Hope Crawls Through Ruins by Kain Rwan Vale 192

Chapter 192 

“I’m only helping out because of Briana.” Shepard cut in, tapping his fingers on the table. “People like you aren’t meant to start companies, you’re better at just getting things done.” 

Someone gave the orders, and Charles just went and got it done. 

If one ever let Charles do the thinking, that was when everything went south. 

“Don’t make things harder for Briana,” Shepard said, his tone tight. “I’ll sort out the mess at your company as fast as I can 

“Alright, alright, thank you, Mr. Carter. Thank you!” Charles said. 

Shepard picked up his coffee, but just as he was about to take a sip, he jerked his head to the side and started coughing hard. 

At first, he tried to stifle it, but his throat burned, and the cough just kept coming harder and harder. 

The veins in his neck stood out, and his face turned bright red. 

After a long, rough coughing fit, he finally caught his breath and took a sip of coffee to ease the scratchiness in his throat. 

“Mr. Carter, did you catch a cold or something?” Charles asked tentatively. “You really should take care of yourself. Get some rest, don’t push yourself too hard.” 

“It’s nothing, just a scratchy throat,” Shepard replied. 

Charles nodded, chatted a bit more about the bankruptcy stuff, then stood up to leave. 

“Where’s Briana?” Shepard asked out of nowhere. 

He’d been holding back that question for a while, but finally let it slip. 

“She’s at the gallery,” Charles said. “She practically lives there these days, no idea what she’s so busy with. But Olivia’s been hanging out with her, talking her through things, so at least she’s not alone.” 

Shepard nodded, then started coughing uncontrollably again. 

He clenched his fist and held it to his mouth, his brows knitted tightly. 

Charles opened his mouth to say something, but Shepard waved him off, coughing between words. “Just go.” 

Charles had barely stepped out when James, Shepard’s assistant, pushed the door open and came in. 

James placed a steaming cup of cold remedy next to Shepard. 

“Mr. Carter, please take your medicine,” James said. “You’ve been drinking this for two days, but you’re still not getting any better. Maybe it’s time to call your family doctor, or even go to the hospital?” 

“It’s just a cold. I’ll be back to normal in a week. Seriously, I’m fine,” Shepard grumbled, his voice raspy. 

Shepard was a fitness junkie, always in peak condition; he hardly ever caught anything. 

But with his kind of constitution, it was either nothing at all, or he’d get totally wrecked when something did hit. 

James still looked uneasy. “Seriously, Mr. Carter, it seems to be getting worse and worse.” 

“Stop nagging,” Shepard cut him off. 

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With a cold glare, Shepard finished off the cold medicine, then buried himself back in the pile of paperwork on his desk. 

He couldn’t care less about his own body. 

He barely cared if he was even alive anymore. 

He spent the whole day in a daze, head pounding, nose blocked, throat sore, and constantly itching. 

He hadn’t felt this miserable in ages. 

But honestly, his heart ached even worse than his body. 

Shepard felt like he was just a machine, running on autopilot, waking up, hitting the office, clocking out, crashing in bed, rinse and repeat, every single day. 

He had no feelings, no emotions, nothing to look forward to. 

No one had his back, and his bed was always cold and empty. 

He thought, ‘Whatever. Guess this is my life now. It’s just a cold. Not like it’s going to kill me. 

Shepard found himself wondering, ‘If I really died, would Briana even feel sad? Would she miss me more than she did when she lost Henry?‘ 

Charles walked out of Carter Group, feeling on top of the world. 

With Shepard backing him, no matter how big a mess he made, Shepard would always have his back and fix everything. 

As he walked toward his car, Charles dialed Briana’s number. 

“Hey, Shepard,” Briana picked up, her voice calm and casual, like it was just another ordinary day. 

“Just met with Shepard. He sorted out all the bankruptcy and debt mess for my company,” Charles said. 

Briana just said, “Oh.” 

“Briana, Shepard is just on another level. Seriously, the guy’s a genius. Every time I talk to him, I wonder what kind of woman could ever measure up, 

but guess 

what? 

“This incredible man is head over heels for you, my precious little sis!” Charles couldn’t help but rave. 

Briana, not in the mood for his nonsense, cut him off. “Just get to the point.” 

‘Did he really call just to brag about Shepard?‘ Briana thought, rolling her eyes. 

Briana had always known how shrewd and skillful Shepard was in business; he could spot an opportunity a mile away and always knew how to play his cards. 

That was one of the things she loved most about him. 

Every woman would admire and be drawn to a mature man, calm, reliable, and ruthlessly decisive like that. 

“Listen,” Charles said, “Shepard’s sick. He’s got a nasty cough.” 

“So?” Briana replied, her tone flat. 

“You should really reach out to him! People are at their weakest when they’re sick. Just a message from you would do him more good than all the medicine in the world,” Charles urged. 

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Chapter 192 

Briana shot back, “So boring.” 

Charles wanted to say more, but before he could finish, Briana hung up. 

Beep, beep, beep. 

She hung up on him. 

Briana had zero interest in listening to any more of his nonsense. 

She tossed her phone aside and picked up her paintbrush, focusing intently on her canvas. 

Divine Muse was ruined, and she had no desire to start over. 

So she switched gears, choosing a new theme. 

It was Beneath the Waves. 

It was a vast stretch of blue, and the longer you stared, the darker it got, almost black, so shadowy it felt like one was sinking to the bottom of the ocean for real. 

The idea for this painting came from the time she was trapped in a sack and pulled under, sinking into the water. 

She never wanted to go through that hell ever again. 

Gasping for air, frozen in terror, just waiting for the end. 

She could feel every bit of her life draining away, moment by moment. 

She wanted to do something, anything, but she couldn’t move a muscle, completely trapped. 

All she felt was despair and helplessness, just lying there, waiting for death to come! 

But somehow, she got lucky; someone saved her. 

She felt herself being lifted, her body slowly rising back up toward the surface, 

Henry, though, what about him? 

He waited for help until his very last breath, but it never came. 

His agony and hopelessness ran even deeper than Briana’s. 

Every time Briana remembered Henry, her heart twisted with pain. 

That was how the idea for Beneath the Waves first came to her. 

Leonard always had her back, giving her free rein to create however she wanted. He only chimed in now and then with the occasional tip or gentle suggestion. 

Briana moved her brush across the paper, stroke by stroke. 

She had no idea how long she’d been at it; her eyes felt sore, and her shoulders were stiff and aching. Finally, she set down her brush, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples. 

“Briana! Briana?” Olivia called out. 

Suddenly, Olivia’s voice echoed down the hall, getting closer with every shout. 

Chapter 192 

Then Olivia burst into the studio like a whirlwind 

Come on, big news Olivia exclaimed practically bouncing with excitement. 

Brana turned to her, raising an eyebrow. What’s the gossip 

Olivia shoved her phone in front of Briana and hit play on a video 

The video dowed a woman thy from head to toe, wandering the streets. 

Her hair was a tangled mess her clothes were in tatters, and her face was so dirty it was hard to make out her features 

She sat on the curb, hands tucked into her sleeves glancing around nervously. Then she suddenly stood up and hurried over to a trash can 

She didn’t hesitate, just reached right in and started digging through the garbage. 

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