Chapter 370 The House That Was No Longer Hers
Rowan wasn’t usually the kind of person who challenged Ryan directly.
But this time, he couldn’t hold himself back.
He looked at his older brother with a complicated expression, his voice carrying unmistakable sympathy for Rose.
And somehow, that sympathy hurt Rose more than anything else.
Her entire body went rigid.
Standing there in front of everyone, she felt as though Ryan’s indifference toward her had finally been laid bare for the whole family to see.
She had come prepared to fight the Knight family with everything she had.
She had been ready to endure their punishment and walk away with her dignity intact.
She never expected Ryan to protect her by turning her into a bargaining chip.
What a generous kind of protection.
Perhaps Rowan’s anger—or perhaps the bitter mockery in Rose’s eyes—finally made Ryan look up.
“Heartbroken?”
His expression remained completely calm.
“She chose to have a daughter for the Robinson family while she was still married to me. Doesn’t that bring shame on the Knight family too?”
He paused.
“The Knight family has no reason to make a public spectacle of it. Nobody benefits from exposing this.”
His dark eyes settled on Rowan.
“So tell me, who exactly is supposed to be heartbroken?”
His voice was so detached that it almost sounded cruel.
There was no anger.
No jealousy.
Not even resentment.
He was simply stating the facts.
Edward Knight’s eyes narrowed.
Because Ryan was right.
If news broke that a member of the Knight family had given birth to the Robinson heir while married to a Knight, the scandal would be enormous.
It wouldn’t just damage Rose’s reputation.
It would damage the Knight family’s reputation, hurt the company’s public image, and potentially send the stock price tumbling.
The family couldn’t afford that.
“Rowan, come here.”
Margaret rose from her seat.
“Your brother is right. The fact that the Knight family is willing to let Rose walk away without punishment is already an enormous act of leniency. If we actually enforced the family rules, the consequences would be much worse.”
She still felt bitter about the entire situation.
The Knight family had been forced to swallow this humiliation.
They couldn’t even acknowledge Ariel publicly without exposing the scandal.
Rowan sighed.
“Grandma, Rose’s marriage to Ryan was arranged from the beginning. Neither of them wanted it. They were forced into that relationship.”
He looked toward Ryan.
“So even if the story about the child is true, it happened because they never loved each other in the first place.”
Neither Margaret nor Edward argued.
They both remembered exactly how Rose and Ryan had ended up married.
Rose’s gaze flickered.
If it hadn’t been for that unexpected turn of events seven years ago, Ryan’s wife would probably have been someone from a powerful, prestigious family.
Someone who matched him perfectly.
Someone the Knight family would have welcomed without hesitation.
Instead, he’d ended up with her.
Margaret and Edward had never forgotten that.
And perhaps that was why Ryan’s attitude now didn’t surprise them.
He wasn’t angry because he didn’t love her.
If he truly cared about Rose, how could he sit there so calmly while discussing how to use her against the Robinsons?
Rose couldn’t even deny Rowan’s argument.
Maybe Ryan really did hate her.
Maybe, in his mind, she was the woman who had ruined the marriage he was supposed to have.
But Ryan didn’t react.
His dark eyes remained cold and unreadable.
Edward Knight finally stood.
“Take care of that arm.”
His gaze shifted to Rose.
“And as for you, whatever Ryan did today doesn’t erase what you’ve done to the Knight family. Don’t mistake his intervention for forgiveness.”
Rose’s jaw tightened.
Edward continued, “Take care of his injury. And make sure nobody outside this room hears about what happened tonight.”
His expression darkened.
“If this gets out, the entire Knight family will become a laughingstock.”
Rose said nothing.
Edward turned to Ryan.
“As for the second branch...”
His voice grew heavier.
“They’ve been working against the family for years. Whether what happened today was simply an unfortunate coincidence or whether you had already planned to eliminate them and merely used Samantha as an opportunity, I’m not going to question it.”
