Chapter 410 The One Who Stepped Forward

Chapter 410: Chapter 410 The One Who Stepped Forward

Rose turned around, the lingering chill still in her eyes.

Ryan was getting out of the car behind her.

The sky was gray and heavy with clouds. His expression was unreadable, his handsome features as cold and distant as ever. There wasn’t a trace of warmth in his dark eyes.

Alicia froze.

She watched him approach.

And then, right before her eyes, he stopped beside Rose.

They were divorced.

They were no longer husband and wife.

Yet somehow, seeing them standing next to each other created an invisible barrier that Alicia couldn’t bring herself to cross.

She hesitated before offering a polite smile.

"Mr. Knight."

Ryan didn’t even look at her.

His attention went straight to Rose.

"Has the Robinson family contacted you?"

Rose stared at him for a moment.

He hadn’t asked her about the rumors or demanded an explanation. Somehow, just hearing him speak made the tension in her chest ease a little.

"Not yet."

Ryan nodded once.

"I’ll take care of it."

His voice was as cold as ever.

But there was something underneath it this time—something sharp enough to make Rose pause.

"You..."

The Knight family had been dragged into this mess, but they weren’t the ones suffering.

If anything, the public still viewed them as the wronged party.

Ryan had every reason to stay out of it.

Whatever happened to Rose from this point on, he had no obligation to help her.

So why was he stepping in?

Ryan glanced at his watch.

"Come with me. We’re going to meet with the administration."

He looked back at her.

"We’re going to get this resolved."

Rose’s throat tightened.

"You already have a plan?"

"Yeah."

Ryan’s gaze shifted toward Alicia.

The look in his eyes was so cold that Alicia instinctively straightened.

Ryan continued, "I’m one of the people at the center of this mess. If we don’t deal with it properly, the consequences will land on you twice as hard."

His voice remained calm.

"Staying quiet and hoping it’ll blow over isn’t an option. Not when Ariel could get dragged into it. A child shouldn’t have to grow up under this kind of scrutiny."

Alicia felt a chill run down her spine beneath his stare.

Still, she forced herself to speak.

"Mr. Knight, do you really think there’s a way to help Rose?"

She lowered her voice, concern carefully woven into every word.

"I’m afraid this situation can’t simply be explained away. It could end up hurting everyone involved. Honestly, I thought you might just stay out of it because you were angry about what happened between Rose and Mr. Robinson."

She offered him a small, apologetic smile.

"Maybe I underestimated you."

Alicia genuinely believed there was no way out.

If Rose went through with the wedding, the public would take it as confirmation that she’d cheated on Ryan and had Ariel while she was still married to him.

If the wedding was canceled, people would still be suspicious.

And now Ariel had been dragged into the story.

The child existed.

She was living proof of the very rumor everyone was talking about.

How could Rose possibly make that disappear?

The university would still have to deal with the scandal. Her promotion could still be affected. Her career could still suffer.

Even if Ryan stepped forward and said Rose had never betrayed him, would anyone believe him?

To Alicia, those words would mean nothing without evidence.

Ryan’s expression didn’t change.

"You seem awfully concerned about Rose and me."

His voice was quiet, but there was an unmistakable edge to it.

Rose looked up at him.

Ryan rarely showed emotion.

He had always been detached, almost indifferent, as though very little in the world could genuinely get under his skin.

But right now, there was something different in his expression.

Anger.

Rose couldn’t understand why.

Alicia quickly shook her head.

"She’s my sister. I’m just worried about her. She has so much ahead of her. It would be awful if her future were destroyed by rumors."

Rose let out a quiet, almost humorless laugh.

"Thanks for the concern."

Ryan didn’t bother responding.

"Let’s go."

Rose didn’t say anything else to Alicia.

She followed Ryan.

Deep down, she already had a fairly good idea of what was happening.

She simply didn’t have enough evidence yet.

And until she did, she had no intention of revealing what she suspected.

