Chapter 1417:

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Yet none of that vitality touched her vacant stare.

Her world had drained of all color three years ago, leaving everything gray and lifeless.

Samuel knocked softly before entering, setting a folder on her polished desk with careful precision.

“Ms. Hudson, Mr. Howe has been released from prison. He’s requesting a meeting with you.”

Sadie’s pen froze mid-stroke, scoring a thin line across the expensive pearwood surface.

Alex. That name had been buried so deep in memory’s graveyard that its sudden resurrection startled her.

Had so much time really passed already?

Sometimes hours dragged like wounded animals, while other moments raced past, leaving Sadie breathless in their wake.

Her eyes never lifted from the desk, and ice crystallized in her voice.

“I won’t see him.”

The past held no appeal for Sadie anymore.

Those old wounds and bitter battles deserved to stay buried.

Samuel had clearly expected this response.

Rather than retreat, he pressed forward with measured calm. “Mr. Howe claims he wants to reclaim custody of Salex and raise the boy himself.”

Salex…

The mention of that name froze Sadie completely in her tracks.

Slowly, she lifted her head, and for the first time, her usually composed eyes widened with pure shock. Alex’s request had clearly caught her off guard.

Silence stretched between her and Samuel as countless thoughts battled fiercely in her mind.

Logic warred against emotion, each pulling her toward opposite choices.

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Finally, all the turmoil condensed into a single weary sigh that slipped past her lips.

Hesitation flickered across her features before she gave her reluctant answer. “Alright.”

Night had fallen by the time Sadie began her journey home. Her heels struck the smooth asphalt in a steady rhythm, each click echoing with lonely precision. The driver’s offer had been politely declined.

These solitary walks had become her ritual over the past three years.

Only when exhaustion claimed her body could her heart, heavy with yearning, find a fleeting moment of calm.

Fear consumed Sadie’s thoughts.

She dreaded that the man so far away in Zupren might disappear from her world once more.

Worse still was the terrifying possibility that he might return someday with another woman by his side, confessing that her memory had faded from his heart.

Three years possessed the power to transform everything.

Salex had blossomed from a tiny, bundled infant into an energetic toddler who could run and leap, calling out “Mommy” in his adorably garbled voice.

Isabel had embraced retirement, settling into a tranquil life accompanied by her grandson at the countryside estate. Meanwhile, Blaine had shouldered the Castro family legacy, maturing into someone dependable and strong.

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