NOVEL NEXT Chapter 364: Why don’t you ask my uncle’s help?
Ryan clenched his fists as he watched the man step down from the car.
Even through the grainy footage, his presence was striking. The darkness seemed to recede around him, as if his existence blurred the night's hold over the wreckage.
He was standing against the direction of light, so his face wasn't visible. But a lot could be seen from his demeanor.
His movements were brisk, purposeful —yet there was an unmistakable air of sophistication in the way he carried himself.
The more Ryan watched, the heavier the unease settled in his chest.
Something about this scene didn't sit right.
The way the man strode towards Arwen's car, the urgency in his steps —it wasn't the reaction of a stranger.
It was something else entirely.
Like he knew her.
Like he was there … for her.
Ready to wreck the world.
Ready to wreck anybody and everybody who had made her suffer.
Ryan's grip on the laptop tightened.
The footage continued, and he watched as the man reached Arwen's car, trying to yank the door open. But when the door didn't budge, he didn't hesitate —he didn't think twice. Without a second thought, he slammed his arm into the window.
Glass shattered instantly, and the shards might have pierced his skin, but he didn't flinch.
It felt like, at that moment, nothing else existed for him.
Nothing except the woman lying inside the car.
Ryan felt the clench inside. He felt jealous. He should have been there for. It was his place to do all that for Arwen. Seeing someone else taking his position and doing all that he should be doing made him feel worthless.
He saw the man reach through the broken window and unlatch the door from inside. His movements were careful, yet swift —almost as if he had done this before.
Almost as if saving Arwen was second nature to him.
A tightness spread through Ryan's chest.
The man pushed the door open and leaned inside before taking Arwen in his arms, his face obscured by the shadows. But the way he moved —so sure, so protective —made something churn in Ryan's gut.
And then the camera caught it.
The glimpse of his profile.
The moment it was there on the screen, Ryan was taken aback. His movements were swift as he went to pause the video at that instant to get a clearer view.
"This —"
The grainy footage made it difficult to identify the person, but something was there in the man's profile that Ryan found familiar. That sharp jawline and that piercing gaze —he felt it wasn't the first time he had seen him.
He had also seen him before …
But when?
Did he know him?
He couldn't recall, but he couldn't shake off the feeling of familiarity that face was giving him.
Who was he? And where did he see him?
And more importantly —
Why did it feel like Arwen had belonged to him all along?
***
The next morning,
Gianna slammed her fist hard on the mattress, cursing under her breath. "That bast*rd!" He inhaled loudly, grumpily speaking, "I knew he was the biggest as*hole the world has ever seen. But I never knew he would ven break the records of all shamelessness."
Arwen sat across her, scrolling through her emails on her laptop.
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"Remember, I told you." She began again turning to Arwen. "I told you that he was that bi*tch's partner in crime. See, he had known all her evils, yet not just he sided with her and protected her, but also shamelessly came to you asking forgiveness for her. Can anyone be more jerk than him? Heh!"
Arwen, still working, simply shook her head. "No one."
"And that bi*ch … no doubt she was behaving like a new leaf all of a sudden. It wasn't her fear that was making her do so," she said again mentioning about Delyth from the hospital last time. "She must be scared that if you come to know that she had been behind your accident, you will screw her up. After all, recently, she cannot control you through Ryan."
"She wouldn't have been able to control me even before, Anna," Arwen softly said, tapping the keys of her keyboard. "I was with Ryan, and I did everything that I was required to do. But I was never his slave. I didn't take his commands."
"Really?" Gianna asked, as if she couldn't believe it.
And Arwen glanced up at her through her computer glasses, her eyes sharp, challenging Gianna to reconsider her belief.
Gianna lifted her hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. Seeing you fight so hard for a relationship that was doomed from the start, I almost forgot what you were capable of. What I only remembered was that you can sacrifice it all to save the relationship between the two families, their happiness and their everything." She shrugged. "It was only recently I have got to see you back to your true self. So, I am still trying my best to get used to this new you."
Arwen shook her head at her taunt and turned her attention back to the laptop.
"Now that you know it was her behind your accident," Gianna spoke again, her tone carrying the solemness, "what are you going to do? Don't tell me you are going to let it slide?"
Arwen's fingers paused on the keyboard in mid-air. Her expression turned tight, and for once, Gianna saw the anger visible on her face.
She shifted a little and reached out to press her hand over Arwen's. "No matter what you decide, I will support you," she said, and Arwen glanced up at her.
"There is no evidence against Delyth." Arwen met her gaze and slowly said. "So even if we know it's here behind it, there is nothing we can do."
She had considered filing a complaint the night before. But after thinking it through, she realized —
Even if she did, Delyth would walk away unscathed.
Gianna's expression turned serene. And after pondering for a moment, she had a thought.
Turning to Arwen, she suggested, "Why don't you ask my uncle's help?"