Even though Kendrick said that with a smile, his tone sounded as if no one was to add another word to what he said.
He made sure to look right at those women who had targeted Niamh just now and made them flush red with embarrassment.
Ryan was put in a difficult position where he found it hard to recover his position. He had always been a modest gentleman in the eyes of the public, so he could not openly offend Kendrick in front of everyone and say that Niamh was his rightful wife when it came to their marriage certificate.
It was impossible for him to destroy his image that he had established for many years on such an occasion.
He smiled faintly and tried to maintain his demeanor. The only thing he could do was agree. “Sir Calver, you think too highly of me. I’m part of the investigation team. If the higher-ups give me a task, I’ll have to do my best to do it no matter what it takes.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Sir Calver nodded in relief. “Then, enjoy the banquet tonight and relax.”
“We will.” Ryan smiled and gave a blessing as if he was pious. “May you continue to live a long and healthy life.”
Sir Calver was full of joy and turned around to greet the other guests.
The women from earlier just turned around angrily for fear of humiliating themselves again.
Soon, only Niamh, Kendrick, and Ryan with the forced smile upon his face were left in the small area.
“Kendrick, don’t think that this is you having the last say,” Ryan said with implication as his gaze stayed on Niamh’s face for two seconds. Then, he walked away.
When passing by Niamh, Ryan lowered his head slightly and said in a low tone so that only Niamh could hear him. He whispered, “You’ll regret this.”
His words passed through Niamh’s ears, making her heart sink a little.
Niamh knew what Ryan meant by saying those words. She clenched her fingers and started to worry about Kendrick’s health.
She was afraid that getting the fourth bottle of reagent would not be that simple anymore.
“Now that he’s gone, are you still thinking about him?” The man’s jealous voice sounded from above.
Niamh snapped out of it and knew that Kendrick was angry at her to say that.
Deep down, he knew who was the one who had her heart.
When he saw that Niamh did not give him a reply, Kendrick’s eyebrows furrowed a little. He looked at her small face that had not recovered and asked, “Bad girl. If you’re still hurt, why did you come?”
Even though his tone sounded like he was complaining and nagging, the truth was that he was speaking out of care and heartache.
Even though Niamh wanted to tell him everything, she could not. All she could do was listen in silence.
That made Kendrick even more suspicious, but because he did not want to force Niamh, his tone turned gentle.
“Nia, I’m not angry with you. I definitely don’t think that you’re deliberately deceiving me, but I just want to know why you’re doing this? Why did you come with Ryan to such an event?”
When Niamh was faced with Kendrick’s doubts, she could only clench her fists. She felt her nails digging into her palms before she slowly said, “Kendrick, there are some things I can’t tell you yet, but please believe me. I won’t ever do anything to hurt you.”
“If I don’t believe you, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.” Kendrick took Niamh’s hand and lowered his head closer to her. “Nia, I’m your husband. You can trust me and rely on me anytime.”
When she heard his soft voice of patience and comfort, Niamh felt a pain in her heart. She looked at his deep expecting eyes but could not say anything.
“Kendrick, I—”
“Mr. and Mrs. Waldburg.” A man walked over to say hello.
Niamh took Kendrick’s arm and smiled politely at the guest.
After he left, another came, and then a third one. They were all here to talk to Kendrick.
Niamh could feel Kendrick’s coldness toward her. It felt like he would rather have small talk with acquaintances than continue on with their conversation.
She knew that he was angry.
He was angry because she did not want to tell him the truth, that she did not pour everything out to him, and that she did not think of him as someone she could lean completely on.
Niamh looked at Kendrick, walked to the long table, and downed a glass of champagne.
…
After Ryan left the banquet hall, he walked down the emergency stairwell. As he neared the landing between the third and fourth floor, he heard loud sobbing.
When he got closer, he saw a curled-up Lana next to the trash can.
Lana opened her eyes wide in horror. “Ryan?”
