The Day I Walked Away My Empire Began novel Chapter 345

“Besides, our wedding’s right around the corner. How are you just going to up and leave now?”

Bria didn’t bother arguing. She just looked at him, that half-smile playing on her lips, her eyes sharp and quiet. He tried to look calm, but she saw the guilt flicker right there in his eyes. That was all the proof she needed. He was lying. He was definitely hiding something.

After a long, heavy silence, Bria let out a little laugh, soft and tired.

“Steven, do you really want to marry me? If you’re regretting it, there’s still time to walk away. But if we get married, I can’t go through another betrayal. I just can’t.”

Steven felt something twist painfully in his chest. He squeezed her hand tight.

“Bria, I mean it. Once we’re married, I’ll treat you right. I’ll never let you down.”

Her eyes stung as she listened. She leaned against his shoulder, drained and weary. She was so tired. Deep down, she already knew he’d changed. But she’d put too much into this relationship to just let go.

The next day, Bria rolled into New Amberton Hospital with her bodyguards. It was lunchtime. She didn’t bother looking for a nurse or telling anyone she was coming. She went straight to the head doctor’s office.

The doctor was staring at his computer when she barged in. He jumped, nearly dropping his mouse.

“Bria? What brings you here?”

Bria wheeled herself up to the desk and dropped her purse down with a heavy thud. Her face was calm but there was this cold, commanding edge to her. Her eyes pinned him like he was on trial.

“I’m here to ask about Cody’s condition.”

“Cody’s… well, it’s the same as before. He needs ongoing treatment,” the doctor stammered, eyes darting away, fingers tapping nervously at the keyboard.

“What does ‘the same’ even mean?” Bria rolled closer, her voice icy. “Like yesterday, when he was chasing a nurse down three hallways? Or this morning, when he ate two crab buns for breakfast?”

The doctor’s face went sheet white.

“Leukemia… sometimes there are periods of remission…”

“Remission?” Bria snorted, the laugh sharp and cold. “Funny. I heard you just bought a new villa downtown, paid in full. On your salary, you’d have to starve yourself for ten years to save that much.”

The doctor’s eyes went wide and he started to sweat.

“I… I can’t afford a villa…”

“And your daughter’s applying to the Royal Academy of Music in Paris next year. Still missing a chunk of the tuition, aren’t you?”

“Don’t panic. I just want the truth. And if you tell me, I’ll keep it between us. I’m not here to ruin you.”

Tears streaked down the doctor’s terrified face. His lips trembled for ages. Finally, under Bria’s cold stare, he nodded, barely whispering,

“It… it was a misdiagnosis. Mr. Heath… Mr. Heath…”

Bria’s mind exploded. Ice shot through her veins. He’d been lying to her all along. And for what? So Lucie would have his child.

“Bria, I didn’t have a choice, I—”

“That’s enough. I don’t want to hear it.”

Bria took a shaky breath, spun her wheelchair around, and left.

She was sharp enough to piece together everything in a heartbeat. Lucie was smart too, but in a different way. Lucie learned things fast, picked up anything academic in a flash. But Bria had dropped out young and grown up fighting in the shadows. Her first instinct was always to protect herself. If she hadn’t been clever, she’d have been eaten alive long ago. Her experience and instincts were in a whole different league.

After leaving the hospital, Bria drove aimlessly around the city, her heart aching like a volcano about to erupt.