He looked up at the sky for a while, patted the back of his bike, and said, “Hop on, Anna. I’ll show you around my school. And then we’ll find a quiet place to talk about it in detail.”
“Huh?” Anna froze when she saw the back of the bike.
Ryan joked, “What’s the problem? You think my bike is too shabby, don’t you? If you could drive into the school, I’ll show you the way. Well, the rules at my school are so strict that even the headmaster is not permitted to drive in.”
“All right, let’s go.” Anna hesitated for a moment before sitting on the back of his bike.
The reason why Anna was hesitant was not that she didn’t want to sit on Ryan’s bike but because of what she was wearing.
She was dressed in a long beige cashmere coat and a dark green lace skirt that reached her calves.
Right after she got on the bike, Anna clutched the coat tightly, so it wouldn’t get churned inside the wheels.
Anna immediately stood on the ground when they arrived at the cafe. However, the wire from the bike hooked into her skirt and tore a large gash.
Ryan said as he felt sorry, “Ah! I’m sorry! Anna, are you okay?”
Anna chuckled and said, “That’s all right. Before I sat on it, I knew my dress was going to fall apart.”
“I’ll get you another one later, okay?”
“Oh, no, thank you. It’s a pricey skirt.”
“I can still afford it.”
Then they entered the school’s only cafe and took a seat in the corner.
“Two caramel macchiatos, please. Iced!” Ryan said.
Just as he finished, a girl behind the counter growled, “Are you sure? It’s quite cool out there. Only morons will want cold drinks now.”
Ryan rolled his eyes at the girl, “Who said that? Whether I want it hot or iced is none of your business. Don’t ever speak to me like that again, or I’ll complain to your boss!”
“I’m not scared of you! I’ll spit in your drinks, if you dare!”
“Emily, you’ll scare your guests away! Don’t you dare to do this! I’ll tell your mother that you threatened me.”
Anna gave the girl a curious look and noticed that she was about the same as Ryan. She looked lovely in a blue striped jumper and a burgundy beret. Besides, her eyes were as beautiful as sapphires.
After hearing Ryan’s words, the girl looked toward Anna as well. However, she froze and turned her head away for some unknown reason. Then, she stopped talking to Ryan.
“Well, don’t let her disturb us. She’s mean, and I don’t even want to talk to her.” Ryan said to Anna, slightly frowning.
Anna snapped back, smiled at Ryan, and said, “Actually, when Henry said those words to me, I had a feeling that something was wrong. And after Richard told me about what happened three years ago, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then I understood what he meant by that by connecting the dots to lines.”
“What exactly did he mean?” Ryan asked with curiosity.
“Wayne hadn’t even been home for Christmas the year Matthew was born, according to Henry. And he only allowed Matthew to live with him after the accident. So, what made Mary so certain that Wayne forced her to do it? Had she ever met Wayne?”
Anna assumed that Mary hardly ever watched the news, and It was even less likely that she’d been paying attention to the financial news. Furthermore, Wayne had never been interviewed because he was not in charge of the entire Carousel Group at the time.
So, Anna found Mary’s words suspicious.
Mary was sure that she had seen Wayne several times at the Wright house and on television. So, she was pretty sure that the man was Wayne.
Ryan was silent for a moment and said softly, “Journalists would only interview the CEO of the group, right? And at that time, Richard was the CEO, wasn’t he?”
With that, he looked up at Anna.
Anna didn’t say anything or nod, but Ryan could tell from her eyes that he got to the point.
Ryan took a deep breath as if he couldn’t believe he’d made the wrong decision.
“I’ll go to Leeds again and look into the matter/’ he said after a brief pause.
Anna turned to face him and said, “You don’t have to do that right away. You already know that the more hurried you are, the more likely you are to make a mistake. Don’t miss a single detail.”
Ryan was embarrassed and muttered, “Okay, I understand. This time, I’ll get to the bottom of it. Otherwise, my reputation will suffer.”
“You mean, your reputation of being ‘The number one detective* in your school?” Anna teased.
Ryan blushed as he looked at Anna.
His classmates had previously given him that nickname to tease him. He thought it was silly, so he told them never to call him that again. However, the more he protested, the more they wanted to joke with him, and eventually, even his teachers called him that.
Ryan, on the other hand, wondered how Anna knew about
Anna said with a smile, “Actually, someone called you that just now on our way here. Didn’t you hear it?” Ryan covered his face in embarrassment and appeared to want to leave the cafe.
Anna, he felt, had treated him like a child.
At that moment, someone heaved the tray onto the table and announced, “Your two caramel macchiatos are ready.”
Emily then said fiercely to Ryan, “Okay, stop that. You’re playing the shy card, aren’t you? But, you look disgusting!”
She then took her tray away and was leaving.
Ryan expressed his displeasure, saying, “Hey! I’m not doing that! Are you insane?”
Emily turned to face Anna and then she said to Ryan, “Am I insane? You’re insane, in my opinion!”
Then she said to Anna, ‘’Lady, you may not be aware that Ryan is a well-known womanizer at our school. He frequently brings ladies of all ages here for coffee and always orders two caramel macchiatos.”
Ryan became awkward and inquired, “Hey, what are you babbling about?”
Anna, however, remained calm and asked, smiling at Emily, “Really? He even tried to date old ladies? He’s really sick, isn’t he?”
Emily said with a nod, “Yes! He’s such a p****=t. So, don’t let him fool you! He just likes to mess with women.”
Ryan was so annoyed that he laughed out of anger and said, “Emily, you’re a natural storyteller! Could you use your talent for selling coffee?”
Emily said firmly, “Hey! I’m being completely honest! I witnessed it firsthand!” Anna blinked, and then she said, “Thank you so much, Emily. That is very kind of you. But I’m just his sister.”
Emily froze, and then asked, wide-eyed and surprised, “You’re his sister? “
“She’s not my biological sister, but we’re very close,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes at her.
Emily appeared to be at a loss for words as if she hadn’t anticipated this. She inquired, “Oh? Really?”
Anna said as she wanted to joke with her, “Sure! You know, my daughter is five years old. So, does Ryan actually flirt with women of different ages? He’d been seeing a lot of them, hadn’t he? Could you please keep an eye on him for me?”
Emily blushed immediately and said, “What? That’s not going to happen! Miss, I’m going to get you some pizza.**
“I didn’t order any pizza!” exclaimed Ryan.
“This is from me to the lady. “Emily said as she entered the kitchen.
Ryan thought she was acting strangely. When he looked up, he noticed Anna scowling meaningfully at him.
“She’s a complete psycho! Anna, why are you staring at me like that? Is there something wrong with my face?”
“No. But I believe that the girl has a crush on you.”
Ryan looked at Anna, perplexed, not understanding what she was saying.
After a brief silence, Anna made a curious face and asked, “Can’t you see that she likes you?” Ryan immediately glared and said, “Stop teasing me, please…”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
Leave a Reply