“You asked me to walk with you and we did so for a long while. Now, you’ve brought me here. What on earth do you want to do?” Niamh was confused.
Ryan just glanced at the ice cream in her hand. “You don’t need to know what I want to do. You just need to do what I want, and if it satisfies me, I’ll fulfill all your requirements.”
“All of my requirements? You won’t force me to stay with you again?”
Ryan stopped in his tracks after he heard the words. He could sense how much Niamh hated him and how much she wanted to get out of his imprisonment.
He lowered his eyes to meet her awkward yet beautiful gaze before nodding. “Yes, I also won’t force you to do anything anymore.”
His answer made Niamh’s eyes spark with the light of hope. She could not wait and urged him, saying, “Then tell me, what on earth do you want me to do?”
Under the brilliant sunshine, Ryan looked at Niamh’s pure and beautiful face. It was so rare to see a smile on her face.
How long had it passed since he saw such a smile on her face?
Ryan smiled without a trace. “Eveline, can you listen to my story first?”
“Story? What story?” Niamh was puzzled, but she obviously did not look as nervous and restless as before because she was happy that she would soon be released.
Ryan took a deep breath and smiled, but the wound on his shoulder seemed to be hurting. He raised his eyebrows in pain and coughed twice, his face looking extremely pale under the dim yellow light of the streetlamps.
After a while, Ryan slowly parted his lips.
Although he did not know whether Niamh could understand him now, he still told the story he had kept deep in his heart.
“From the time I was born, my parents put me in the care of my grandfather because they were busy with work. From me being a toddler to going to school and to when I grew up, my grandfather played an important role in all the most important stages of my life. For me, he was even more important than my parents.”
After listening to this, Niamh blinked her eyes and glanced at Ryan profoundly.
She saw an endless look of loneliness and regret on Ryan’s face, and then she observed Ryan’s expression sinking.
“He’s the person I respect and love the most. Then, he left this world and me forever because of a conspiracy 15 years ago.”
He looked darkly at Niamh who was eating the ice cream.
“The person who killed my grandfather is Kendrick’s grandfather.”
Niamh raised her eyebrows, the ice cream in her mouth seemingly tasting bland and tasteless.
Even if her current mental state was not normal, she still understood what was being said.
At that moment, the kind and gentle face of Old Master Waldburg appeared in her mind reflexively.
“You’re talking nonsense. Grandpa is not that kind of person.” Niamh defended Old Master Waldburg without hesitation.
“I have evidence,” Ryan retorted coldly.
Niamh seemed to be taken aback. She fell silent and then she heard Ryan say, “My grandfather and Kendrick’s grandfather were very good friends back then. My grandfather trusted that old fart way too much and that’s why he had to suffer a miserable death in the end.”
Ryan still wanted to say something, but he felt that Niamh might not understand him.
He sighed and chuckled as if he was talking to himself. “I think you’ve already experienced the feeling of being betrayed by a good friend of yours, right?”
He seemed to be asking Niamh. “You trusted me so much at the beginning, but I only approached you to avenge my grandfather. I hate all of the Waldburgs.”
He paused, his dark eyes staring straight into Niamh’s. Then, his eyes softened again.
“But after I realized that I’ve unconsciously fallen in love with you, I hated Kendrick even more.”
There was a touch of unwillingness in Ryan’s eyes. Then, he suddenly raised his hands to hold Niamh’s shoulders while looking a little emotional.
“Eveline, are you really a fool? That man hurt you so much back then. He got someone to disfigure you, took your corneas, and even forced you to the point of dying on the operating table. How could you still choose to forgive him?”
His tone was suddenly fierce as his brows knitted together tightly.
“Do you really love him so much? Even after he let you down like that?”
After listening to Ryan’s words, the scenes he was talking about vaguely appeared in Niamh’s mind.
She also knew that the man Ryan was referring to was Kendrick.
She looked straight at Ryan with no hesitation in her eyes. “I love him. I love Kendrick Waldburg.”
