Chapter 828

He gave a wry, almost bitter chuckle. "If I’d seen you with someone else these two years—even for a moment—I wouldn’t be sitting here now."

For a second, I was stunned. So that’s how it was.

"If I hadn’t gone over to the guest house to see you last time, I doubt you would’ve come looking for me," I said quietly, my mood a little sour.

"Honestly, I was in a rough spot that day. But I swear, I was planning to come find you," Ryan replied, a hint of regret in his voice.

"So you really have been watching over me these past two years, haven’t you?" I finally realized why his people showed up on the spot when that sleazy old man tried to mess with me.

"Vic, I put people around you to protect you, and yeah… to see if you’d started seeing someone new. If that made you uncomfortable, I’m really sorry," Ryan apologized, his voice thick with guilt.

"You did save me once, and that wasn’t nothing. Honestly, how could I stay mad at you when you’re being this honest?" I replied, unable to hold onto my annoyance in the face of his sincerity.

Ryan gave a low chuckle. "Still as empathetic and reasonable as ever, aren’t you?"

"Don’t be so sure," I replied, my face going all serious. "Depends what we’re talking about."

Ryan blinked, genuinely thrown off. "Oh yeah? So what actually gets under your skin?"

I found myself really checking him out—his face had gotten way more defined lately, that sharp jaw and the kind of Adam’s apple that just screams grown man. Honestly, all that just made him look even hotter.

Ryan immediately slapped a hand over the scar on his forehead, getting all self-conscious under my stare. "Vic, what’s with that look? Can you please not?"

I grabbed his hand, stopping him from hiding the scar. "This wasn’t from some random accident, was it?"

Ryan paused, clearly not wanting to lie, then nodded. "Yeah, my clueless teammate shoved me off a cliff during a brawl—I ended up smashing right into a rock."

My chest tightened. "Ryan, why don’t you go for a desk job or something?"

Ryan gave a low laugh, dropping his voice. "You know what they say—truth only comes at the barrel of a gun."

I felt a jolt go through me, staring at him in stunned silence.

Ryan clearly didn’t want to go into details. He reached over, his voice soft and reassuring. "It’s just… life didn’t exactly give me much of a choice. Please, don’t worry about me."

"But… I can’t begin to imagine what you went through these past two years," I replied, my throat tight and my eyes prickling with tears.

"Everyone’s gotta do what they’ve gotta do," Ryan said, reaching out and gently stroking my hair. "I’m just walking the same path my grandpa did. Plus, his ties in the military help me go even further."

I nodded. "Alright, I understand."

When the food arrived, we dropped the heavy stuff and started chatting about everyday things.

"After we eat, come home with me," Ryan suddenly said. "Back to the Jennings place—is that okay with you?"

I remembered the last time I’d been at their old house—I was Edward‘s girlfriend then. Just thinking about it made me feel a little awkward, and I couldn’t bring myself to look Ryan in the eye.

I’d totally killed the mood then, and both Ryan and Edward ended up getting in trouble because of me.

For some reason, guilt bubbled up inside, but with Ryan inviting me, I figured there was no point getting all melodramatic.

"Alright!" I agreed.

Ryan was clearly thrilled, his happiness written all over his face.

After dinner, I got into Ryan’s car and we drove off. The August breeze was heavy with summer heat.

Light music drifted through the air conditioning, and as we cruised along, the scenery flashing by outside stirred a sense of déjà vu in me.

We passed through a series of checkpoints, and eventually, the car came to a stop.

As soon as Ryan opened the door and stepped out, Snowy came racing toward him.