The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 430

“Where else are you supposed to have a baby, if not here?”

The couple’s faces had grown stormy and pale.

A heavy silence settled over the room. At last, the old man lifted his head and looked at Dylan, his eyes swirling with a mix of pain, helplessness, disappointment—and, beneath it all, a stubborn determination.

“Dylan,” he said, his voice low but steady, “I still believe there’s hope for your condition. I know you want me to face reality, but you can’t simply give up. We can find better doctors, seek out more options. There’s always a chance.”

Mrs. Austin jumped in, her voice urgent. “That’s right. The Austin family’s fortune can’t be allowed to slip away. No matter what it takes, no matter how much it costs, I will see you well again!”

Dylan just stared at them, speechless. He’d made himself perfectly clear—why couldn’t they accept it? Why did they insist on believing there was still hope?

“Mom, Grandpa, please stop wasting your energy. I won’t throw away any more time on this, and I want you both to be prepared. If there’s no better solution, then I’ll make my own choices in the end.”

This time, Dylan’s tone brooked no argument. He was done letting everyone obsess over his ability to carry on the family name. He had no interest in wasting his life and energy on this endless conversation.

He turned and walked out, not looking back.

“Dylan, don’t give up! I’ll find a way, I promise!” Mrs. Austin called after him, her voice catching as she rose to follow.

But the old man reached out to stop her. “Leave him be. It’s his health—he’s ashamed, that’s all. No wonder he refuses doctors. Give him a little dignity, for God’s sake.”

Mrs. Austin wrung her hands, growing desperate. “Dad, then what are we supposed to do?”

Something seemed to dawn on her, and her voice grew shrill. “I know what this is. Dylan’s just lying to us—he doesn’t want kids, so he’s making up stories. He’s perfectly healthy! I’m calling a doctor. I refuse to believe there’s anything wrong with him.”

Besides, she’d heard that Dylan and Rebecca had been sleeping under the same roof not long ago.

The old man considered this and nodded slowly. “You might be right. Maybe the boy is just spinning tales. We can’t take him at his word. And he mentioned there’s someone else on his mind.”

At that, Mrs. Austin’s suspicions only deepened. “Garcia told me Dylan’s got some pretty secretary—Raina, I think her name is. The two of them are always together. Dylan even reprimanded Garcia for disrespecting her. I bet she’s the one he’s interested in.”

Looking at it that way, there were women everywhere around Dylan—Rebecca, Raina… He hardly seemed like a man with any real problem.

But in Mrs. Austin’s mind, there was no way she’d allow any of those unsuitable women near her son.