Chapter 426 The Truth Behind His Actions

Chapter 426: Chapter 426 The Truth Behind His Actions

Grace’s gaze sharpened.

The accusation in her voice seemed to pull all the air from the room.

Rose looked up quickly.

“That’s not what he—”

Ryan lifted his eyes.

For a brief second, his gaze met Rose’s.

Something unreadable flickered there.

Then it disappeared.

“No.”

His answer was calm.

He didn’t look at Rose again.

Instead, he faced Grace directly.

“I have no intention of remarrying her.”

The words were simple.

Decisive.

Rose had known for a long time that whatever bond had once existed between them was gone.

Still, hearing Ryan say it so plainly made something inside her tighten.

She looked at him for two quiet seconds.

Then she lowered her eyes.

She said nothing.

Grace seemed caught off guard.

James, however, slammed his hand against the table.

“Don’t make it sound like you’re doing Rose some great favor by rejecting her.”

His expression darkened.

“Do you honestly think Rose is sitting around waiting for you to take her back? Whether she wants you or not isn’t your decision.”

Ryan remained completely composed.

James knew him too well.

That was what bothered him.

Ryan wasn’t the kind of man who made empty statements.

If he had wanted Rose back, he would have found a way to say so.

But he hadn’t.

He had rejected the idea without hesitation.

Which meant he meant it.

Grace slowly exhaled.

“Well, perhaps that’s for the best.”

She looked between them.

“You two were never particularly well suited. There’s no reason to drag yourselves back into a marriage that already failed.”

Her voice softened slightly.

“Sometimes walking away is healthier for everyone.”

That was genuinely how she felt.

But her eyes remained fixed on Ryan.

“What I don’t understand is why you went this far.”

Ryan said nothing.

Grace continued.

“The Knight family cares about bloodlines. Everyone knows that. And now, with Ariel’s parentage dragged into the middle of a very public scandal, there’s enormous pressure on them to make a move.”

She paused.

“Yet you chose to help Rose. You helped the Taylor family. You made it possible for Ariel to remain with them.”

Her expression hardened.

“Why?”

She had originally assumed his actions were a sign that he wanted Rose back.

That was the only explanation that made sense.

But Ryan had just denied it without the slightest hesitation.

He genuinely seemed determined to stay out of Rose’s life.

And somehow, that made his actions even harder to understand.

Across the room, Derick was watching Ryan with a stern expression.

As Rose’s father, he naturally wasn’t thrilled by the idea of any man treating his daughter as though she were someone he could simply accept or reject.

James let out a quiet scoff.

“Yeah. I’d love to know when you became this selfless.”

Ryan glanced at him.

James folded his arms.

“You don’t do anything without a reason.”

Rose finally spoke.

“As long as whatever he wants doesn’t affect me, Ariel, or the Taylor family, I don’t really care.”

Her voice was calm.

Whatever Ryan’s reasons were, they were his problem.

They had all reached this point because of the Knight family and Ryan.

Ariel was safe now.

That was what mattered.

Ryan had not given them some extraordinary gift that entitled him to anything in return.

Rose clearly had no interest in discussing it further.

Ryan’s eyes shifted toward her.

He watched her quietly.

Alicia noticed.

Her fingers tightened around the fabric at her lap before she finally spoke.

“Maybe Mr. Knight just feels guilty.”

Rose looked over.

Alicia immediately realized she’d said too much.

Her expression changed.

Everyone in the room knew exactly what she meant.

That night.

The night the Mercer and Knight families had been preparing to formalize the engagement.

Grace’s face turned cold.

James’s expression hardened.

“Alicia,” he said sharply, “you really didn’t need to bring that up.”

Alicia’s face flushed.

“I didn’t mean—”

She looked at Rose.

“I really didn’t.”

She stood, taking a few uncertain steps toward her before stopping.

“I just thought... maybe what happened today brought back what happened that night.”

Her voice shook.

“I was worried there might still be resentment between you and Mr. Knight because of me.”

Rose said nothing.

Alicia’s eyes filled with tears.

“If you still have feelings for him, I can explain everything. I can tell you exactly what happened. I just...”

Her voice broke.

“I don’t want you to misunderstand him because of me.”

Grace’s expression grew darker.

She hadn’t had time to deal with this before.

She’d been away constantly—teaching, attending meetings, travelling for work.

She had intended to confront Ryan about the incident as soon as she’d had the chance.

Then one obligation had followed another.

And now the subject had been dragged back into the open.

Grace’s palm struck the table.

“Enough crying.”

Alicia flinched.

Grace’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried.

“If there’s a problem, we deal with it.”

She stared at her.

“Crying isn’t an explanation. If you think something happened that night, then say what happened.”

Alicia’s shoulders trembled.

She had been afraid of Grace for as long as she could remember.

“I didn’t want Rose to be hurt,” she whispered. “I know I was wrong.”

James gave a cold laugh.

“Wrong about what?”

Alicia froze.

“You keep saying you don’t want Rose upset, but you’re the one bringing this up again.”

His eyes narrowed.

“If you didn’t want people to misunderstand you, why did you go to Ryan’s room that night in the first place?”

Alicia’s face went white.

“Brother, that’s not what I—”

“You’re making it sound like everyone else owes you an apology for misunderstanding you.”

Derick frowned.

“James.”

He glanced toward Alicia.

“She has a heart condition. Don’t push her too hard.”

James paused.

Then his expression turned even more skeptical.

“Fine.”

He leaned back.

“But being upset doesn’t change what happened.”

Alicia lowered her head.

Victoria could no longer sit quietly.

She rose from her seat.

“James, I know you don’t like me.”

Her voice was controlled, but there was anger underneath it.

“And because of that, you’ve never exactly been fair to Alicia.”

James looked at her.

Victoria continued.

“But she’s been dragged into this too.”

She glanced at her daughter.

“She was put in an embarrassing position in front of a room full of people. Everyone saw what they saw, and whether you want to admit it or not, Ryan was the one who created the situation.”

Her gaze moved toward Ryan.

He sat with one leg crossed over the other, looking almost completely detached from the argument.

Victoria’s voice hardened.

“You can say nothing happened. Ryan can say nothing happened. But the public doesn’t care what either of you says.”

She looked around the room.

“People saw Alicia in that state. They saw where she was. They saw who was there.”

Her eyes settled on Ryan.

“You’re a powerful man, Mr. Knight. You know exactly how these things work.”

Ryan remained silent.

Victoria pressed on.

“You don’t get to decide that the entire incident simply doesn’t matter because you don’t want to acknowledge it.”

Rose watched her carefully.

Victoria hadn’t once said the words outright.

She hadn’t demanded that Ryan marry Alicia.

She hadn’t even directly asked him to take responsibility.

But Rose understood exactly what she was doing.

She was laying out the situation piece by piece, waiting for Ryan to reach the conclusion she wanted.

If the public believed Alicia had been wronged, then the Knight family couldn’t simply walk away.

And if Ryan refused to acknowledge any responsibility...

Alicia would remain the innocent young woman everyone pitied.

Victoria was protecting her daughter.

And, whether she said it openly or not, she was trying to force Ryan to take responsibility for what had happened.

Rose’s expression cooled.

She looked at Ryan.

For the first time, she was genuinely curious about what he would do next.