"We also need to settle the company business. I want to buy your shares–would you be willing to sell? I want to run the company independently from now on." Victoria forced herself to stay calm. What tied her and Edward together wasn’t just love, but business interests too.

Edward was clearly holding back his emotions, his voice still hoarse. "I’ll have my lawyer contact you. We’ll make sure it ends well for both of us."

"Thank you," Victoria said quietly. At that point, she suddenly realized there was nothing more she could say to Edward. "Get some rest. I’m hanging up," she said, then hung up.

Victoria slowly got to her feet, gripping her phone tightly. When she turned around, she caught sight of Ryan standing beneath the streetlight. He was just staring straight at her, not looking away for a second. She quickly turned her back to him, wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, and brushed past him into the living room.

Ryan followed her in, saying nothing.

"What did Uncle Ryan say? Did he yell at you?" Ryan asked, standing beside her.

"No," Victoria said, sniffling as she grabbed a tissue. "I’m full. You handle the dishes." With that, she headed upstairs without looking back. Standing on the stairs, she could hear the clatter of dishes from downstairs–Ryan actually listened for once and started cleaning up. Just as she was about to step into her room, a loud crash rang out from downstairs.

Victoria spun around and rushed down, spotting a shattered white bowl on the kitchen floor–and a few drops of blood spattered beside it. "What happened?" she called out, hurrying over.

Ryan quickly hid his right hand behind his back, but more drops of blood appeared on the floor behind him. "Are you hurt?" Victoria reached out, grabbed his hand, and pulled it out from behind him. She saw a fresh cut on his fair index finger.

"Go upstairs and take care of it. I’ll handle the mess down here," Victoria said.

"Sorry… I’m just useless," Ryan mumbled, sounding guilty.

"It’s really no big deal. The dishes were greasy–anyone could’ve dropped them," Victoria reassured him. Just as Victoria finished speaking and turned to tidy up the table, Ryan suddenly pulled her into a hug from behind. He curled his injured finger into a fist, making sure no blood got on her clothes. His voice was rough as he murmured, "Vic, why don’t you ever yell at me? Why don’t you blame me? Every time I screw up, you just forgive me so easily. Do you know how much that drives me crazy?"

Victoria was caught off guard. She quickly pried his hand open and spun around to scold him. "What, you want me to go off on you? Fine, next time I’ll really chew you out–let’s see if you still think it’s tempting then."

"You? Yell at someone? Please, we both know that’s not you," Ryan said with a teasing grin.

She just shot back, "Idiot."

Ryan froze for a second, then grinned and nodded. "Go on, call me names. I love it when you do that."

Not in the mood to deal with him anymore, Victoria quickly cleaned up the dishes and wiped the blood off the counter. When she glanced over at the couch, she saw Ryan had already disinfected his finger and was wrapping it up himself.

"I can’t tie this right. Can you help me?" Ryan looked up at her with those big, puppy–dog eyes.

Victoria knew he was just playing dumb and acting cute, and honestly, she really didn’t feel like humoring him.

"Please, Vic," Ryan said, his voice sounding genuine and helpless.

She walked over and tied a knot in the white gauze on his finger–maybe a bit too tight.

"Ouch…" Ryan winced, his brow furrowing.

Without thinking, Victoria eased up her grip, then shot him an annoyed look. "You’re a grown man and still can’t look after yourself? Honestly, I can’t with you."

Ryan got up and followed her upstairs, pausing at her bedroom door. He looked at her and said softly, "Don’t let your mind run wild. Try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Ryan…" Victoria called after him, stopping him just as he was about to leave.

Ryan paused in the hallway and glanced back at her. She hesitated, then finally blurted out, worry in her voice, "Do you think Edward will really come to Braylin?"

Ryan’s face stiffened for a moment, then he scoffed, "Is he coming here just to get his ass kicked? If he wants to show up, let him."

Her heart jumped into her throat. "Can you tell your grandpa that Edward and I have broken up? Just let it go, okay?"

Ryan’s face turned cold, anger flashing in his eyes. "So you still care about him? You want to plead for him now?"