Cameron had tasted the sweetness Nellie once brought him-how could he be expected to give her up so easily now?

"Morris, Nellie and I truly loved each other. There''s a child between us. I''m not walking away from her without a fight." As Cameron said this, the look he shot Morris was nothing short of a challenge.

Morris frowned, barely concealing his disgust. "Cameron, do you even hear yourself right now?"

Cameron chuckled, his weathered face creasing, years of hardship and wisdom written in every line. "Morris, you''re not the crown prince of the Capital anymore. You can''t just throw your fortune around and hire some guru to change your destiny. Admit it—you''re only here because you''ve run out of cards to y. And you want me to just hand Nellie over to you?"

“Well, I''m not giving you what you want." Frustration and indignation flickered across Cameron''s face—a man sick of having his fate decided by someone else.

Morris stared him down, eyes cold as a winterke, a chill settling in the space between them.fn85f0 ???s ??????? ?s ?????? ?? FιndＮovel/fn85f0

"Cameron, you could have taken the easy way out. But since you want trouble, don''t me me for what happens next."

A cold sweat prickled down Cameron''s back, but he quickly pulled himself together. "Please. We were both once princes of the city, and now we''ve both fallen from grace. Why would I be scared of you?"

Morris''s lips curled into a mocking, frosty smirk. "You think you''re on my level? Dream on."

Thatugh sent a shiver through Cameron, making him feel like a fish on the cutting board, Morris holding the knife.

"Cameron, you''re just a footnote in the story I''m writing." With that, Morris turned and walked off.

Cameron was left fuming.

When Morris got back to the Sharp family''s house, he bumped into Arthur at the front gate, just as Arthur wasing home from work. Spotting Morris''s pale face, Arthur couldn''t help but jab at him: "Morris, you''re pathetic. Dragging yourself out early anding homete-are you really working this hard just to beat me?"

Morris shot him a look of pure indifference. "Don''t tter yourself. I don''t need to lift a finger to deal with you. Ford is enough."

Ford was the tech whiz at Stewart Enterprise-everyone knew he was a genius with machines, but his social skills were...questionable, to put it nicely.

Arthur bristled. "Are you calling me an idiot?"

Morris shrugged. "Beingpet

to Fordas probably the biggestpliment you get in your Gontent belongs to s

To Morris, Ford was the only dud among the robots he''d ever built.

Arthur''s handsome face darkened. "Let''s see how long you can keep that attitude, Morris."

He stormed off, still fuming.

Morris might havee out on top in the exchange, but it didn''t bring him any real satisfaction.

He went back to his room, only for a sharp,

chest. He doubled over, sweate

bing pain to clutch at his

breaking out across his forehead  s

When the pain finally eased, he was left feeling hollow and lost.

His condition was getting worse. The attacks wereing more often now.

His heart was failing him—and it was clear he didn''t have much time left.

He pulled out his phone and opened his favorite social app. The top

contact her avatar-had beeno

grayed out, offline for days.

Something about it left him feeling strangely empty  s

He gave in atst and sent her a message: "How are you these days?"

He gripped his phone, hoping for a reply.

But even as he drifted off to sleep, the silence on the other end didn''t break.

The loneliness pressed in. Nathalie had grown so distanttely.