Chapter 116Vanessa's POV:I could still feel the echo of Andre's heartbeat when he held me earlier, his chest rising and falling like a fortress of calm around my chaos. But calm doesn't last. Not for someone like me."I need to go home," I whispered, gripping the strap of my bag tightly. My fingers trembled, but I refused to let him see just how much. "I need to clear my head."Andre looked at me with that unreadable expression again. Half stern, half something that looked too much like pain. "Vanessa, don't do this. You should be here. With me. Where I can protect you."Protect me. I repeated in my head.I wanted to believe him. But everything I thought was safe had twisted itself into something else. My pregnancy. The baby. The truth that was supposed to protect me had nearly shattered me. The bump was growing bigger by the day, and me? I was getting more attached to the baby, and I couldn't stand to watch it get hurt."I just need a few hours. I'll return tomorrow," I lied. "To b
Chapter 115 The hospital room was tense, filled with the sharp scent of antiseptic and the unbearable silence that hung like a heavy fog. Vanessa sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her hands trembling slightly on her lap, her eyes wide and glassy with confusion. One minute she was talking to Louisa, and the next minute she found herself in a hospital with Claire here. She didn't know what had happened between the hours of her unconsciousness.The moment Andre burst through the door, he came to stand by her side, protectively, his jaw clenched so tightly that the muscle there ticked. Claire sat close to Vanessa, holding her hand, warming her up.The strange man who had walked in at the same time with Andre dropped a bombshell, claiming to be the father of Vanessa's unborn child. Andre turned to Vanessa with surprise-filled eyes."Vanessa," he asked, his voice breaking, "what the hell is he talking about?"Her breath hitched. It felt like the world tilted beneath her. How could she a
Chapter 114 The sky was a quiet painting of gold and lilac as the sun dipped toward the horizon, casting warm light over Andre Garcia's penthouse. There was no grand hall, no orchestra, no rows of white chairs. Just a wide porch wrapped around the front of Andre’s house, lit softly by hanging lanterns, white curtains, and fairy lights that twinkled like fireflies in the coming dusk. Andre stood at the far end of the porch, his hands clasped nervously behind him. He wore a grey suit, simple but perfectly tailored, the collar stiff with anticipation. His friend, Ethan, stood beside him—steadfast and grinning from ear to ear. His hand pressed on Andre's shoulder, giving him an occasional squeeze. Sarah adjusted her shawl beside Ethan, whispering something about how Andre had “finally grown up,” and they both chuckled. And then there was Stanley, arms crossed, face unreadable, but the faintest hint of pride rested in his dark eyes. He was a tough man to impress, but tonight, he could
Chapter 113Andre's POV:I woke up with a heavy chest-the kind of weight you feel when your world is starting to tilt out of its perfect axis. My fists clenched automatically, and I stared at the blinking screen of my phone. Message after message. Missed calls. Mentions. A dozen news alerts. All shouting the same line:"Garcia Heir Resigns for Pregnant Mistress."My jaw twitched. My thumb hovered over the article notification. I didn't need to read it to know what lies were spreading. An anonymous source leaked it. Not hard to guess who. Someone from the inside. Someone desperate.I gritted my teeth, eyes scanning the phone before I hit dial. Stanley. He instantly informed me that he'd successfully set the meeting with some people who liked my proposal, and that they were ready to invest after a meeting tomorrow morning. I was grateful for that. I'd always been scared to leave my father and go on my own, probably because I sold out the company name more than I sold out my own name. B
Chapter 112The morning was cold. The kind of cold that got into your skin and made your whole body ache. Vanessa stepped outside, hugging herself tightly. Her slippers made soft crunching sounds on the wooden porch. She squinted as the weak morning sun tried to break through the cloudy sky.Then she saw him.Andre.He was sitting on the top step. His elbows rested on his knees, and his face was hidden in his hands. His coat hung loosely on his shoulders, and there was a half-empty whiskey bottle by his foot. The air around him smelled like smoke and something worse—sadness, maybe.Vanessa’s heart stopped for a second.He was still there. He had stayed out all night. In the freezing cold."Andre?" she called softly, her voice shaky.He didn’t move right away. Then slowly, as if every bone in his body ached, he lifted his head.His eyes were bloodshot, his hair disheveled, and his face looked older—like he had aged overnight."You're still here..." she whispered, stepping toward him ca
Chapter 111Andre sat in the shallow end of the pool, arms stretched along the edge, a cigarette pressed between his fingers, a half-empty bottle of whiskey resting beside him. The water barely reached his chest, but it was enough to give him the illusion of peace. His eyes were bloodshot, his jaw tight, and his aura had grown cold and unreadable.It had been two months since everything fell apart. Two months since he had gone on detention and back twice, each time returning more broken than before. Two months since the chairman made sure to do everything to break him, systematically dismantling every piece of his life until the only thing that remained untouched was Vanessa—and even she felt like a ghost now, haunting the edges of his consciousness.His days were spent drowning in alcohol and smoke, each sip and drag a futile attempt to numb the ache that had taken permanent residence in his chest.Nights were even worse, haunted by guilt that clawed at him like razor-sharp talons, a