After Nella left, Alice and Ryan stayed upstairs for a while longer. There was still so ti before the party would really kick off, so they figured they might as well just hang out and relax.
Alice wasn’t a fan of noisy environnts, so she lay back on the couch, eyes closed, trying to rest.
Ryan, on the other hand, leaned against the second-floor railing, staring absentmindedly at the people downstairs. Their behavior was sothing he wasn’t used to seeing.
After a while, he seed to lose interest. He wandered back to Alice’s side and sat down, staring at her profile, lost in thought.
Ryan’s mind was still a ss. Was that person really Bella? At first, he was 100% sure, but now, honestly, he wasn’t so certain anymore.
If it was her, why had she left him that note, saying she’d co find him, only to act so cold when they finally t? Her attitude toward him was like she was eting a complete stranger for the first ti.
Ryan didn’t think she was faking it. Could soone really pretend that well, without a single slip-up?
But if it wasn’t her, then how could those eyes and that hair—so familiar—be explained?
No one could fake that kind of look, right?
Ugh, it was driving him crazy.
The more he thought about it, the more confused he got. His heart felt heavier, and he let out a deep sigh, weighed down by the pressure.
“What’s wrong? You seem a little down.”
As soon as Ryan sighed, Alice opened her eyes, her gaze following his mood. Her gem-like eyes locked onto him, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she was trying to figure sothing out.
“Nothing…”
“Miss Alice, what did you do today? How’s everything going on your end?”
Ryan forced himself to push thoughts of Bella out of his mind, clumsily trying to change the subject.
He’d been watching Alice’s profile for a while now, originally planning to bring up the tracker situation, but he just couldn’t find the right mont.
Now, for so reason, he felt a bit guilty. Earlier, he hadn’t denied Alice’s words, letting her believe he was her boyfriend.
To be honest, that move was just him using Alice.
If that really was Bella, there was no way she wouldn’t have reacted to Ryan acknowledging Alice’s claim. On one hand, he was trying to figure out if it was really her;on the other, he wanted Bella to give up on him for good.
He was still in a half-dead state. Even though the system hadn’t given him a specific deadline, he could feel it—his ti was running out.
He didn’t know when he’d disappear, and the deeper people got involved with him, the more likely it would all end in tragedy.
He and Bella had already ended in tragedy years ago. Ryan didn’t believe in second chances. It was better to leave things as they were.
“I went to track down the people who frad you. The reporters were from the Daily Bugle.”
Alice glanced at Ryan a few more tis. He’d been like this ever since Nella left—lost in thought, weighed down by sothing.
She deliberately ignored Ryan’s awkward attempt at changing the subject, shifting her position to get more comfortable on the couch. She spoke softly, then closed her eyes again.
“The Daily Bugle?”
Ryan was montarily thrown off. Wasn’t that the shady newspaper from Spider-Man? But now that he thought about it, he did rember seeing that na in the news earlier.
“And the reporters? Did you catch them?”
Ryan couldn’t help but be impressed by how quickly Alice worked. He and Mia had spent almost the entire day just pushing the investigation at the construction site forward a little, while Alice had quietly tracked down the people who frad him.
That was… pretty amazing.
Alice enjoyed the admiration in Ryan’s eyes, but when it ca to answering his question, she felt a little awkward.
They had caught the reporters, sure. Not even half an hour after the news aired that morning, her people had intercepted the two trying to flee at the airport. By mid-morning, they’d already finished interrogating them.
While they had identified the culprits, the investigation hadn’t really progressed much. The reporters were just like the thieves at the construction site—paid to do a job, but with no idea who had hired them.
That’s why Alice had been so angry earlier.
“Looks like I was worrying for nothing. Miss Alice caught the people, so I’m sure she’s already taken care of everything. No need for to stress about it.”
Ryan, seeing Alice’s silence, assud she didn’t like being rushed. Feeling a bit awkward, he scratched the back of his head.
Alice’s lips parted slightly, as if she was about to say sothing, but then she closed them tightly again. Saying she’d taken care of everything wasn’t exactly wrong.
But she definitely couldn’t let Ryan know that those two reporters had already been tossed into the river to feed the fish. That might not go over so well with him.
She liked the look of realization on Ryan’s face right now. Before, Anna hadn’t done anything, yet with just a few words, she’d managed to get close to Ryan, making Alice—who had actually done the work—look like a fool.
But now, Alice felt like she’d made all the right moves.
“Miss Alice, did you co to this party because of ?”
Ryan followed this train of thought and suddenly turned to Alice, asking with a hint of surprise.
eting Mr. Langston had been an unexpected bonus, but everything else had been for Ryan’s sake. Alice had more or less accepted that reasoning.
She didn’t say anything, but her silence spoke volus. She wasn’t the type to enjoy crowded, noisy places. If it weren’t necessary, she wouldn’t have co.
Seeing her quiet, Ryan slowly closed his mouth too, simply watching Alice intently before nodding to himself.
He almost said “thank you,” but rembering how Alice had scolded him the last ti he tried to thank her, he held back.
Alice seed to have a strong aversion to gratitude, as if it would create distance between them.
She had always been a bit insecure, sothing that was clear from the whole tracker situation.
Alice had genuinely put a lot of effort into helping Ryan get out of this ss. But still, one thing at a ti. If the mood weren’t so calm right now, Ryan would’ve confronted her about the tracker.
Caring is a strange thing. When it’s within a certain range, it feels comforting, but push it just a little too far, and it can start to feel suffocating.
Ryan still hadn’t figured out exactly how Alice felt about him. If she really did like him, he wasn’t sure how he’d handle it. Would he still have the guts to bring up the tracker then?
The two of them rested upstairs for a while, undisturbed by anyone. It was peaceful.
Ryan had already pieced together Alice’s reason for being here. She’d co specifically to et Mr. Langston. The rest of the party didn’t really matter much.
Suddenly, a round of applause erupted from downstairs. Ryan leaned over the railing to see what was going on. The host was giving the opening speech, and the crowd seed excited, clapping along enthusiastically.
Ryan half-heartedly clapped a couple of tis, figuring he’d probably spend the rest of the evening up here on the second floor.
But then, sothing unexpected happened. His ears twitched, and he wondered if he’d misheard.
“Let’s give a warm welco to our distinguished guest for the evening, Miss Alice!”
The host was working hard to hype up the crowd. In Ryan’s mind, parties like this were supposed to be more low-key—people eating their own food, mingling with wine glasses in hand. Why were they singling Alice out like this?
Ryan turned to look at Alice’s expression. Her lips twitched slightly, clearly annoyed at having her peace disturbed.
“Is this what it’s like to be too important?” Ryan teased, grinning at her. It was probably the first ti he’d seen Miss Alice caught off guard like this. She looked pretty cute, pouting like that.
“Maybe…” Alice didn’t deny it, but she didn’t offer any other explanation either.
It wasn’t like she could say, “Oh, they introduced , so I feel personally attacked.” That would be ridiculous.
Either way, hiding out on the second floor wasn’t an option anymore. The crowd downstairs was buzzing, and all eyes were now on them. Everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of the famous Miss Alice, who had been making waves in the city lately.
“Ugh… what a hassle…”
Alice muttered under her breath, sounding like she was complaining. Then, without warning, she grabbed Ryan’s arm from behind and, with a confident air, started leading him downstairs.
“Wait, wait, wait! Do I have to go too?”
“Trying to run? I’ll toss you in the river to feed the fish.”
“Well, it’s not that…”
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