Chapter 474

I had no clue what Ryan had been through since he got back to Braylin. He suddenly landed a job, so it must’ve been the Jennings family pulling strings.

He was about to start living the life the Jennings family had mapped out for him.

“I..” Vic hesitated, unsure what to say.

“Vic, I might not be able to come back to Shaville,” Ryan said, his voice soft.

‘When he said “might not,” what he really meant was he couldn’t come back at all,’ Vic thought.

‘After everything the Jennings family has done for me, I really have to think about things from Ryan’s perspective now,’ Vic reflected.

‘He helped Nathan get through that crisis, so I should keep my word and actually try to be with him,’ Vic admitted to herself.

“Okay, I’ll take care of things on my end and get back to you,” I said after a moment of thought, making my decision.

Ryan sounded really happy, his voice lighting up. “Alright, I’ll wait for you.”

“Yeah, I’ll try to hurry, but I might need a little time,” I replied gently.

“No worries, just take care of your stuff. I’m working hard over here too,” Ryan chuckled.

I hung up and turned around–Jared was suddenly right behind me.

No idea if he’d overheard my call, but his face was dark as a thundercloud. “Congrats. Looks like you own more of the company than I do now.”

I grinned. “Aw, Mr. Ex, you don’t look too happy about that.”

Jared narrowed his eyes. “I used to think you had no ambition. Turns out, you’ve got plenty.”

“That’s just because you’re not strong enough. When you can’t handle a woman, you call her ambitious. Face it, Mr. Ex–if you’re not good enough, just level up.”

With that, I started to walk away, but after a few steps, I felt like I still had something to say. So I stopped and turned back.

Jared’s face went even stiffer after my pointed remarks.

“Mr. Holcomb, I’d like to hand in my resignation,” I said, meeting his eyes. “Hope you’ll sign off on it.”

Jared’s already grim face went even paler, panic flashing across his features.

“Is this because of what I said last night?” Jared asked, clearly hurting. “I’m sorry, I was out of line.”

I paused for a moment, then shook my head. “No, it’s not that. I’ve just got other things lined up. What you did last night was out of line, but at least you didn’t go too far.”

“What things? Where are you going?” Jared pressed, his voice tense and his face looking kind of rattled.

“I’m going to Braylin,” I said, meeting his eyes.

Jared visibly flinched, just staring at me.

I took a deep breath, refusing to look at that wounded expression of his, and blurted out an excuse. “Actually, my brother’s in Braylin too. He’s got about a year left before he graduates, and he’s thinking about staying there.”

Jared gave a cold, sarcastic laugh. “Is it really about your brother, or is it because of Ryan? You know the real reason.”

I went silent.

Jared sneered, “So in the end, you’re still heading to Braylin.”

“You already knew?” I looked at him in surprise.

Jared looked like someone who’d just lost a fight, his face full of defeat, “Ever since you got together with Ryan, I knew you’d end up there.”

“Once I get settled, I can bring Yvonne over for holidays,” I said, not wanting to explain any further.

“Don’t quit. I’m planning to buy a property in Braylin and open a hotel too. You can take full charge, alright?” Jared suddenly stepped closer, his voice low. “This time, everything–from picking the location to running the place–is yours. I’ll just put up the money, and you’d still get half the profits?"

I was completely taken aback. ‘Is Jared out of his mind?’ I thought.

“If that’s still not enough, fine. You can have all the profits. If there’s a loss, I’ll eat it,” Jared said, biting his lip, giving in even more.

“Jared, don’t… don’t do this,” I said, feeling uneasy about taking so much from him.

“What is it? Does taking my money make you uncomfortable?” Jared asked, his tone not mocking, just quietly resigned.