Chapter 81

Joyce pursed her lips and gave a silent nod.

Katrina briefly closed her eyes, letting out a long,slow breath.

Joyce clutched her mother's hand, her voice shaky."Mom, the doctor said if I go through with the abortion, I may never be able to have children again."

Katrina paused, taking a moment to think over her words.

"After tonight, the Bennett family will be watching your every move. You'll have to find someone else to marry," Katrina said, fixing Joyce with a firm look.

Joyce's eyes grew wide with confusion."What? Who would I marry?"

Her mind flickered back to that night at the bar-everything was a blur through the haze of alcohol.

Nothing had been clear to her in that fog of drunkenness.

The only thing she could remember was waking up the next morning, catching a glimpse of someone slipping out the door. She vaguely recalled a mole on the back of his neck, but everything else was a blur.

"Alexander's off the table," Katrina muttered under her breath. "You need someone stable, someone reliable. In all of Olisvine, Cedric is your best bet."

Joyce hesitated, biting her lip nervously. "But would he even say yes? He barely even talks to me."

The weight of her situation was sinking in. Pregnant,unmarried, and no clue who the father was-if people found out, she'd become the subject of ridicule.

Katrina looked at her daughter's panicked, bewildered expression and let out a deep, resigned sigh.

"If Cedric refuses, we'll find someone else willing to marry into our family. That way, your father and I can ensure you're taken care of."

Joyce rested her chin in her hand, pondering it."Then I'll go with Cedric. Life's too long to waste on someone I can't even tolerate."

She knew that anyone desperate enough to marry into their family probably wouldn't be much of a prize.

Joyce had always been pampered, putting her own comfort above everything else.

Katrina stared at her daughter in silence for a moment,completely at a loss for words.

After a long pause, she sighed again, her voice soft."Let mne handle it."

As they drove home, Richard glanced over at Alexander and asked, "Joyce is pregnant, it seems.What's your take on that?"

He couldn't stomach the idea of losing the Harper family's fortune.

Joyce,with her impulsive, naive nature, was easy to manipulate.

As Katrina had warned, trying to control Daniela the way they controlled Joyce was futile. Daniela was not someone they could bend to their will-not now,not ever.

Alexander stayed silent, his eyes glued to his phone.

Richard leaned back in the back seat, his voice calm and detached. "Honestly, whether there's a child or not, it doesn't really matter to me. You don't love her,after all. Just treat it like taking in a stray animal-don't let it complicate things. As for who you choose to be with outside of this marriage, that's entirely up to you. I won't get in your way."

He glanced at Alexander. "So? What do you say?"

Alexander, clearly uninterested, didn't look up from his phone as he answered,"Whatever you say."

He had long given up any hopes or expectations for marriage.

Whether it was Daniela or Joyce-it was just exchanging one face for another.

To him, there was no real difference.

That was how he had always seen it.

Now, as he sat there, loosening his tie,he convinced himself that nothing had changed.

If Alexander outright rejected it, Richard would push even harder. But when Alexander agreed without hesitation, Richard hesitated.

"Give it two weeks," Richard said after a beat. "If nothing comes of you and Daniela by then, youcan marry Joyce."

The pregnancy didn't matter. Joyce's family would make up for it.

In Richard's view, it was hardly a bad deal.

What happened between Alexander and Joyce after the marriage? That wasn't his concern.

With that thought, Richard looked out the window, his mind wandering in its own direction.

Once he had sent Lillian to gauge Daniela's feelings,

Cedric didn't look away from his phone, his focus locked on the screen.

For the first time ever, a hint of fear flickered within him.

He paced restlessly across the familiar construction site,where he was known to everyone.

Catching sight of the site supervisor passing by,Cedric called out, "Marco, got a smoke?"

Marco Pittman, a no-nonsense guy, grinned as he dug into his pocket. "Well, well, I didn't expect you to ask for a smoke," he remarked with his thick accent,pulling out a cigarette and offering it to Cedric.

The workers regularly offered Cedric cigarettes,but he always declined. Most people thought he didn't smoke.

And yet, here he was now, sitting down on the ground with a cigarette in hand.

Still wearing his hard hat, he leaned back, staring up at the skyscraper towering before him, its sharp edges cutting into the sky.

With a satisfied smile, Marco said, "This year's shaping up nicely. We'll have something to celebrate come the New Year."

Cedric stayed quiet, lost in his thoughts. Marco turned to him, grinning. "Mr. Phillips, you're young,but you've got the work ethic." He flashed a big thumbs-up, then added, "Not many guys like you these days-down-to -earth and dependable."

Cedric gave a faint smile, the cigarette still smoldering between his fingers, not yet touched.

"But honestly, with your status as a CEO, what are you doing out here? I saw your name in the financial news.You're handling deals worth billions. So what brings you to the site?" Marco asked curiously.

Cedric's smile lingered as he tilted his head back, his gaze fixed on the towering structure before him. A glimmer of a smile flickered in his eyes,as though he could already see Daniela stepping into the building -radiant,confident,and completely untouched by the wind or rain.

"I don't have anyone behind me. Everything I've built,I did it step by step, with hard work and setbacks.I've been reckless before and spent lavishly on sports cars and mansions. Had it all, but none of it felt meaningful." His crisp white shirt was streaked with dirt, but it didn't seem to bother him.

There was such honesty in Cedric's voice; it didn't come across as boasting. It felt more raw, more sincere.

The cigarette burned down to the filter in his hand,but he hadn't taken a single drag. He snuffed it out on the ground and said, "But this project I'm working on,this one feels meaningful."

In the warmth of the morning sun, Cedric shared something personal with someone he barely knew.

Marco laughed, giving Cedric a hearty slap on the back. "You remind me of myself when I was chasing after my wife years ago. So, who's the lucky girl?"

He scratched his head, thinking it might be someone from the site. "But that doesn't make sense. With your looks and status, why would you go through all this?"

Cedric let out a soft chuckle. "She's beyond amazing She's so extraordinary that just thinking about her feels almost wrong."

Marco let out a low whistle, teasing, "Sounds like you're chasing an angel straight from the heavens!"

At that moment, Cedric's phone buzzed, the notification pulling his attention away.