Too Late, Mr. Cooper: Your Bride Ran with Your Baby novel Chapter 65

Liliana wrenched her hand free from Linton’s grip and walked away without a backward glance.

Linton stood frozen on the spot.

Whether he was too stunned by her finality or something else, he didn't react in time to stop her from leaving.

The moment her warm hand slipped from his cold grasp, a sharp, violent pain seized his heart, as if it had been crushed under a heavy wheel, sending an icy chill through his limbs.

He felt like he was standing in a frozen wasteland, his very blood about to turn to ice. A flicker of panic, barely perceptible, crossed his calm eyes.

At eight o'clock that evening, Linton drove alone to the new house he had bought for Liliana. The deed was in her name only.

The house was still being renovated.

He had tried his best to have it cleaned up, to replicate the layout of their old home, but a lot of the furniture was missing.

He had no idea where she had custom-ordered it from.

He'd spent days calling in favors and asking everyone he knew, but he had come up with nothing.

Night fell over the massive villa, casting Linton’s long, lonely shadow across the floor.

He lay on the king-sized bed, the buttons of his shirt undone, revealing his sharp collarbones and the defined muscles of his chest. He threw an arm over his eyes, his breathing heavy and strained.

In the deep, murky darkness, a memory, or perhaps a dream, began to surface.

Old Mr. Hart was gravely ill in the hospital. He was kneeling at the old man’s bedside, his back ramrod straight.

As the heir of the city's most powerful family, Linton was used to looking down on the world with cold indifference. This was the first time in his life he had willingly lowered his proud head, looking almost humble.

"Mr. Hart, I'm begging you. Let me marry Liliana."

"…You just wait and see. That day will come."

Old Mr. Hart muttered to himself, the pain already fogging his mind. As his consciousness began to fade, the skeletal old man added one last instruction. "You repeat my words, exactly as I said them, to your grandfather."

"Make him hold you to it. Only then can I rest easy."

…

When Linton emerged from Mr. Hart's room, Old Mr. Cooper was waiting anxiously outside. "What did he say? Did he agree?"

"He agreed."

Linton lowered his eyelids, his long lashes casting a dark shadow that hid the inscrutable emotions in his eyes. After a moment, he spoke, his voice flat. "Mr. Hart entrusted Liliana to me. He told me to take care of her."

"He made it clear that no matter what happens, I am to never, ever let go of her hand. That I am responsible for her for the rest of our lives."