?<strong>Chapter 1232:</strong>


    “My future brother-inw must be revolted, having someone as twisted as you pine after him. The very thought probably makes his skin crawl.”


    A sharp painnced through Laney’s chest. Despite the rage burning inside her, she found herself powerless to fight back. Perhaps Kira was right. Cliff did find her affection repulsive.


    Lost in her despair, Laney missed the insistent ringing of her phone. When reality finally prated her daze and she reached for the device, her hands trembled so violently that it slipped through her fingers, hitting the floor with a dull thud, screen illuminated.


    Kira’s gaze locked onto the wallpaper—half of Cliff’s face captured in perfect profile.


    Before Kira could examine it further, Laney snatched up the phone. Seeing Cliff’s name shing across the screen, Laney deliberately hit decline.


    Kira suddenly remembered something.


    “Oh, I have to go. My sister needs help selecting engagement dresses today.”


    Laney stood frozen, clutching her phone like a lifeline, time stretching endlessly around her. She knew nothing of the engagement preparations. Cliff had kept everything under tight wraps.


    But the jewelrypany wouldn’t pass up such a golden publicity opportunity. That night, every trending headline zed with news of Cliff and Juliet’s engagement.


    Laney stood solitary on the balcony, her eyes fixed on the forest of skyscrapers across the river. Above the city’s heartbeat, a billboardmanded attention—an artfully edited photograph of Cliff and Juliet adorned in gleaming jewelry. He was magnificent—a golden prince carved from marble, radiating nobility. His gaze pierced through the night, sharp as winter frost, seemingly untouched by warmth or love. The man who had starred in her nightly dreams was now branded as someone else’s fiancé.


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    Laney’s phone trembled to life once more.


    Only when Laney lowered her gaze did she realize tears had already imed her vision. Through the watery veil, Cliff’s name pulsed on the screen like a beacon. With quivering fingers, she epted the call.


    “Why have you been so elusive today? You didn’t answer my call,” Cliff’s voice carried its usual authority.


    Laney’s throat constricted, words refusing to form. She kept her eyes locked on the distant billboard, as if counting down the precious moments she had left to memorize his face.


    When silence stretched between them, Cliff’s voice softened.


    “Laney, can you hear me?”


    “Cliff,” she whispered, his name a prayer on her lips.


    Cliff paused.


    “Yes?”


    “Congrattions on your engagement.”


    Cliff had just learned that news of his engagement was already everywhere. In a world driven by technology, whispers from elite circles didn’t stay quiet for long.


    Cliff had grown used to the endless stream of congrattions. Most felt hollow, and he barely reacted anymore. But when Laney congratted him, something shifted. Her words lingered in his mind, stirring emotions he thought he had buried. Was she sincere? He couldn’t tell. Pushing his thoughts aside, Cliff left work early and headed back to the Hopkins family vi.


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