Chapter 214
“Thank you as well… for giving birth to such an exceptional son.”
The words were soft.
Almost gentle.
Yet they struck Nick like something far heavier than sound.
His hand tightened around Khloe’s immediately.
So tightly that his knuckles turned white.
For as long as he could remember, every mention of his mother had carried only sorrow. Regret. Silence. A kind of grief that never fully settled.
His existence had always been explained in fragments of guilt.
A life that cost another life.
A son who should not have been born.
That thought had followed him for years—quiet, insistent, corrosive.
Something he had never spoken aloud, but had never escaped either.
Night after night, it lingered.
A wound that never closed.
And now—
Khloe had said something entirely different.
Not pity.
Not sorrow.
But gratitude.
Gratitude for his mother.
And for him.
Something in Nick’s chest cracked open without warning.
Not pain exactly.
Something deeper.
Something long buried.
He lowered his head slightly, and for the first time in a long while, his eyes turned faintly wet.
Khloe felt it immediately.
The subtle tremor in his body.
The pressure of his grip shifting, unsteady now, as if he were holding onto her and something inside himself at the same time.
Without hesitation, she lifted her other arm and wrapped it around him.
Nick leaned in instinctively.
His forehead resting against the side of her neck.
As though that was the only place he could safely fall apart.
They stayed like that for a long time.
The cemetery was quiet.
Then, slowly—
The morning sun broke through.
Warm light spilled across the gravestones, softening everything it touched.
Nick’s voice came at last.
Low.
Roughened.
“Do you think… she regretted it?”
It wasn’t just a question.
Khloe heard what it truly was.
Fear.
Doubt.
A lifetime of unanswered pain condensed into a single sentence.
She didn’t hesitate.
“Never.”
Her voice was steady.
Firm enough to cut through the silence.
Nick went still.
Khloe swallowed once, then continued, softer but unwavering.
“Your mother loved you.”
“That’s why she chose to give you life.”
Her hand tightened slightly at his back.
“Her greatest wish wasn’t sacrifice or regret.”
“It was your safety. Your happiness. Your future.”
A pause.
“You are her pride.”
Nick’s shoulders trembled.
Just once.
Then again.
As if something inside him was breaking open piece by piece.
No one had ever said it like that.
Not his father.
Not the world around him.
Only silence, blame, and distant pity.
But Khloe…
Khloe had rewritten it without even trying.
He stayed in her arms for a moment longer.
Then slowly lifted his head.
His eyes were calmer now, though still heavy with emotion he couldn’t fully contain.
“…Khloe,” he said quietly.
“Let’s go back.”
At noon, Morrison Group.
Khloe had just finished her routine work and stepped out of her office for lunch when she noticed Charlotte near the elevator.
Head slightly lowered.
Lost in thought.
“Charlotte?”
Charlotte startled slightly and looked up.
Khloe frowned gently.
“You took the morning off today, didn’t you? Is everything resolved?”
Charlotte hesitated for a split second, then nodded.
“Yes… It’s all handled. Nothing serious. I just didn’t want to trouble you.”
Khloe’s expression softened immediately.
“It’s fine. Work hasn’t been too busy anyway.”
She reached out and patted Charlotte lightly on the shoulder.
“If anything comes up in the future, tell me directly.”
Charlotte gave a small, quiet nod.
“Okay…”
There was something off about her tone, but Khloe didn’t press further.
To her, Charlotte had always been reliable.
Focused.
Careful.
Almost like a younger version of herself in some ways.
That was why she trusted her.
At that moment, the elevator chimed again.
The doors slid open.
Ethan stepped out.
His gaze lifted immediately.
And landed on them both.
Charlotte.
Then Khloe.
His brows rose slightly as his eyes settled on Charlotte, a flicker of something unreadable passing through his expression.