Chapter 461:

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“I inherited five percent from my father. Over the years, through various channels, I’ve brought the shares under my control to around fifteen percent. That means I still need to secure at least another five percent, and I need to make sure those votes will stand with me when it matters most.”

Connor frowned slightly before continuing, “It won’t be easy. Behind those numbers are years of personal ties and tangled interests. This isn’t something I can solve by just throwing money at it. I need time to reach out, negotiate, and lay everything out properly.”

“At the earliest, how long would it take?” Joslyn’s voice was very soft, carrying a fragile, careful hope.

Connor looked at her, quickly running through every possible variable and the most favorable outcome in his head.

“At the fastest…” He slowly gave her an answer. “Three months. That’s assuming nothing major goes wrong and everything moves smoothly. In those three months, I’ll have a lot to do, and I’ll be under tremendous pressure. And even if I secure enough shares, that only marks the start of the real fight, not the end.”

Three months.

Joslyn repeated the time silently in her heart.

It wasn’t immediate, but it also wasn’t hopeless.

“So we don’t have to separate.” She looked at him, her lashes still damp, but the light in her eyes now held urgency and hope. “There is a way, isn’t there? We just need time.”

Connor looked at the faint spark returning to her eyes. “Yes,” he said firmly. “There is. It just won’t be an easy road. Josy, are you afraid?”

“I’m not.” Joslyn shook her head at once and gripped his hand even tighter, as if afraid to let go.

𝗦𝗮v𝘦 уо𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝗮vо𝗿it𝗲 n𝘰vе𝘭𝗌 𝘰𝗻 𝗴𝘢𝗅n𝘰𝘷𝘦𝗅s.co𝘮

“What I’m afraid of is you losing everything because of me. I’m afraid I’ll become your burden. But if all you need is time, if all you have to do is fight for it, then I’m not afraid. I’m sorry. Just now, I really thought there was no way left. I thought the only thing I could do to stop dragging you down was leave you…” Her voice caught so badly she could barely continue.

She really had thought about divorcing Connor and letting him go for his own sake.

Connor lowered his head and pressed a kiss to her damp lashes, tasting the salt of her tears as he kissed them away.

“All right. Don’t think about that anymore. Go take a hot shower.” He released her hand.

“Okay,” Joslyn answered softly and turned toward the bedroom upstairs.

Connor stayed where he was, his gaze dark and unreadable.

He walked over to the liquor cabinet downstairs. Since Joslyn had only moved in not long ago, there were only a few bottles inside.

He reached for the strongest one.

He had always believed he could keep countless things under control, yet when it came to the person he wanted most to protect, he had still pushed her into a cruel dilemma.

The burdens of his family, the mess of old entanglements, the very things he had once dismissed and deliberately set aside, had now become the wall standing between them.

He should have resolved everything before he ever asked her to marry him.

He had been too hasty, too reckless.

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