Chapter 661 Were You Also Kicked Out by Your Wife?
"No!"
Sarah denied it immediately, but her reddened ears under the light betrayed her emotions.
Ryder couldn't resist the urge to hold her tighter.
"Don't move!" Sarah suddenly barked, freezing Ryder with his arms suspended mid-air.
"What's wrong?" His heart pounded.
Sarah just stared at him without speaking. Under her intense gaze, Ryder cracked.
"Okay! I admit there's something I didn't tell you the whole truth about!"
Sarah's breath caught. "What did you say? I was just worried about the wound on your arm!" Her eyes widened. "Tell me honestly, what haven't you been truthful about?"
*My God, did I just incriminate myself?* Ryder thought.
There was no backing out now. "I didn't give you all the details about rescuing that drunk woman," he reluctantly explained. "The truth is, I wasn't the one who chased off those thugs—she did! The drunk woman fought them off herself!"
After the words left his mouth, Ryder wished the floor would swallow him whole.
"So you're telling me that to save this woman, you claimed she was your wife? Pregnant with your child?" Sarah gritted her teeth.
"What?" Ryder was completely confused. This was what Sarah was concerned about? He'd just cleared up the misunderstanding about Saskia, and now there was an issue with a drunk woman!
"I only said that to make those guys back off," he explained desperately. "How was I supposed to know she was playing me? She must have been faking—how else could she have fought off two men with her bare hands?"
"What drunk woman? Do you think I'm an idiot, Ryder? This woman was obviously trying to get close to you!" Sarah pushed him away and jumped up from the sofa, accidentally hitting his injured arm.
His face contorted with pain—though he was deliberately exaggerating his reaction. Sarah's eyes flashed with concern before hardening again.
"Tell me the truth. Was this woman beautiful? Did she ask you to be her live-in husband?"
He couldn't understand why Sarah was reacting so intensely. And where was all this coming from? Though now that he thought about it, there had been a woman in a suit who'd said some nonsense to him before. He'd clearly stated he was married and firmly rejected her.
Sarah carefully observed his microexpressions and didn't miss the slight hesitation on his face. "So it's true, then?"
'Women's thoughts are so complicated,' Ryder thought.
"Look, Sarah, let's both calm down. It's late—you should get some rest."
"You!" Sarah felt like he'd just dumped a bucket of cold water over her head. "Fine! If that's what you want, we'll sleep separately!"
With that, she ignored him completely and went straight upstairs, her turbulent expression matching the turmoil in her heart.
---
During her lunch break today, Sarah had experienced a strange dream. In it, an ethereal, breathtakingly beautiful woman had warned her to stay away from Ryder, claiming he was her destined husband.
When Sarah refused, the two women had fought. The stranger's martial skills were impressive, and she'd mocked Sarah for not being sensual enough.
When she woke, Sarah had felt an inexplicable anxiety. Just as she was regaining her composure, she'd received a call from Kyle. She'd then called Ryder, only to have Saskia answer.
Her good upbringing had helped her maintain her rationality, but her instinct told her that the woman from her dream wasn't Saskia—it was someone else entirely. All afternoon, she'd been distracted at work.
On her way home, she'd even stopped at a lingerie store and selected a few sexy nightgowns. Both Kyle and Saskia had called her uptight, and the dream woman had said she wasn't sensuous enough.
She'd washed her hair, taken a bath, and changed into the nightgown, planning to surprise Ryder. Instead, she'd waited until well past midnight, only to discover he'd been out playing hero to some damsel in distress who sounded exactly like the ethereal beauty from her dream!
'So in the end, he won't even offer an explanation?' she thought bitterly. 'After meeting this woman, he doesn't even care to reassure me?'
Ryder watched Sarah's silhouette disappear around the staircase and sighed softly. All day, he'd been busy delivering packages, dealing with Calista and Zane, fighting twice, and nursing his injuries. He was too exhausted to say anything more.
But as he lay on the couch trying to sleep, the image of Sarah's angry face kept him wide awake.
Just then, the front door lock clicked. Ryan walked in carrying two bottles of wine.
"Why are you sleeping out here? Did your wife kick you out too?" he asked, a slight slur in his voice.
Ryder sat up, looking with concern at the tipsy Ryan. "What are you doing back?"
Ryan placed the wine on the coffee table and slapped his thigh as he sat down. "Don't even ask!"
"What happened?"
"It's Clara! We're both in our fifties, and tonight she brought up marriage while we were in bed! As if I could agree to that! So she kicked me out!"
Ryder frowned. "You're kind of a jerk, you know that?"
Ryan nodded. "You bet I am! I've been a jerk for most of my life. Can you imagine me suddenly settling down? Terrifying!"
Ryder didn't know how to respond, so he just listened to Ryan vent about his relationship with Clara. By the time they were done talking, Ryan had nearly finished his bottle of wine.
Meanwhile, when Ryan wasn't looking, Ryder had been working on the other bottle, drinking even more than Ryan—it was almost empty.
Ryan, who'd long ago developed the ability to drink without getting drunk, studied Ryder's flushed face with a scrutinizing gaze.
'Something isn't right with this kid,' he thought. 'He's got something on his mind.'
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