- 10.
Ryan never expected that even using James as leverage wouldn’t be enough to keep me
in line.
After nearly coming to blows with Ethan, Ryan and Ethan maintained a facade of professional civility at the company, but both of them knew it was only a matter of time before the tension boiled over.
Ryan wasn’t one to sit idly by. He tried to reconcile with Ethan, saying, “Ethan, we’ve been friends for years. Are we really going to let a woman come between us?”
Ryan had always been the type to pick things up and put them down easily (or, more bluntly, shameless), and with persistent effort, he seemed to smooth things over with Ethan -at least on the surface.
At the same time, though, he started restructuring the company in secret, attempting to quietly sideline Ethan.
Meanwhile, Ryan tried to buy me off. “You want five million? Fine, I’ll give it to you. But you can’t tell Ethan. Don’t act like what you have with him is some grand romance. You’re both just using each other. Don’t forget–Ethan’s not the one giving you this money. It’s me. If you team up with him to go
with him to go after me, I won’t have the liquidity to pay you off. In the end, you’ll lose out too.”
I put on an agreeable face and pretended to be convinced. “Of course. As long as I get what I want, I won’t do anything else. But, tell me, are you sure your dear Miss Jo will be okay with you giving me this much money?”
Ryan’s patience snapped for a moment, his tone sharp. “This is my money. What does it
have to do with her?”
I wisely let the topic drop.
Through my informant, I learned that Ryan and Annie Jo had been fighting constantly. Neither of them was having an easy time lately, Ryan’s temper flared frequently, and he’d fake it out on Annie, raising his voice at her. When things aren’t going well, small disagreements can quickly snowball into major conflicts. And in their case, the stakes were
high: five million and two properties weren’t exactly pocket change.
く
21:16 Wed, Mar 12
nign: five million and two properties weren’t exactly pocket change.
Annie had treated those assets as her future inheritance, while Ryan refused to let anyone dictate how he handled his money.
Still, Annie was skilled at soothing men’s egos. After some coaxing, she managed to get Ryan back under her thumb, at least temporarily.
Not long after, with my lawyer’s help, Ryan and I finalized the divorce agreement. I also had to sign a non–disclosure agreement, promising not to talk about Ryan’s affair with Annie Jo or any other skeletons in his closet.
Once I got my settlement, I packed my things and left the house for good.
And just like that, Ethan announced he was pulling his investment from the company. He started his own venture, becoming Ryan’s direct competitor.
Ryan, who was already strapped for cash after the divorce payout, found his company’s finances collapsing. Ethan’s withdrawal severed the company’s funding chain, leaving them unable to secure loans. Vendors, clients, and employees began causing an uproar.
Naturally, Ryan wasn’t going to take this lying down. He confronted Ethan, but Ethan had every detail accounted for. Ryan couldn’t do anything about it.
Desperate, Ryan tried to contact me. But the properties he’d given me? I sold them. His phone number? Deleted. By then, I was on vacation, completely unreachable.
With no other options, Ryan turned to Annie Jo. Her family was comfortable, with some
savings, and he hoped she’d lend him money.
Annie Jo, however, had never imagined that the man she’d worked so hard to seduce
would be teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. The shock was too much for her, and she couldn’t keep up her sweet, accommodating act. Their fights turned explosive, leaving their relationship in tatters.
At first, Ryan had been drawn to her beauty. Now, that beauty had lost its charm, becoming as irritating as a mosquito bite.
And Annie Jo? She’d been drawn to Ryan’s wealth, only to see it evaporate before her
21:16 Wed, Mar 12
г
3
becoming as irritating as a mosquito bite.
And Annie Jo? She’d been drawn to Ryan’s wealth, only to see it evaporate before her
eyes.
In the end, the two of them tore each other apart without any help from me.
Ryan never got the money he needed from Annie. When word of their drama got out, the school Annie worked for fired her.
But she didn’t leave Ryan. She couldn’t. She was pregnant.
She thought the baby would secure her place in the Harris family, but by the time she could marry into the family, there wasn’t much of a family left.
She didn’t have the courage to terminate the pregnancy, so she was stuck with Ryan, clinging to what little was left of his crumbling empire.
Not long after, James, in his resentment toward Annie Jo for “ruining” his family, pushed
her down a flight of stairs. She lost the baby.
The Jo family wasn’t one to let such an incident slide. A long, messy fight was inevitable.