Ryan’s eyes remained steady.
Edward knew his grandson too well.
Ryan had been calculating since childhood.
His methods had always been ruthless.
Even when he was young, he’d been capable of making decisions that would leave most people shaken.
That was precisely why Edward had chosen him as the Knight family’s successor.
A leader couldn’t afford to be soft.
Edward placed a hand on Ryan’s shoulder.
“Rowan is back. He’ll be joining headquarters and helping with the company. Handle things however you think is appropriate.”
Ryan didn’t hesitate.
“The company should follow its bylaws.”
Edward gave a small nod.
“Good.”
Then he turned and walked away.
He didn’t mention Rose’s punishment again.
The matter was over.
The Knight family had already been embarrassed enough tonight. There was nothing more they could gain by punishing her.
As soon as Edward left, Rowan hurried over.
Rose had been forced to her knees moments earlier, and he helped her back onto her feet.
“Are you okay?”
His voice was full of concern.
“Did that scare you?”
Rose hadn’t even had a chance to answer when Margaret’s stern voice cut through the room.
“Rowan. Your brother needs to speak with your sister-in-law. You don’t need to involve yourself anymore.”
She pressed a hand against her temple.
“Take me upstairs. I’m feeling dizzy.”
Rowan looked helplessly at her.
“Grandma, why are you getting so worked up?”
He then glanced back at Rose.
“If you need anything, call me.”
His eyes shifted briefly toward Ryan.
There was too much left unsaid.
The situation between Ryan and Rose had become far more complicated than it had been before.
There was now a child involved.
Even if Ryan claimed not to care, something like that couldn’t possibly be emotionally insignificant.
Margaret led Rowan away.
The main hall fell silent.
Rose’s attention returned to Ryan’s arm.
The white shirt was soaked with blood.
The sight made her stomach twist.
She took a slow breath.
She had narrowly escaped disaster tonight.
After seeing what happened to Samantha, she knew exactly what the Knight family was capable of.
She had witnessed what happened to anyone who crossed the Chairman Knight.
And tonight, she had come dangerously close to becoming another victim.
If the Knight family truly wanted her gone, neither she nor Ariel would have been able to protect themselves.
Yet Ryan had just saved her.
And then used that same protection to turn her into a bargaining chip.
The contradiction made her head hurt.
Ryan looked down at his injured arm as though it were nothing more than an inconvenience.
“I want to go back to Moonlake Villa.”
Rose stared at him.
“Give me a ride.”
Her mind was still spinning.
“You...”
Ryan looked at her.
“It was the chairman’s order. At a time like this, why would you deliberately upset him?”
He turned his wheelchair toward the door.
Rose felt as though she had a hundred things she wanted to say, but none of them would come out.
He was unbelievable.
He had just traded her future for a piece of land, yet now he was calmly ordering her to drive him home.
But she couldn’t argue.
Not tonight.
She grabbed the handles of his wheelchair and pushed him toward the exit.
Staying here any longer was the last thing she wanted.
She just wanted to leave.
*****
The drive to Moonlake Villa was silent.
Rose drove along the familiar roads herself.
Neither of them spoke.
It was almost as if the chaos of the evening had never happened.
But when they finally arrived at Moonlake Villa, Rose felt as though she had lived through an entire lifetime.
The house looked exactly as it always had.
The same driveway.
The same garden.
The same front entrance.
Yet everything felt different.
This had once been her home.
Now, standing outside it again, she felt like a stranger.
Ryan turned his wheelchair and noticed her staring at the house.
She stood there for a long moment, lost in thought.
He raised an eyebrow.
“What’s wrong?”
His tone was casual.
“You’ve lived here for seven years. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten where the front door is.”
Rose immediately snapped back to reality.
She frowned.
The sarcasm in his voice was impossible to miss.
But she refused to let him get under her skin.
“The woman who runs this house has changed,” she replied coolly.
“How familiar do you expect me to be with it now?”