Chapter 1246
“She’s captivating even in sleep. Wait until she wakes and reveals those luminous eyes—she’ll have every single one of us dancing to her tune!”
The chatter rose in waves, their animated voices transforming the living room into a symphony of excitement.
Elliana surrendered to their enthusiasm, standing with a radiant smile as they jostled for a better glimpse.
Just moments before, Cole had positioned himself right beside Elliana, but the crowd surged forward as though he’d become transparent, sweeping him to the outermost edge of the gathering.
Cole observed the spectacle unfold before him, irritation and amusement warring across his features. Elliana had ascended to stardom among the Evans family’s younger ranks, while his own standing as the family head seemed to diminish with each passing day.
Jason, who had sustained grave injuries the night Elliana brought Beatrice into the world, was finally recovering his strength. Though still somewhat fragile, he had descended the stairs at first light, burning with eagerness to meet his niece. But with the entire family mobbing Beatrice, he couldn’t penetrate the wall of bodies.
As the family’s honored protector, Jason couldn’t very well bulldoze his way through the crowd. He resigned himself to lingering at the periphery, waiting for the crowd to thin.
When Jason spotted Cole similarly relegated to the sidelines, an amused smile flickered across his lips.
“Cole,” he called out in greeting.
Cole cast a sharp glare at the crowd before pivoting toward Jason with genuine concern etched on his face.
“How are you holding up?”
“Considerably better,” Jason answered, then steered the conversation elsewhere.
“How did things go in Delta?”
Placing absolute faith in Jason, Cole laid out the entire account without reservation.
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Jason absorbed every detail, his expression brightening with relief upon hearing that everything had proceeded without complication.
Cole then directed his gaze toward his uncles and grandfather. Bertram and Emmanuel had planted themselves within earshot, quietly absorbing the full exchange.
“Cole,” Bertram ventured, “now that you’ve located your mother, shouldn’t you share this news with your father? Discovering she’s alive would flood him with happiness. It could work miracles for his recovery, wouldn’t you say?”
Cole pressed his lips into a tight line, wrestling with how to formulate a response. His mother had been unyielding in her stance—she refused to let his father witness her current condition. But if his father caught wind of her whereabouts, he would race to Delta without hesitation. One was starving for reunion, while the other barricaded herself behind locked doors. The arrangement would torment them both beyond measure. He simply couldn’t determine whether revealing the truth to his father was the right path forward.
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