I heard all of this from Ethan.
He tracked me down at the beach, handing me a coconut. “So, Ms. Shaw, are you satisfied now? Can I finally have a chance to pursue you?”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you’d be mad at me for breaking up your friendship with Ryan. I didn’t expect you to come looking for me.”
Ethan shrugged. “Ryan and I already had our differences. Without all this drama, we might’ve stayed civil, or we might’ve blown up later. Either way, it doesn’t matter now.”
“You’re not worried about my… scheming ways?” I teased.
Ethan adjusted his glasses, giving me a sly smile. “If you were some naive little fool, I’d question your intelligence. I like you just the way you are. But since you cost me a best friend, you owe me a wife to make up for it.”
21:16 Wed, Mar 12
r
W
J
school Annie worked for fired her.
VI
࿄、དྲྭ 80% *
But she didn’t leave Ryan. She couldn’t. She was pregnant.
She thought the baby would secure her place in the Harris family, but by the time she could marry into the family, there wasn’t much of a family left.
She didn’t have the courage to terminate the pregnancy, so she was stuck with Ryan, clinging to what little was left of his crumbling empire.
Not long after, James, in his resentment toward Annie Jo for “ruining” his family, pushed her down a flight of stairs. She lost the baby.
The Jo family wasn’t one to let such an incident slide. A long, messy fight was inevitable.
I heard all of this from Ethan.
He tracked me down at the beach, handing me a coconut. “So, Ms. Shaw, are you satisfied now? Can I finally have a chance to pursue you?”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you’d be mad at me for breaking up your friendship with Ryan. I didn’t expect you to come looking for me.”
Ethan shrugged. “Ryan and I already had our differences. Without
- 10.
Ryan never expected that even using James as leverage wouldn’t be enough to keep me
in line.
After nearly coming to blows with Ethan, Ryan and Ethan maintained a facade of professional civility at the company, but both of them knew it was only a matter of time before the tension boiled over.
Ryan wasn’t one to sit idly by. He tried to reconcile with Ethan, saying, “Ethan, we’ve been friends for years. Are we really going to let a woman come between us?”
Ryan had always been the type to pick things up and put them down easily (or, more bluntly, shameless), and with persistent effort, he seemed to smooth things over with Ethan -at least on the surface.
At the same time, though, he started restructuring the company in secret, attempting to quietly sideline Ethan.
Meanwhile, Ryan tried to buy me off. “You want five million? Fine, I’ll give it to you. But you can’t tell Ethan. Don’t act like what you have with him is some grand romance. You’re both just using each other. Don’t forget–Ethan’s not the one giving you this money. It’s me. If you team up with him to go
with him to go after me, I won’t have the liquidity to pay you off. In the end, you’ll lose out too.”
I put on an agreeable face and pretended to be convinced. “Of course. As long as I get what I want, I won’t do anything else. But, tell me, are you sure your dear Miss Jo will be okay with you giving me this much money?”
Ryan’s patience snapped for a moment, his tone sharp. “This is my money. What does it
have to do with her?”
I wisely let the topic drop.
Through my informant, I learned that Ryan and Annie Jo had been fighting constantly. Neither of them was having an easy time lately, Ryan’s temper flared frequently, and he’d fake it out on Annie, raising his voice at her. When things aren’t going well, small disagreements can quickly snowball into major conflicts. And in their case, the stakes were
high: five million and two properties weren’t exactly pocket change.
く
21:16 Wed, Mar 12
nign: five million and two properties weren’t exactly pocket change.
Annie had treated those assets as her future inheritance, while Ryan refused to let anyone dictate how he handled his money.
Still, Annie was skilled at soothing men’s egos. After some coaxing, she managed to get Ryan back under her thumb, at least temporarily.
Not long after, with my lawyer’s help, Ryan and I finalized the divorce agreement. I also had to sign a non–disclosure agreement, promising not to talk about Ryan’s affair with Annie Jo or any other skeletons in his closet.
Once I got my settlement, I packed my things and left the house for good.
And just like that, Ethan announced he was pulling his investment from the company. He started his own venture, becoming Ryan’s direct competitor.
Ryan, who was already strapped for cash after the divorce payout, found his company’s finances collapsing. Ethan’s withdrawal severed the company’s funding chain, leaving them unable to secure loans. Vendors, clients, and employees began causing an uproar.
