NovelOnline| suddenly spotted a lean figure in a black T-shirt. From the back, he looked so much like Ryan. | was stunned for
a moment, then hurried after him. But when I finally saw his face, my heart sank-it wasn’t him.
“Ryan, where are you?” | muttered, leaning against the railing and watching the endless stream of people. For
the first time, | found myself genuinely worried about someone.
| asked the building management about Silas, and found out he was just renting the place-it wasn’t even his
property. The door had been shut tight these past few days, and I'd even gone over to knock myself.
An uneasy feeling kept gnawing at me. | kept picturing Ryan's fresh, gentle face and the way his eyes looked so
clear and sincere whenever he smiled. | was annoyed at how much | cared about him.
Yvonne video calledthat afternoon. | ignored her first call, but when she tried again, | happened to be taking
a
break in a café, so | picked up this time.
Yvonne was sprawled out on a couch, chin in her hands, her eyes fixed on the screen. She beamed and asked,
“Mom, guess where | am?”
I replied, “No idea. What's up?”
“I'm at Dad's office. He's working right now. Where are you having fun, Mom?” Yvonne said, then angled her
phone
so Jared cinto view, sitting at his desk.
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Jared looked over at us, and Yvonne turned the phone back to herself. She said, “Mom, when you cback, can
you bringa small present?”
| saw the expectant look in her eyes and replied coolly, “We'll see. If | see something, I'll get it for you.”
Yvonne replied, “Okay. Mom, are you and Dad divorced? Does that mean I'll be staying with Dad's family from
now
on? Will you still csee me?”
As she spoke, her eyes started to turn red. She buried her face in her arms for a moment. When she looked up
again, she choked out, “Mom, I'm sorry for always making you mad. You must not likeanymore.
“I won't make you mad again. Please cvisitwhen you have time, okay?”
Yvonne had learned her lesson this time. | didn’t feel soft-hearted at all. | was happy for her.
| knew that withoutspoiling her, she wouldn't grow up the wrong way. Honestly, | was at fault too. | couldn't
just bleverything on her and Jared.
Because | knew | was partly to blame, I didn’t hold any deep resentment. | just wanted to get away from them.
Suddenly, Jared took the phone from Yvonne. He was sharp-eyed-he must have seen the view behindand
figured it out right away. So he asked, “Victoria, are you in Shariport?”
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Chapter 253
Seeing Jared's face on the screen made my heart skip a beat. | quickly said, “I've got something to do. Gotta go.”
Before he could say anything else, | hung up.
That night, | planned to take in the night view at Azure Bay, grab sdinner, and then head hto rest.
As the sky grew dark, | found a nice restaurant for dinner. Afterward, with the cool night breeze on my face, |
headed to one of those Instagram-famous hotspots.
Standing in the crowd, | gazed up at the stunning nightscape. Suddenly, not far away, | spotted a group of
young, attractive men and women walking in my direction. The guy at the front looked a lot like Ryan.
13
| stiffened, thinking maybe | was just seeing things again, so | headed over to check.
Before | even got close enough, | heard one of the guys laugh and say, “Ryan, are you seriously going back to
that ljob in Hachester tomorrow?”
Hearing Ryan’s nstunned me. | followed them at a safe distance and recognized the man with that striking
aura Ryan. But he looked nothing like the Ryan | remembered.
He was dressed in a crisp white designer shirt, looking effortlessly polished-almost regal. A sea-blue diamond
stud glinted in his left ear, lending him an unmistakable air of quiet luxury.
| hurriedly pulled a sun hat from my bag and slipped it on, not wanting them to notice me.
| heard Ryan reply, “Had enough fun-tto get back to work.”
“Ryan, you love making things hard for yourself. Who's got you so hung up back there?” one of the guys teased,
curious all over his voice.
Ryan shrugged and said, “She’s someone pretty important to me.”
Right then, the girl on the edge sidled up to Ryan and said, “Ryan, if you dare get yourself a girlfriend, watch out-
your grandpa might just break your legs.”
| was so caught up in their conversation that | accidentally bumped into a middle-aged man.
The man immediately let out a loud yell, then dropped his thermos on the ground. He exclaimed, “Hey, beautiful,
my cup’s broken-what are you gonna do about it?”
The thermos hit the ground with a loud,crash, shattering into pieces. Everyone around us jumped at the noise.
| froze, stunned.
Ryan and his group, who had been walking ahead, stopped and turned to look back.
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