“It’s me.” Ryan walked up to Lana with a blank expression. When he saw Lana gritting her teeth as she struggled to think of something, Ryan stretched out his foot and stepped on Lana’s fingers without any hesitation.
“Ouch!” Lana screamed in pain. “What are you doing, Ryan?! Take your foot off!”
Lana stared at Ryan angrily, her face looking hideous. “Ryan, don’t think you can bully me now that the Stygian Johnson Gang isn’t behind me. Let me tell you, even though my brother is dead, there’s still someone behind him! Hmph!”
She sneered, “What’s so great about Interpol anyway?! In the end, you guys still had to let me go and still haven’t caught the person behind my brother! Hahaha—uh!”
Lana’s laughter stopped abruptly when Ryan grabbed Lana’s jaw with his two fingers.
With a pull, Lana’s face showed that she was experiencing sharp pain.
“Let go of me, Ryan!”
“Do you know why you’re alive and back in Glendale?” Ryan’s eyes narrowed while his tone sounded extremely cold.
Lana stopped suddenly and looked at the face before her that had lost its gentleness with confusion.
“Don’t try and trouble Eveline. If my plans are disrupted because of you, I’ll make you suffer a thousand times worse than what you’re feeling right now!” Ryan warned fiercely before strongly pushing Lana away.
Lana ended up knocking the back of her head against the wall, the pain making her teeth chatter.
Ryan took out a handkerchief and wiped the fingers he had used to touch Lana in disgust. After wiping his hands, he threw the handkerchief to the ground and walked downstairs, his mood ruined.
Lana looked at Ryan as he walked away, feeling thoroughly confused.
Ryan was completely different from the Ryan she knew before.
‘Is it because his identity as a member of Interpol has been exposed that he has no qualms revealing what he’s truly like?’
Lana could not understand. In a disheveled state, she stretched her trembling hand into her bag and took out a small syringe before injecting it into her vein…
In the banquet hall, Niamh had drunk several glasses of champagne without knowing it herself. When someone went over to say hello to her, she would drink two more glasses of red wine.
Perhaps it was because Niamh was drinking different types of alcohol, so she started to get a little drunk.
Even though Kendrick was talking to other people, he had never let his sight leave Niamh—not even for a moment.
When he saw her drinking glass after glass of alcohol, he felt a burning discomfort in his heart.
Niamh also started to feel sick in the stomach and wanted to lean on someone. However, when she quietly glanced at Kendrick, she felt that the man did not want to care about her at this moment.
He was still angry with her.
Niamh felt lost and wronged, but she could not talk to anyone about it.
She took out her phone and called Ava. “Ava, are you free now? Can you come to the hotel to pick me up?”
Ava could tell that Niamh was drunk from the way she spoke. Without saying another word, she hurried over to the hotel address that Niamh gave her.
Kendrick continued waiting. He was waiting for Niamh to tell him the reason, but before he got an explanation, Ava arrived.
He saw Niamh and Ava walking to each other before linking their arms and walking out of the banquet hall. Niamh looked drunk as she leaned on Ava’s shoulder.
“What’s the matter, Niamh? Why did you drink so much? Did you quarrel with Kendrick?” Ava asked worriedly. She saw that Kendrick was standing not too far away but was ignoring them.
“When will Kendrick stop making you sad?”
Niamh shook her head drunkenly. “He didn’t do anything. It’s all my fault.
“Ava, can I sleep at your place tonight?”
“What happened? Is the quarrel so bad that you can’t go back home?” Ava asked angrily.
Niamh did not answer and continued leaning on Ava even after getting into the car.
The evening breeze came through the car window, but it could not blow away the soreness in Niamh’s heart.
‘Kendrick, how should I explain it to you?
‘If you find out about everything, you’ll start refusing Adam and Ryan’s anti-toxoid test reagent even though it’s the cure to your illness.’
They drove all the way to Ava’s apartment. After getting out of the car, Niamh threw up in the trash can by the roadside.
Ava felt sorry for Niamh and helped her upstairs.
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.