“Heh.” Ryan let go of his clenched hands in disappointment. Then, he mocked sarcastically, saying, “Eveline, it seems that you are really very sick.”
“I know that I’m sick. Kendrick told me the same.”
“…”
Niamh’s frank answer made Ryan speechless for a while.
He glanced at the ice cream that was starting to melt in Niamh’s hand before taking her other hand and walking forward.
Niamh wanted to let go of Ryan’s hand, but at the same time, she was afraid to infuriate this man. If that happened, she would be the one getting hurt.
She really had enough of his cruel ways during this period.
The sky quietly turned dark and the rows of street lights lit up.
Ryan glanced at the time. It was less than ten minutes before seven o’clock.
He took Niamh to the best place to watch the fireworks and it was almost full of couples.
“I heard that couples who watch the fireworks show here will have a good ending. Eveline Montgomery, at this moment, you’re my girlfriend.”
Ryan forced this request on her as this was the final thing he would ask of Niamh.
He knew that he would never get her, so he could only ask to spend a little time with her as boyfriend and girlfriend. He would be happy even if it was one hour, one minute, or even a few seconds as long as it could prove that Niamh once belonged to him.
Despite seeing the reluctance on Niamh’s graceful and beautiful face, Ryan still chose to be honest at this moment. “Eveline, I like you. It’s true.”
He emphasized. When he saw Niamh staring at him with a dumbfounded expression, a look of guilt appeared in his eyes.
“I never thought it would force you to be like this. I just wanted you to stay by my side obediently.” Ryan was full of guilt. The gentleness and friendliness that he had in the past appeared on his elegant face once more. “I’m sorry, Eveline.”
Niamh never thought that Ryan would apologize to her.
She stared at the sincere man in a daze, not noticing that the ice cream in her hand was melting.
Kendrick came to the amusement park after being led here by the clue. After some searching, he finally spotted Niamh’s outstanding and beautiful face among the crowd on the fireworks viewing platform.
“Nia!”
Kendrick displayed a look of surprise, and his nervous heartbeat eased slightly.
He started to walk in Niamh’s direction, but in the next second, he saw Ryan standing beside Niamh.
Anger suddenly started to swirl in Kendrick’s eyes. The police and Interpol agents who came with him also noticed Niamh.
They also recognized that the man in black clothes and a cap was Ryan.
“Yes, that’s Ryan Jones alright. We have to deploy operations immediately, but first, we must ensure the safety of the hostage.”
Kendrick furrowed his eyebrows as he also had his concerns. “There are too many tourists here. If we arrest him rashly, you might cause panic and even casualties.”
He took into consideration a series of accidents that could happen if Ryan were to be arrested now. All the while, his gaze was glued on Niamh and he never once moved his eyes away.
No one could understand the torment in his heart at this moment.
Both the police and his colleagues from Interpol thought that he made sense.
Kendrick looked at Niamh who was being controlled by Ryan and his eyes narrowed. He had already thought of a plan that was the best of both worlds.
Ryan, who was on the viewing platform with Niamh, glanced at the time again. It would be seven o’clock in about ten seconds.
The moment when the fireworks were in full bloom, he would assume that he had already owned Niamh. He would also assume that he had so tragically lost.
As a man, this was the only thing he wanted in the end.
However, there were only a few gleaming stars under the dark blue night sky ten seconds later. The fireworks that he had been expecting to see did not appear.
He thought there was a delay, but after a few minutes, the customer service apologized from the loudspeaker. “We’re sorry. Due to some issues with our equipment, the fireworks show tonight will not be held as scheduled. Please leave the fireworks-viewing platform in an orderly fashion. Thank you for your cooperation.”
After hearing the voice from the loudspeaker, Ryan’s expectations and hope seemed to be smashed in an instant.
The tourists around them left one after another after having their spirits dampened. Some of them even spat out some curses, and at this moment, Ryan’s mood was also the same as theirs.
The final wish that he was holding onto was shattered into dust.
Almost all of the tourists beside him had left, but Ryan still stood motionless in the same place.
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.