«I don’t even know how to thank you for your help,» Emily admitted, trying to hide her excitement.
«Come on, no need to thank,» Ryan replied. «When I saw you at the conference… Well, you didn’t seem like an ordinary person. You seemed to me, how to put it, like magical.»
He paused for a moment before continuing:
«I looked at you in profile, and you were like from another world. I immediately wanted to become part of that world, part of your life.»
These words touched Emily to the depths of her soul. No one had ever given her such sincere compliments. To hide her tears, she pretended to be engrossed in cooking.
But Ryan obviously wasn’t going to stop at compliments:
«And why did your husband do that? I thought everything was normal with you. What made him snap like that?»
Emily, carefully choosing words, told Ryan how she once acquired the company belonging to Kyle’s father, and how everything went downhill from there.
She bought the company not because it was her goal, but because otherwise it faced complete bankruptcy.
«That’s how they thanked you for saving them from financial collapse,» Ryan finished for her with a slight smirk. «Well thought out, nothing to say.»
Emily just shrugged slightly and ran her hand over her forehead—a headache was starting. All these events were too overwhelming for one day. She wasn’t ready for such revelations.
«You know,» Ryan began cautiously, as if choosing words, «after I split with my ex and have been living alone for almost four years, I didn’t want anyone near me. But with you, it’s completely different. I feel I want to stay close and help. I told work I’m taking vacation. I have plenty of days accumulated, so I can stay as long as needed. I think it’ll be hard for you to cope without support. Especially if those two,» he paused, choosing words, «keep harming from inside.»
Emily didn’t look for excuses or formulate an answer. She simply approached closer and gently placed her slender palm on his strong hand. It was a sign of agreement, a sign of trust. Ryan understood everything without words.
As it turned out, he had many ideas. He asked Emily about all the details of what was happening in the company. It turned out that Kyle’s father, using various tricks, had long tried to take a leadership position and establish full control over the corporation. After all the discussions, Ryan made an unexpected conclusion.
«Seven troubles—one answer. I think I know how to deal with this,» he said confidently, but immediately warned, «Only you and little Ava should stay here. Don’t leave the apartment, and don’t open to anyone except me. Everything will definitely be fine.»
«But where are you going?» Emily asked anxiously. «You understand they won’t just listen to you. Robert and Kyle are clearly set on seeing it through.»
Ryan straightened his shoulders a bit and replied with a smirk:
«I wasn’t always a clerk in a real estate agency. Once I stepped into the ring…»
«Are you going to beat them?» Emily felt her cheeks flush. «They’ll just call the police and lock you up for a couple of days at least.»
«No, no, of course,» Ryan laughed. «Although, I admit, after what your Kyle did, there’d be a desire.»
«No, I’ll just talk to them frankly. I think my experience will make it clear there won’t be any disagreements.»
That night, Emily settled her unexpected guest in the living room, trying to provide him maximum comfort. It was strange for her to realize that a person who was completely stranger recently was sleeping nearby. But Ryan behaved so restrained and simply that she felt no discomfort. «My knight,» the thought flashed in Emily’s mind. «I never thought I’d live to the moment when a real protector appears by my side.»
«It’s a pity only that it happened under such difficult circumstances,» she added to herself sadly. It would be wonderful if they had met earlier, under different conditions. But life decided otherwise.
Neither Kyle nor his father expected Emily to suddenly gain a protector. Robert was sure he had calculated everything flawlessly. He knew well how attached Emily was to her daughter and how important it was for her to maintain the illusion of a strong, happy family. It was this sense of stability he tried to destroy by involving Kyle in the affair. In his plans, it was to force Emily to offer them part of the company herself, just to keep the right to raise her daughter…
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