Her Return, His Regret by Natie

Chapter 31-The confrontation "Lawrence, take down the trending news right now," Ryan ordered his assistant on the phone.

He cut the call and drove to the Williams' mansion. Although he had ordered the removal of the news, the damage had already been done. Anger that he could barely contain rushed through him.

His heart clenched painfully, an ache that had becall too familiar every the thought about his past. That night... he saw the warehouse explode before his eyes, enveloping Larisa and drowning her in a sea of fire. There was nothing left....

No body, no bones. all that was left of his beloved wife were her ashes.

She must have died resenting him, thinking he had abandoned her...

Ryan blinked and a lone tear rolled down his cheek before he quickly wiped it away. He laughed at himself self- deprecatingly. He didn't deserve to cry for her... not after he failed her. protect her However, he wouldn't let anyone drag her nthrough the mud. The least he could do was p memory.

As he drove up the drivewa ding to Ivy's home, Ryan sighed internally. Had Ivy always been this type of person or had he been too blind to see the real her? Since when was she this scheming woman? He didn't want to see her so soon after finding out that she had copied Lora's work and tried to frher. However, he needed to find out if she leaked the news about his past.

On the other hand, when Ivy saw Ryan, her eyes gleamed with happiness. She hadn't been to work the past few days due to the scandal and she hadn't heard from Ryan. He also wasn't picking up her calls, so seeing him cto see her made her very happy. "Ryan..." She called out in a soft voice. "I thought you would never want to seeagain. I missed you." Ryan looked down at lvy, his face emotionless. Even though he noticed the dark circles under Ivy's eyes, he didn't waste tand immediately questioned, "Are you the one who leaked the news of my past to the media? You know very well that I didn't divorce my wife and neither did I cheat on her." Ivy's smile was wiped off her face.

His wife....

She hated being reminded that Ryan had married someone else after she left the Country. She wanted to be the only one who owned his heart.

Ivy looked pitiful as she looked up at Ryan with watery eyes, saying desperately, "Ryan, do you do something like that? I didn't leak the news, you have to believe me!" think I can "Believe you?" Ryan said coldly. "After everything you did, you still wantto believe you?" To say he was disappointed would be an understatement. Intense anger was burning within him. Ivy had crossed the line this time... her actions almost cost him the one thing that he wanted to keep as a memento of his late wife. +25 BONUS A flash of panic flickered through Ivy's eyes when she noticed how angry Ryan was "Ryan, my love you have to believe me. I would never betray you like that. What do I get from exposing our past to the public? I wouldn't want to be labelled a mistress. This isn't my fault, Ryan," Ivy pleaded nervously, hoping to get through to Ryan She didn't want him to give up on her, already, she could feel him getting distant. He was slowly beginning to slip away Ryan's expression was unreadable as he glanced at Ivy. He recalled how Ivy stole Lora's work, not once. but twice and how she mocked Lora for being a thief knowing fully well that she was the culprit.

He scoffed and uttered. 1 once believed you, try. I trusted you but you made a fool of me! You plagiarised Lora's work and lied about it! I can never trust anything you say again. Do you know how much money the Kingsley group lost because of your schemes? Ivy's heart sank. Was she losing Ryan? Did she dig her own grave by stealing Lora's work? No! She didn't do anything wrong! What's wrong in trying to protect what was hers? She just wanted to get nd of Lora and now she's gone! Jry blinked and big fat tears rolled down her cheeks. She wheeled herself closer to Ryan, reaching for his hand but Ryan avoided her and stepped back.

Looking up at him, Ivy's lips quivered as she said, "Ryan, I did all this for you. It was my own way of protecting you and making you proud as your woman." Ryan couldn't believe his ears. He questioned, "Are you saying you stole Lora's design for me? Does that even make sense to you? She was working with me, why would you need to steal it?" Ivy sniffed back her tears and replied, "Ryan, you know how I've been struggling to create any designs in the last six years. Although no one talks about it, I know they secretly laugh at you for still being witheven though I lost my skills." She paused and wiped a lone tear that rolled down her cheek and continued, "I was forced to steal Lora's design because I was afraid, Ryan. If people think your fiancee is so useless that she can't even design anymore, your company and reputation will be affected. I'm sorry. I just panicked and didn't think of the consequences. I just wanted to show them that I was someone worthy of you." Ryan coiled his hands into fists, trying to calm his temper down. "Why in the world would you think stealing would help me, Ivy? You just ruined everything! My partnership, my stocks! Goddammit!"

"I just wanted to prove that I'm the right person for you! I don't care about fas long as I can help you, Ryan, Losing the ability to use my legs already madeuseless, | didn't want anyone to find out I had lost my talent as well," Ivy's voice broke.

At the mention of her legs, Ryan stilled. He recalled how he was om responsible for xy's predicament and N his heart softened. However, he couldn't just forget about her lies and manipulation.

Ryan ran a hand through his hair in frustration and sighed. He stared at Ivy and remarked in a softer but firm voice, "You should take stto rest at hand reflect on your actions." "Ryan, please I-" Ivy began but Ryan had already turned and walked out without sparing her another glance. Chapter 31- The confer +25 BONUS Ivy dug her nails into her palms, her teeth grinding in anger. This was all Lora's fault! She was the reason Ryan was suddenly so cold and distant! A cold and calculating look flashed through Ivy's eyes as she picked up her phone and made a call.

Natie Author Thank you for reading. I only managed one chapter today. I'll try to add another one after a few hours.