Trick Him Into Divorce, Then Flee With His Unknow Kid

Ryan looked up at the sky and held out a hand, letting a few snowflakes land on his palm. His expression was calm and distant, his thoughts impossible to read.

James walked over and stopped beside him.

He lit a cigarette in the designated smoking area.

“Let’s talk.”

Ryan tilted his head slightly.

“What about?”

James studied that familiar face—still as composed and unreadable as ever—and felt an inexplicable surge of irritation.

He gave a humorless smile.

“Should I congratulate the ruthless Mr. Knight on discovering his philanthropic side? You’ve gone to an awful lot of trouble for people who supposedly have nothing to do with you.”

He wasn’t going to let Ryan brush him off this time.

Looking back at everything that had happened over the past few days, James had started to notice the pattern.

It had begun with Ryan discussing the divorce with Rose and handing over New Hope, shares in Knight Group, and a staggering amount of wealth.

None of it had made sense from the beginning.

What kind of family was the Knight family?

And what kind of man was Ryan?

A man like Ryan didn’t simply hand over New Hope to someone else.

He certainly didn’t carve out a substantial stake in Knight Group for her.

Even deep love had its limits.

Then there was Ariel.

Ryan could have simply refused to fight for custody. James could have understood that. Ryan had never spent enough time with his daughter to suddenly demand custody, and perhaps he didn’t want to disrupt her life.

But Ryan hadn’t stopped there.

He had gone out of his way to distance Ariel from the Robinson family, risked his own interests to take her away from them, carefully arranged everything surrounding her custody, and left the Robinson family with both a devastating loss of reputation and enormous financial damage.

And now he’d exposed the truth about Victoria and Alicia.

One incident might have been explained away.

Two might have been coincidence.

But all of it together?

There was no way it was simply coincidence—or some vague sense of responsibility.

James suspected this was only the part Ryan had allowed them to see.

There had to be more.

Ryan glanced at him.

“Think whatever you want.”

James’s jaw tightened.

“Ryan, do you know what annoys me most about you? You can stand there completely unfazed while everything around you is falling apart, and you still refuse to explain yourself.”

He took another drag from his cigarette.

“Yes, I know you’re cold by nature. But don’t forget—we’ve known each other for more than ten years. Someone as ruthless as you doesn’t go to these lengths for people he doesn’t care about.”

He paused.

“And there’s something else.”

Ryan remained silent.

“Back then, when you were drugged and your family forced you to marry Rose because they said you had to take responsibility, even if you didn’t love her, you should have hated her.”

James gave him a pointed look.

“You shouldn’t have ended up here.”

The mention of the past caught Ryan off guard.

For the first time, a faint ripple of emotion crossed his usually impassive eyes.

“Yes.”

His voice was deep and slightly hoarse.

“Back then, I did hate her.”

James’s expression changed.

Ryan looked down at the snow gathering on his coat.

“But it wasn’t Rose I hated.”

At the time, everyone had only known the version of the story the Knight family had chosen to tell.

The Knight family had strict standards.

They couldn’t tolerate one of their own sons becoming involved with a woman outside marriage.

Rose was young, respectable, and had done nothing wrong in the eyes of the public.

So, the Knight family had supposedly decided to give her a proper place.

That was the story everyone believed.

The truth was very different.

Ryan had been drugged.

The person behind it had been his own grandmother.

His father already despised him. His grandmother had drugged him. And that night, he had ended up with Rose before his family deliberately arranged for other people to witness them together.

Rose’s reputation had been put at risk from the beginning.

Then the Knight family had announced that the two of them had been in a normal relationship all along and had simply kept their marriage private.

There was no room left for either of them to escape.

If Ryan refused to marry Rose, her reputation would be destroyed.

She would become the subject of gossip at school, and the Knight family had enough influence to make sure the consequences followed her far beyond campus.

And Ryan knew his grandmother wouldn’t stop there.

She could spread the story of Rose’s supposed one-night stand with him until every potential marriage alliance his family was considering backed away in disgust.

But if Ryan accepted the marriage, Rose would become a convenient pawn against him.

Her presence would allow his grandmother to use her to check his power, weaken the support he received from his future wife’s family, and gradually erode his influence within Knight Group.

Then someone else could be pushed into his place.

Rose had never been the real target.

She had simply been the easiest piece to sacrifice.

Ryan had been pushed into the middle of a game he had never agreed to play.

James let out a quiet scoff.

“I always thought you treated her so coldly because you believed she’d manipulated you. I figured you were determined to keep things polite and formal until you could finally get rid of the marriage.”

Ryan had no intention of explaining every detail.

His voice remained detached.

“She was the victim.”

He paused.

“She never wanted to marry me in the first place. Some things shouldn’t be forced.”

His fingers closed around the lighter in his hand.

“Keeping some distance between us is easier for both of us.”

James frowned.

“Is that why you left the country and barely lived with her after you got married?”

Ryan had spent years abroad. Even their old friends had barely seen him.

A faint flicker crossed his eyes.

Finally, he lowered his gaze and turned the lighter over between his fingers.

“My leaving was for the best.”

He looked up.

“After the New Year, I’ll leave the country and return to France. The Taylor family has finally dealt with the people who were causing trouble. I know you’ll take good care of Rose and Ariel.”

James stared at him.

“After the New Year?”

That was less than two weeks away.

“France again?”

His brows drew together.

“Isn’t the U.S. your main base now? What are you planning to do—hand Knight Group over to your brothers?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Ryan’s voice remained calm.

He turned away, his gaze settling on the snow-covered grounds outside the hospital.

“She deserves a peaceful life.”

A life without him.

A life where no one would be able to drag her back into the mess surrounding the Knight family.

James was silent for several seconds.

“Did you tell Rose you’re leaving?”

“No.”

Ryan didn’t hesitate.

“There’s no need.”

For some reason, James found that answer more unsettling than he expected.

Ryan’s way of drawing a line was brutally clean.

No dramatic farewell.

No explanation.

Not even a goodbye.

He was simply leaving.

And it was only now that James finally believed him.

Whatever the reason, Ryan genuinely had no intention of reconciling with Rose.

Ryan turned to leave.

James called after him.

“The fact that you’re not clinging to Rose is a good thing, as far as I’m concerned. She’s my sister. I’m not going to let her walk into the same mess twice.”

Ryan stopped.

James looked at him.

“I have one last question.”

Ryan turned back.

James’s lips curved into a faint, knowing smile.

“Back when you were with Samantha, were your feelings for her genuine?”

He paused.

“Or did the two of you ever sleep together?”

Ryan’s expression turned cold.

“No.”

One word.

Nothing more.

He turned and walked away without looking back.

James remained where he was.

For a long while, he simply stood there, processing everything Ryan had said.

Somehow, the conversation left him more unsettled than before.

He smoked two cigarettes before finally returning to the hospital room.

Only after making sure the smell of smoke had faded did he push open the door.

Rose had just finished a video call with Ariel.

Judging by the look on her face, James suspected Ariel had been persuaded to end the call somehow.

His gaze fell on the table.

Several exquisitely packaged boxes sat there, already opened.

Inside were cakes, pastries, and assorted snacks.

James walked closer.

“Did you order all this?”

Rose paused.

“No. Ryan did.”

The corner of James’s mouth twitched.

He tried to suppress it, but a faint smirk still appeared.

So much for leaving without a word.

He looked back at Rose.

“Ryan’s going to France.”

Rose’s expression stilled.

James watched her carefully.

“From the way he was talking, it sounds like he may be gone for quite a while.”

He paused.

“Are you going to see him off?”