind was overwhelmed with the endless cycle of people trying to drain Dani.


    He knew that if she didn’t have someone solidly backing her, these leeches would just keeping back, trying to take everything they could from her.


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    Lillian sighed.


    “This is Dani’s family issue, and it’s not our ce to interfere. But if it were Alexander, I’d have smashed his head by now! Honestly, if Dani had a real family to rely on, none of this would even be happening.” She said it casually, without thinking much of it.


    But then Cedric suddenly turned to face her.


    “What?” Lillian blinked, momentarily confused. Then it dawned on her.


    Ryan straightened, finally understanding the direction this conversation was taking.


    Lillian’s face brightened.


    “That’s it! Cedric, you should marry Dani! I know it might sound a bit bold, but your family’s notplicated—it’s just you and your grandmother, right? No messy rtives or hidden agendas. And if you marry Dani, you’d have the right to handle all of Caiden’s issues. As her husband, everything would be above board!”


    The word “husband” rang in Cedric’s mind, and his expression softened. Husband…


    Dani’s husband?


    Ryan and Lillian both watched him expectantly, waiting for his answer. After a pause, Cedric spoke seriously.


    “I’ll do my best. I’ll work hard to marry her as soon as I can.”


    Yet, as the words left his lips, he knew this wasn’t something he could rush. He didn’t want to handle something so crucial with haste or carelessness.


    To Cedric, every moment of their rtionship mattered. The small, quiet moments where trust grew, the gradual deepening of their feelings, the meeting of families, and eventually, marriage.


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