Chapter 83

Raymond was seated in his office. He had a lot going on in his mind. He had not touched the work that he had to do today. Instead, he was thinking about that woman in his house. That Allen. Funny enough, now that he had come to terms with the fact that she isn't Joanna, he did not feel angry. Instead, he felt relived. He did not know why he was feeling this way and it made him really angry. Coupled with the fact that whenever he looked at her face he saw April and he was reminded of those feelings that he had back then, it made him even more frustrated.
He was still thinking about this when the door of his office opened and someone walked in. He knew only one person who would be this arrogant and won't even think about manners. Ryan. He had been expecting him since some days ago. He actually did come to him on his own now.
"What are you doing here?" Raymond asked him. He did not have to exchange pleasantries with this person. It was best to be blunt with him and be done with it as soon as possible.
"Don't be like this older brother. We are family after all. How can you be so mean to me? We haven't even seen each other in five years" Ryan said. He made himself comfortable and sat on the couch in the office. He looked around. This place was quite cosy. He liked it. It was just too bad that he did not have any interest in this company at all.
"Yes. It's been five years. After you caused so much trouble for everyone five years ago you just disappeared like that. How can you be so irresponsible?" Raymond asked him.
"Raymond, irresponsible? You know, it's okay for me to be irresponsible. If I was responsible, it's going to seem like I have interest in this place. You don't want that right?" Ryan asked him. He had a playful smile on his face. But anyone who knew him would know that behind those playful words and silly smile, was an underlying threat.
Raymond rolled his eyes. He already had enough trouble dealing with Joanna...no Allen. He did not have the energy to exchange words with this person today.
"Why did you really come back? I don't have the energy to play with you" Raymond snapped at him.
Ryan thought about that person. He had come back for a reason this time. He came for that girl, but he found out that she was already married to his brother...as some woman called Joanna.
"Right, I heard that you got married. I've seen her pictures. Your wife...she really is pretty" Ryan said. There was some emphasis on the word "wife" and "pretty"
Raymond glared at Ryan. He was alert now. What is this person trying to say? He won't do anything to Allen right,? There was no guessing what Ryan would do.
"Hey, what are you going to do to her? I'm warning you, don't touch her" Raymond said.
Ryan looked at Raymond. He smiled to himself. The Raymond that he knew was always cold without any feelings or emotions. But immediately he mentioned his wife, he suddenly got agitated. Could it be that, he really cared about her?
"You don't need to worry about that Raymond. I'll never hurt sister in law" Ryan said. He meant that. He would never hurt his Allen.
Raymond looked at Ryan. He still had his silly smile on his face. After five years, he still had not lost it. It was still there. It made it difficult for anyone to tell what he was thinking.
"By the way...I think that I should meet sister in law right? After all, we are all family" Ryan said. Actually, he was scared to show up in front of Joanna again. She must really hate him a lot right now right? After what happened then.. she must not want to see him right?
"What do you really want? Stop playing these games. You are no longer a child" Raymond said.
Ryan laughed. He was playing games? He should stop? He did not have any intentions of stopping though. It was fun to see them constantly on edge because of him.
Ryan got up to go. He knew that Raymond won't indulge him easily. He suddenly asked, "Raymond, do you really think that sister in law is who she claims she is?"
Raymond rasied an eyebrow. Does he know?
[2/22, 8:00 PM] Sonia: Raymond raised his eyebrows to look at him. Does he already know? Does he know who Allen is? He remembered that yesterday he had heard Allen and her friend talk about Ryan....the both of them seemed like they were quite scared of him. It did make sense for them to be scared of him though. If two ordinary woman who had no power whatsoever had the bad luck of meeting this person then they would definitely be scared. There was no way that they would be able to deal with him. "What are you talking about? Have you met my wife?" Raymond asked him. There was an hint of indifference in his words. He did not want Ryan to figure out anything. He certainly did not want him to get close to Allen at all. Who knows what this person is thinking in his head. He knew that Ryan coming back isn't all that simple. He vanished for five years and only shows up now after he is married, Raymond wanted to make a bold guess that it definitely had something to do with Allen. Just what type of relationship does she have with this person?
Ryan looked at Raymond, trying to figure out what he was thinking. When he had mentioned that his wife might not be who she claims she is, he was expecting that he would get some kind of reaction from him but he did not get anything. It was as if the man did not care about her at all. They were two options here, it was either he did not care about her at all and so his words made no difference to him or he already knew who Allen is. Which one is it? Ryan really wanted to know. Anyway he needed to plan carefully this time. He did not want to do anything that would push Allen farther away from him. "I haven't met her. You are so stingy you won't even let me meet your wife. Why don't I meet her once? What is the big deal in meeting my big brother's wife? After all, we are all family here. No matter what has happened in the past, we are still going to remain family. Don't be so mean to me" Ryan said. The both of them knew that his words right now had an underlying meaning. He looked like he was threatening him and giving him a warning at the same time.