Ryan’s brows knitted tight, and for the first time ever, that young, handsome face of his was weighed down by a seriousness I’d never seen before.

For a split second, it was like I was staring at someone else–someone older, someone in charge. My heart skipped a beat.

Cold sweat trickled down my back as reason finally kicked in.

If I wanted to break free from Edward, the first thing I had to do was put some real distance between me and Ryan.

But Ryan had already helped me so much. There was no way I could just sever things cleanly between us anymore.

The only thing I could do now was bring someone else into the picture, hoping it’d finally make him realize it was hopeless and back off.

I couldn’t help but wonder if the red string of fate had already tangled us up so tightly somewhere along the way, tying us into an unbreakable knot–maybe Ryan and I would never be able to break free from each other.

Seeing how determined I was, Ryan’s face grew even more stormy.

Finally, he turned and stepped out onto the balcony, gripping the railing tight. He let out a soft laugh. “Word is, a bunch of investors are eyeing Nathan’s tech team. As long as the Chancellor Family doesn’t block him, getting fresh funding won’t be a problem. Right now, the biggest mountain in his way is the Chancellor Family.”

Cold sweat trickled down my back as I stared at his tall silhouette, totally stunned. “Ryan, how do you know all this?”

Ryan didn’t look back, just spoke in a quiet, almost emotionless tone. “If I move that mountain for him, would you walk away from him?”

I stared at him, totally stunned. “What? Are you serious?”

Ryan finally turned to face me. “You’re worried about him, right? Afraid his whole career’s about to tank? If you throw your money in and the Chancellor Family keeps messing things up, you’ll just be burning cash for nothing. Victoria, how much are you actually thinking of putting in?”

My mind was a mess, but since he asked, I just blurted it out. “300 million.”

Ryan let out a sudden laugh. “300 million for a piece of his company? You’ll basically be his partner now. I heard he’s only short about 600 million anyway.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin. If things went down like they did in my previous life, that 300 million could multiply dozens of times and end up right back in my pocket.

It was like I’d been zapped–my head was spinning with all those zeros, way more than I could ever count.

Ryan was obviously used to big money–cash was just numbers to him.

Seeing me standing there, totally spaced out, he smiled and asked, “If you were financially free, what would you do?”

I thought for a second, then answered, “I’d probably donate some of it to do good things, maybe earn myself some good karma.”

“Oh?” Ryan looked at me, clearly entertained. Then he snorted, teasing, “Still way too soft-hearted.”

I blinked and said, “I believe in previous lives and reincarnation. Maybe there’s a whole cycle. I just want to rack up some karma points so I can get lucky next time–be born with everything, like you.”

Ryan couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Then let’s just hope we don’t get reincarnated as brother and sister, alright?”

I grinned. “So, is that what happens to lovers in the end? We just end up as siblings?”

Seeing me joke around, Ryan flicked my forehead in exasperation. “I can take care of the Chancellor Family problem for him, but when it comes to the money, he’s on his own. And… you have to break up with him.”

“Ryan, have you ever thought about it? Maybe we really can’t be together,” I said, locking eyes with him, dead serious. “Last time you said I’d have to give your grandpa a grandson just to win him over. Your family’s bar is set so high, I’m afraid I’ll crash and burn before I even get close.”

“You really have no faith in me?” Ryan sounded a little hurt.

“It’s not that I don’t have faith in you, it’s just…” I hesitated, still too scared to even mention Edward’s name.

He was like this massive mountain hanging over my head. Ryan might be able to get the Chancellor Family out of the way, but could he really get Edward out of the picture?

“Relax. Except for my grandpa, no one else can stand in our way,” Ryan said quietly.