Chapter 186

Brigitta's words landed like hammer blows, each one carrying real weight.

Then Brigitta herself broke down and apologized: "When it comes down to it, this is all my fault. If I hadn't pushed him to marry you, none of this would have happened!"

Angela shook her head and smiled softly. "Grandma, I'm truly grateful for what you did back then. Without you, I couldn't even have scraped together Alan's medical bills. I really do thank you. And when I married him..."

She paused and glanced over at Lucas.

"I did it willingly. I guess we just weren't meant to be husband and wife."

Lucas instinctively looked up at her and shook his head without a word.

That's not how it is, Angela.

"Angela, focus on getting better. No matter what happens between you two, I'll always be in your corner."

In this cold and lonely foreign hospital, Brigitta's arrival was like the warmest, steadiest beam of light, cutting straight through the darkness that had settled over Angela's world.

"Starting today, you're not going back to that villa," Brigitta said, pointing to the caregiver's room adjoining the ward. She looked at Lucas and gave her order: "You stay right here and take care of Angela yourself. If I catch you slacking even once, you're out of The Conway Group on the spot. I won't have you as my grandson."

Lucas was more than happy to agree. He nodded right away. "Alright, I'll do whatever you say, Grandma."

Angela didn't even get a chance to object.

She let out a helpless laugh.

And just like that, under Brigitta's firm hand, Lucas had every reason to move into the hospital room.

It was also because of Brigitta that the suffocating tension and cold silence between Angela and Lucas began, little by little, to crack.

Brigitta was always finding ways, casually or not, to push the two of them together.

"Lucas, Angela's bored lying there and she can't look at her phone. Go read to her."

Under Brigitta's watchful eye, Lucas took care of Angela every day without complaint.

When the chemo made Angela sick and she was hunched over retching, he was the one holding the trash bin, rubbing her back over and over, cleaning up the mess without a word of protest.

When the pain had her trembling in bed, drenched in cold sweat, he was the one gripping her hand tight, whispering in her ear again and again, "I'm sorry, Angela. Hold on. I'm right here."

Angela felt something shift inside her.

He looked worn down to nothing, and yet whenever he faced her, he still managed to pull out the gentlest smile he had.

The coldness in her eyes, day by day, through all his careful tending, finally began to show the faintest sign of thawing.

Brigitta and Lucas took turns finding new ways to cheer her up.

One evening, the setting sun washed the hospital room in warm shades of gold and red.

Brigitta had just been helped by a caregiver to go rest in the next room, leaving Angela and Lucas alone.

Lucas was sitting in the armchair nearby with a laptop on his knees. His long fingers moved quickly across the keyboard. He seemed to be dealing with something urgent.

But every few minutes, he would look up and glance at Angela in the hospital bed, checking that she was okay.

Angela leaned against the headboard, watching his focused, tired profile, and finally spoke softly:

"You're here every day... what about The Conway Group?"

It was the first time in all these days that she had taken the initiative to ask about his work.

Lucas's fingers froze over the keyboard.

He looked up, and something lit up in his deep eyes, bright and sudden, like a kid who'd just been handed candy. Even his voice trembled a little: "Angela, you... you're talking to me?"

Angela looked at him, a little exasperated by how he was making such a big deal of it, and turned her face away. "Forget it if it's inconvenient."

"It's not! Of course it's not!"

Lucas quickly shut the laptop, got up, and came to sit on the edge of the bed. "Evan's holding things down back home. For major decisions, I can join meetings online and provide direction remotely. Evan's been with me for years. He's solid. I'm not worried about The Conway Group. Right now, I just want to be here with you."

He paused.

Then he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out his phone, opened a photo, and held it out to Angela.

"Angela, take a look at this."

Angela looked at the screen.

It was a photo of a contract.

The bold title at the top stood out immediately: [The Conway Group Equity Gratuitous Transfer Agreement.]

Angela's eyes moved down the page, and when she reached the section showing the percentage being transferred, her breath caught.

[I, Lucas, hereby voluntarily transfer all shares held in The Conway Group (totaling 63%) to Angela, free of charge...]

"Have you lost your mind?"

Angela looked up at him sharply, her clear eyes filled with disbelief. "That's your entire stake in The Conway Group. Everything you have. Lucas, why are you giving this to me? I'm a dying woman. What would I do with—"

"Don't you dare say that!"

Lucas cut her off, fast and sharp, like a reflex.

His eyes went red in an instant.

He used every bit of willpower he had to hold back the urge to pull her into his arms.

His voice shook badly, carrying a plea that was almost desperate: "Angela, I won't let you use that word. You're going to live a long and healthy life. And the doctor said the CAR-T therapy looks very promising. You're going to get better."

He took a deep breath and worked to steady himself. "The paper copy of this contract will arrive at the hospital tomorrow. All you have to do is sign it. From that point on, you'll be the largest shareholder of The Conway Group. Even I'll have to answer to you."

Angela looked at him.

His eyes were stubborn and almost frantic, like a drowning man clinging to the last thing keeping him afloat.

She let out a quiet sigh and shook her head. "Lucas, why are you doing this? I really don't need any of it."

Lucas looked at her. Then, all of a sudden, he gave a small, self-mocking smile.

There was a rare softness in it.

"Grandma always used to say... a man shouldn't be left in charge of his own money. Give him money and he'll go bad."

He looked at Angela, his voice gentle. "So, Angela, I'm giving you all my money. Same as last time. Everything I have, it's all yours. After this, I won't have a penny to my name. I'll have to depend on you to get by. Is that okay?"

Same as last time.

Hearing those words, Angela's thoughts drifted for a moment.

She remembered.

It was back when things between them were at their worst. Brigitta, trying to bring them together and punish Lucas at the same time, had deliberately gone through all of Lucas's wallets, bank cards, and black cards right in front of Angela, then shoved the whole lot into Angela's hands.

Brigitta had said: "Angela, his money is yours to manage from now on. If he ever gives you a hard time, you cut him off."

Back then, Angela's heart had been full of nothing but resentment and hurt toward Lucas.