Alicia watched them leave.

She opened her mouth, then slowly closed it.

She couldn’t figure out what Ryan planned to do by going to the university administration.

She certainly hadn’t expected him to step forward.

After all, as far as everyone knew, Ryan was the husband who had been betrayed.

If anything, he should have wanted nothing to do with Rose.

Alicia had always believed that a man like Ryan would care deeply about his pride.

Once his marriage had become a public humiliation, whatever feelings he might once have had for Rose should have disappeared.

But now...

Alicia’s hands curled slowly into fists.

What did Ryan actually feel for Rose?

Did he know something she didn’t?

And what exactly was he planning to say to the university?

For the first time, Alicia couldn’t think of an answer.

*****

Rose didn’t walk beside Ryan.

She stayed several steps behind him, watching his tall, lean figure as a dozen thoughts raced through her mind.

After a while, Ryan stopped.

He turned around.

"Why are you hanging so far back?"

Rose looked at him.

"Are you really going to help me?"

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Or do you think I’d kick you while you’re down?"

Rose frowned.

He never gave her an easy argument.

"Did you find out who was behind this when you talked to the administration?"

Ryan’s expression remained unreadable.

"Your campus administration doesn’t even know who did it. What makes you think I have some magical ability to solve everything?"

Rose fell silent.

She had no answer for that.

Ryan hadn’t expected one.

A short while later, they reached the administration building.

Rose looked toward the closed conference-room doors.

"The president and the others are still in a meeting."

Ryan nodded.

"Fine."

He walked over to the seating area and sat down.

Rose remained standing for a moment before finally sitting across from him.

Her mind was still racing.

She had suspicions.

A lot of them.

But none of that mattered if she couldn’t protect Ariel.

People were already trying to get their hands on her daughter’s photos and personal information. Some of those people were vicious enough to do almost anything for attention.

As Ariel’s mother, Rose couldn’t simply sit back and wait.

Ryan suddenly spoke.

"Do you think the wedding is still happening?"

Rose looked at him.

"Is that really what you’re worried about?"

"Why wouldn’t it be?"

His dark eyes held hers.

"Think about it, Rose."

His voice was calm, almost brutally so.

"Do you really think everyone is as softhearted as you are? You keep believing people will do the right thing because they should. You keep holding on to your sense of conscience as if everyone else has one, too."

He paused.

"How long do you think human nature can hold up when there’s something to gain?"

Rose wanted to argue.

She wanted to tell him he was too cynical, too cold, too willing to believe the worst in people.

But for once, she couldn’t find the words.

Her phone rang.

Rose glanced down.

Julia.

Something clicked in her mind.

She answered.

"Hello?"

Julia’s voice came through with a tired sigh.

"Rose, I just had a huge argument with Trevor."

Rose said nothing.

"I know what’s happening now. The whole Robinson family does. And, honestly, the situation has gotten much worse than we expected."

Julia hesitated before continuing.

"Trevor is determined to go through with the wedding. He says he won’t abandon you just because of these rumors."

Rose’s fingers tightened around her phone.

"But if the wedding goes ahead right now, it could seriously damage the Robinson family’s reputation."

Julia sounded reluctant, almost embarrassed by what she was about to ask.

"So... I wanted to ask you something."

Rose waited.

"Would you be willing to postpone the wedding?"

Rose’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Postpone?"

"Not cancel it."

Julia immediately clarified.

"Just postpone it until things settle down. Three months at most. Once the rumors die down, we can deal with everything properly."

Rose didn’t answer.

Instead, she instinctively looked across the room.

Ryan was already watching her.

They were close enough that he had clearly heard at least part of the conversation.

His expression was completely unreadable.

Then the corner of his mouth lifted.

Not quite a smile.

Something colder.

Something closer to a mocking smirk.

His dark eyes remained fixed on Rose.

As if Julia’s request had just confirmed something he’d already expected.