Chapter 10

After Ryan left, his words seemed to hang on and cause an uncomfortable silence in the room.

Stephanie remained where she was, staring at Anderson. But Anderson needed no one to tell him that even though she was staring at him, her mind was faraway.

Anderson finally decided to move closer to her. He took a step toward her, but she took two steps backward.

"Babe—"

"Stop. Don't come closer." She raised her hand to accompany how well she meant what she said.

"I am sorry, babe. I didn't do it for my own selfish interest. I did it for you," Anderson said.

Noticing Stephanie's puzzled face, he continued talking, adding his excuses together.

"I wanted to help you escape this miserable life quickly. Even if you had come to me last night, nothing would have happened between us. I swear. You mean a lot more to me than you can ever imagine," Anderson said. His lies seemed to have some effects on her as her face slowly began to lit up.

"Can't you see the freedom you have now? That parasite is off you." Anderson said.

"The debt?" Stephanie tried to maintain a straight face but she couldn't deny the fact that she felt some tingle in her heart at Anderson's confession. She means more to him than she can ever think of!

"Don't you trust me?" Anderson asked.

"I do, but…"

"They are fake. You know, when you get to a certain stage in wealth, people frame you for different things. The debts are fake but I will find something to do about it now that I know," Anderson lied.

Stephanie glanced at Anderson. She wondered why she was finding it so hard to forgive him. Anderson saved her from a car accident when she was very young. Or… she didn't really see the face of the guy, could it be possible that it wasn't Anderson?

Then who was the man?

"Babe, are you still angry at me?"

She looked at Anderson's handsome face, suddenly feeling guilty that she had thought it wasn't Anderson who saved her from the car accident. Who else could have saved her if it wasn't him?

"It's okay," she finally said. He had risked his life to save her and she would never be able to repay him for that. It just wouldn't be enough.

"Really?" A smile lit up his face.

"Well, you should never come to my Villa alone if I am not here otherwise I will break up with you," Stephanie said.

Anderson shrugged. He could cope with that. "I don't want us to break up," he said. A hint of malice flashed across his face while Stephanie wasn't looking at him.

****

"Here we are, Sir," the cab man informed Ryan as he pulled over in front of a magnificent building.

After Ryan had paid the cab man, Ryan stared at the building for some time. This is where the address that the butler had given him led to. It was located on the most luxurious street in the city.

He strode into the company. He would be the executive director of this company for now. He remembered what the cab man had said about how many companies wanted to partner with the subsidiary and he smiled.

He got to the front desk. A woman looked up from the laptop she was working on. The smile on her face disappeared when she saw Ryan. That smile was only reserved for rich clients, frowns should be given to people who come searching for a job here.

"Do you have an appointment?" The receptionist asked, just for the sake of it, already knowing what the answer would be from a man dressed in Walmart clothing.

"No."

"How dare you come here without an appointment and cause trouble for us?" She asked rudely.

Ryan was surprised at her harsh question. Just how does his family manage the company if a receptionist can be as rude as this?