Hope Crawls Through Ruins by Kain Rwan Vale 191

Posted by ADMINMMADMIN, ? Views, Released on January 9, 2026

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Chapter 191

Shepard gave a wry smile. “You”

“What? What’s wrong with me?” Briana frowned, dodging his hand and fixing her hair after he’d ruffled it. “This is just how I am. We’ve known each other for almost twenty years; you should know me by now.”

“Yeah, I do,” Shepard said.

Briana shot him a glare, then turned away, looking everywhere but at him.

“Even if I’m not your husband anymore, I’m still your childhood friend, the guy who’s always got your back,” Shepard said, letting his hand drop to his side. “If you ever need anything, you know where to find me.”

Briana gave a small smile. “So, are you just hoping I’ll need your help?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Shepard replied.

“Ever since I left you, my life’s been smooth sailing. I’ve had no problems at all,” Briana said. “Every bit of trouble I’ve had? It was all because of you.”

She used to think he’d be the one shielding her from all the storms.

But she never expected that the biggest, most painful moments in her life were all thanks to him.

“So you really hate me this much?” His words faded, leaving only a heavy silence between them.

After a long look at her, Shepard turned away and walked out.

One by one, the sound of engines starting echoed outside.

Not long after, Charles came back into the living room, whistling a tune and grinning from ear to ear.

“So, what did you and Shepard talk about?” Charles asked with a teasing look. “Did he hug you? Did he try to sweet–talk you?”

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Briana shot back.

“Briana,” Charles said, his smile fading, “I’m serious. Right now, you really can’t afford to piss off Shepard.”

Briana ignored him, pretending she hadn’t heard a word.

“Seriously,” Charles leaned in, “just think about it. If he gets pissed and pulls the plug on everything, takes it all back, we’re totally screwed.”

“If he wants to take it back, let him. I never wanted all that stuff anyway,” Briana said firmly.

“You’d have to be crazy to say no!” Charles shot back, raising his voice. “You’re really going to give up Mom and Dad’s company? And you’re just going to forget about me, too?”

Briana frowned, sensing something was off. “You?”

“Okay, real talk,” Charles said, lowering his voice. “Those projects Eric got me to invest in? Every single one blew up. I lost everything I put in, and now I owe a mountain of debt.”

Briana couldn’t even be bothered to argue with him anymore.

“But!” Charles quickly added, “Shepard’s bailing me out on this. I went out today just to get the latest scoop. As long as he’s covering for me, I’m safe. But if he ever stops looking out for me, I’m dead meat.”

14:57 Fri, Jan 9

Chapter 191

As he spoke. Charles made a slashing gesture across his throat.

Briana let out a long, weary sigh..

“I’ve been doing everything I can to draw a clear line between Shepard and me, trying so hard to make sure we owe each other nothing.

“I’m fighting for my pride, and what about you? You’re just hanging onto him for dear life, always in his debt, Briana said. her voice full of frustration.

“Come on, we’re family,” Charles said, trying to brush it off.

“Divorce is right around the corner,” Briana reminded him.

Charles shrugged. “It’s all in your hands. Say the word, and it’s done. If you don’t want it, then it won’t happen.”

He nudged her shoulder. “Right now, you hold all the cards. Just crook your finger, and Shepard will drop everything for you, treat you like you’re the queen. But don’t go overboard, you gotta know when to stop.

“Even normal guys can’t keep bending over backwards forever, let alone someone like Shepard. Right now, he knows he owes you, and he’s bending over backwards to make it up to you.

“But give it time, and that guilty feeling will fade away. If you wait too long, getting him to do what you want won’t be so easy.”

64

“Briana, people will do anything for money, just like birds go all out for food. If you don’t look out for yourself, nobody else will.” Charles started, but Briana had already had enough.

She stood up. “Life isn’t just about chasing money. People should care about more than that; there’s got to be something deeper, something that actually means something.”

“So you do love Shepard,” Charles said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “If you didn’t, why’d you spend five years orbiting around him?”

“I–I’m just a sucker, alright?” Briana shot back.

“Hey, don’t get mad,” Charles said, standing up and pressing her back down into her seat. “I’m not messing with you. I’m really broke, drowning in debt.”

“How much do you owe this time?” Briana asked.

“Conservatively? A hundred million,” Charles replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

Briana’s jaw dropped as she stared at him in utter disbelief.

‘What kind of business is Charles even running?‘ She wondered, unable to wrap her head around it.

He was either off gambling in some overseas casino or just blowing through money on failed projects.

Honestly, he’d be better off just sticking to his old trust fund party boy ways; at least then, he’d only be blowing cash on booze and fun.

But the moment he tries to do something, he ends up blowing through the whole family fortune.

“But it’s no big deal,” Charles said with a forced chuckle. “As long as Shepard’s around, I’m good. Nothing to worry about.”

Briana was so done with him. She didn’t even want to say another word.

“Once this mess is sorted, I’ll come work at Dreamscape Corporation and help you run things,” Charles said, swearing

BEVE

14:57 Fri, Jan 9 G

Chapter 191

loyalty.

“We’ll put our heads together, take Mom and Dad’s company back from Edward, and bring it back to life, make it shir again!” he added.

Briana just stayed silent.

Dreamscape Corporation was yet another company Shepard had set up just for her.

No matter where she turned, Shepard’s shadow was everywhere in her life.

At Carter Group, Charles showed up at the CEO’s office right on time.

“Mr. Carter,” Charles said with a big grin, “you told me to come by this afternoon, so here I am.

Shepard was sitting at his desk, flipping through some documents without even looking up. “Sit

“Got it!” Charles replied, pulling out a chair and sitting down across from him.

The secretary came in and set down a cup of coffee.

The coffee was top–notch, sweet and smooth on the tongue.

“Man,” Charles sighed after taking a sip, “Eric totally screwed me over. I thought the Carter and Lane families were all one big family, always looking out for each other, so I trusted him completely.

“Never thought he’d set me up for disaster like this. That guy deserves the worst, Mr. Carter.

“Seriously, don’t ever let him off easy, make him wish he was dead, but keep him alive just so you can mess with him over and over. That’s the only way you’ll really get your revenge!”

Shepard looked up and gave Charles a quick glance.

Charles immediately flashed a wide grin.

“I told Briana to give you a heads–up,” Shepard said, “but clearly, you just let it go in one ear and out the other.”

“I thought she was just talking nonsense,” Charles replied. “If she’d said it was coming from you, I would’ve done exactly what you said!”

Shepard closed the file and leaned back in his chair with a lazy air.

“I figured as much,” he said, with a slight arch of his brow.

He dragged out the word, letting the suspense hang in the air.

Charles stared at him, practically begging for an answer.

“I had everything set up from the start,” Shepard said coolly. “Had my people in place to intercept everything before it went south. Every cent you lost, every debt you piled up, it all comes back to me. You owe it all to me.”