[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-2603222E6F78-158":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},158,60,"Chapter 60: The Twenty Percent Bargain","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The Harrison family had relocated to the secluded Emerald Hill Estate. The property featured an exclusive, high-end sanatorium where they had Rose Harrison transferred for care. Albert Harrison was determined: if a marriage alliance with the Hughes family was no longer an option, it was time to cut all ties to Caspian Hughes once and for all.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">However, on the second day after their move, an uninvited guest showed up at the gate: Maximus Anderson.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Albert sat on the living room sofa, his face a mask of iron-grey stone. He didn't even offer the man a glass of water. \"What are you doing here? You aren't welcome in this house.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maximus didn't flinch. He had known before he arrived that he wouldn't be met with open arms, but he didn't care. He was prepared to weather the storm.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Albert,\" Maximus said, his voice clipped and polite, \"I have an unusual request.\" He had already made up his mind—he was going to take Rose and little Shiloh away. He had purchased a private, isolated island with a perfect climate, a place designed for long-term recovery and peace.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Albert remained silent, his expression cold.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maximus pressed on. \"I intend to transfer twenty percent of Anderson Group’s shares to Shiloh.\" He laid the transfer documents on the coffee table as if he were handing over a mundane gift.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Albert’s composure cracked. Shiloh? Maximus knew? How did he find out? He sneered internally—so, the man had figured it out and decided to play the hero, as if the Harrison family was desperate for his charity.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maximus ignored the hostility and continued to plead his case. \"Please, just listen. I only recently learned that Rose was pregnant with my child. There were so many misunderstandings between us during that time, and I was bedridden, suffering from a severe illness. I never personally signed those divorce papers; someone manipulated the system behind my back. It was never my intention to walk away.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He leaned forward, his gaze piercing and desperate. \"I didn’t know about the baby. I honestly thought she didn't want me anymore, and I couldn't bear to keep forcing her, so I stood by and watched her turn to Caspian Hughes. But Albert, I want to use the entire Anderson Group as a dowry to marry Rose Harrison.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Albert’s stern features flickered. He couldn't be sure if the man was acting, but he was a man himself—he knew exactly what a man looked like when he was truly terrified of losing the person he loved.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The sincerity in Maximus’s eyes didn't look like a performance, though Albert wasn't about to make it easy for him.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Leave for now,\" Albert said, his voice gravelly. \"I’ll consider it.\" With that, he rose and left the room.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maximus exhaled, a long, shaky breath leaving his lungs. He knew the weight of twenty percent of Anderson Group, but he had feared that Albert wouldn't believe a word he said. Now that the door was ajar, he felt a flicker of hope.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Alone in the study, Albert stood by the window. As a businessman, he understood exactly what giving up twenty percent of the company meant. He found himself begrudgingly admiring Rose’s taste; men like Maximus were a dying breed.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Yet, his doubts remained. Maximus had been the architect of Rose’s greatest suffering. Could he really hand her over to the same man again?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Suddenly, he remembered the housekeeper’s report: Maximus had stood outside the Harrison estate for a full day, through a brutal, freezing downpour, refusing to leave until he collapsed and had to be dragged away.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Albert sighed, the weight of the years pressing down on him. Forget it. He knew his daughter—if she hadn't loved the man to the point of obsession, she never would have kept the baby.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">When Maximus received the call from Albert, his joy was absolute. He swore on his life that he would protect Rose and Shiloh until his last breath. He told Albert about the island, explaining how the specialists believed the serene environment was the key to waking Rose from her coma. He promised to send regular updates and photos of both mother and child so the grandparents would never feel out of touch.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Truly, when a man loved a woman, he would move heaven and earth to build a sanctuary for her.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272923659]