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    M''s emotional cry echoed down the entire hallway. Naturally, Jace heard it loud and clear.


    He froze for a moment, locking eyes with the middle-aged woman, whose eyes were brimming with tears just a few meters away.


    For some inexplicable reason, his heart felt heavy and sluggish, his breathingced with an indescribable gloom. It was the same feeling he had when he watched the severely injured Be crawl out of the overturned car.


    "Hugh... Is it really you? Hugh!" Normally dignified andposed, M now stood sobbing uncontrobly,pletely losing herposure. "Hugh... It''s your mother! You''re still alive... You''re really alive!"


    ''Mother...?'' Jace stared nkly at the woman approaching him, his heart seeming to pause as though someone had pressed the spacebar. His fingers holding a cigarette trembled slightly.


    The next second, a sharp headache pulled him back to reality.


    Jace quickly extinguished the cigarette on the balcony and disappeared like lightning before M could reach him.


    "Hugh!" M, ignoring everything, rushed forward but lost her bnce and fell heavily to the ground. She scraped both knees, the pain and sadness overwhelming her as shey on the floor, unable to get up.


    Meanwhile, on the adjacent balcony, just a wall away, Jace took a deep breath, listening to the woman''s sorrowful cries.


    His muscles tensed as he suppressed the headache, his eyes turning bloodshot.


    Inside the hospital room, Wyatt and his daughter were finally having a long-overdue heart to-heart conversation.


    "Dad... Please don''t worry."


    Wrapped in a loose hospital gown, I Be looked so small and fragile. Her face was pale as snow, as though it would melt with the lightest breath. Yet she smiled while looking up at her father, trying her best to appear strong. "I''m fine. At first, it was really painful, but now... I''m over it."


    "You and Justin have broken up?" Wyatt gripped his daughter''s cold hand tightly, his eyes filled with concern. "You''re my precious daughter. Do you think I can''t tell what you''re feeling? I''m old, not stupid, and certainly not blind!"


    Be choked up, "Dad..."Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    "Sigh! I''m just an old man with one foot in the grave. What''s the point of dignity at this age?" Wyatt sighed heavily, gritting his teeth. "Tomorrow, I''ll go to the Salvador family and have a proper talk with Justin. Let''s see if there''s any chance of reconciliation.


    "You both loved each other so much and went through so much hardship together. I saw it all. I don''t believe in all this talk of medicine or emotional disorders... As long as he''s still alive, as long as his heart is still beating, I don''t believe that boy can stop loving you just like that!"


    Wyatt knew what it was to love someone deeply. That kind of love, etched into your bones, could only end when life itself ended.


    The Thompson family had a distinguished lineage, surpassing even the Salvador''s status. Wyatt had only made one formal proposal in his life, to Be''s mother. Now, he was ready to make a second proposal-on behalf of Be.


    "Dad, there''s no need. I''ve alreadye to terms with it."


    Be forced herself to suppress the bitterness inside and smiled faintly. "Justin''s health is the most important thing right now. With his elder brother back, there may be upheavals in the Salvador Corporation. Justin needs to focus on the family struggle, and I don''t want to distract him. Let fate decide everything else..."


    "Silly girl... You''ve already endured three years of suffering by Justin''s side! Now that you two are finally together, you''re going to sacrifice yourself for him again? You''re the apple of my eye. How could I bear to see you hurt yourself like this?"


    Wyatt''s voice trembled with pain. "You think of everything for him... But what about yourself? What will you do if he doesn''t love you anymore? He promised to protect you, didn''t he? What has he protected?"


    The words were harsh, but Wyatt was heartbroken and spoke without thinking.


    "Dad, Justin became like this because of me. So whatever he does to me... I don''t me him." Be smiled gently. "From now on, I only wish for him to be healthy and safe. That''s all that matters. Nothing else is important."


    Suddenly, the door to the room opened.


    M, disheveled and unsteady, entered the room, supported by the other twodies.


    Wyatt had never seen M in such a state before, so he was rmed. He quickly rushed over to support her trembling body.


    "M, what happened to you?"


    "Wyatt!" With a voice trembling from deep within her chest, M copsed into her husband''s arms, sobbing. "I saw Hugh... Our son, Hugh! I saw him!"


    Wyatt''s heart skipped a beat, shocked. "How is that possible? Hugh has been gone for years!"


    "M, could it be that your mind is ying tricks on you because of all the stress?" Sasha expressed her concern for M''s mental state. "Hugh was in a ne crash, and no one survived that crash. The ne went down into the sea. This was all officially confirmed."


    "Hugh is my son! How could I be mistaken?" M wept uncontrobly. "Just now, on the balcony in the hallway, I saw a young man in a ck leather jacket, smoking... He looked exactly like Hugh! How could there be two people in the world who look so alike?"


    Wyatt''s emotions surged within him, but fearing it might be a false hope, he remained calm and said, "M, maybe it''s just a coincidence..."