Naturally, Ryan wasn’t going to take this lying down. He confronted Ethan, but Ethan had every detail accounted for. Ryan couldn’t do anything about it.
Desperate, Ryan tried to contact me. But the properties he’d given me? I sold them. His phone number? Deleted. By then, I was on vacation, completely unreachable.
With no other options, Ryan turned to Annie Jo. Her family was comfortable, with some
savings, and he hoped she’d lend him money.
Annie Jo, however, had never imagined that the man she’d worked so hard to seduce
would be teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. The shock was too much for her, and she couldn’t keep up her sweet, accommodating act. Their fights turned explosive, leaving their relationship in tatters.
At first, Ryan had been drawn to her beauty. Now, that beauty had lost its charm, becoming as irritating as a mosquito bite.
And Annie Jo? She’d been drawn to Ryan’s wealth, only to see it evaporate before her
21:16 Wed, Mar 12
г
3
becoming as irritating as a mosquito bite.
And Annie Jo? She’d been drawn to Ryan’s wealth, only to see it evaporate before her
eyes.
In the end, the two of them tore each other apart without any help from me.
Ryan never got the money he needed from Annie. When word of their drama got out, the school Annie worked for fired her.
But she didn’t leave Ryan. She couldn’t. She was pregnant.
She thought the baby would secure her place in the Harris family, but by the time she could marry into the family, there wasn’t much of a family left.
She didn’t have the courage to terminate the pregnancy, so she was stuck with Ryan, clinging to what little was left of his crumbling empire.
Not long after, James, in his resentment toward Annie Jo for “ruining” his family, pushed
her down a flight of stairs. She lost the baby.
The Jo family wasn’t one to let such an incident slide. A long, messy fight was inevitable.
I heard all of this from Ethan.
He tracked me down at the beach, handing me a coconut. “So, Ms. Shaw, are you satisfied now? Can I finally have a chance to pursue you?”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you’d be mad at me for breaking up your friendship with Ryan. I didn’t expect you to come looking for me.”
Ethan shrugged. “Ryan and I already had our differences. Without all this drama, we might’ve stayed civil, or we might’ve blown up later. Either way, it doesn’t matter now.”
“You’re not worried about my… scheming ways?” I teased.
Ethan adjusted his glasses, giving me a sly smile. “If you were some naive little fool, I’d question your intelligence. I like you just the way you are. But since you cost me a best friend, you owe me a wife to make up for it.”
21:16 Wed, Mar 12
r
W
J
school Annie worked for fired her.
VI
࿄、དྲྭ 80% *
But she didn’t leave Ryan. She couldn’t. She was pregnant.
She thought the baby would secure her place in the Harris family, but by the time she could marry into the family, there wasn’t much of a family left.
She didn’t have the courage to terminate the pregnancy, so she was stuck with Ryan, clinging to what little was left of his crumbling empire.
Not long after, James, in his resentment toward Annie Jo for “ruining” his family, pushed her down a flight of stairs. She lost the baby.
The Jo family wasn’t one to let such an incident slide. A long, messy fight was inevitable.
I heard all of this from Ethan.
He tracked me down at the beach, handing me a coconut. “So, Ms. Shaw, are you satisfied now? Can I finally have a chance to pursue you?”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you’d be mad at me for breaking up your friendship with Ryan. I didn’t expect you to come looking for me.”
Ethan shrugged. “Ryan and I already had our differences. Without all this drama, we might’ve stayed civil, or we might’ve blown up later. Either way, it doesn’t matter now.”
“You’re not worried about my… scheming ways?” I teased.
Ethan adjusted his glasses, giving me a sly smile. “If you were some naive little fool, I’d question your intelligence. I like you just the way you are. But since you cost me a best friend, you owe me a wife to make up for it.”
I took off my sunglasses, stood up, and grabbed the coconut from him. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, I slipped a hotel keycard into his hand.
(The End)
all this drama, we might’ve stayed civil, or we might’ve blown up later. Either way, it doesn’t matter now.”
“You’re not worried about my… scheming ways?” I teased.
Ethan adjusted his glasses, giving me a sly smile. “If you were some naive little fool, I’d question your intelligence. I like you just the way you are. But since you cost me a best friend, you owe me a wife to make up for it.”
I took off my sunglasses, stood up, and grabbed the coconut from him. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, I slipped a hotel keycard into his hand.
(The End)
