He Wanted an Heir, So I Gave Him Ashes Chapter 43

He Wanted an Heir, So I Gave Him Ashes Chapter 43

A month later, Rhett passed away.

In his final moments, his consciousness was blurred, but he still struggled to say something to Ellie. A nurse tried to help him sit up, but he no longer had the strength.

Ellie stood several feet from the bed. She did not go any closer.

In the end, his mother found a pen and paper and placed them in his trembling hand. With all his remaining strength, he scratched a single, twisted word onto the page.

*Sorry.*

The handwriting was so crooked it was almost illegible.

When the thin piece of paper fell into Ellie’s hands, she realized her face was wet with tears.

But her heart was clear.

There was nothing left to forgive.

Everything was over.

She turned and walked out of the ward, feeding the note into the office shredder at the end of the hall. The machine’s hum was a belated funeral dirge.

After Rhett died, his parents seemed to find a new purpose. They poured all their energy into the child named Beau, determined to raise him into the next qualified heir of the Walker family.

Ellie did not return to Texas.

Cole, on the other hand, flew from Texas to California to see her often.

The following spring, on a terrace overlooking the sea, Cole confessed his feelings.

Ellie refused him.

Over the past year, her company, Vance-AgriTech, had won several industry awards and become a major player in sustainable agriculture. She was preparing to return to the East Coast to formally begin taking over the Vance family business.

She looked at Cole, her gaze clear and firm.

“Cole,” she said, “let’s not talk about feelings.”

After a pause, she lifted her glass to him, a real, relaxed smile touching her lips.

“I’d much rather have you as my strategic partner.”