Ryan laid back with his hands behind his neck and took a deep breath. He pushed his upper body off the floor until he was at eye level with Violet. She looked at him with an impassive face, but the grounding hold of her hands felt warm around his ankles, making him wonder if–
He laid back and once again took a deep breath before he pushed himself off the floor for the second time. Her face became so close to him, and she glared at him, daring him to do something funny.
“I’ll dump you to the floor if you touch me, you hear me?”
“I know,” Ryan said before he laid back again.
But she told him, “Don’t lay there.”
“I wans’t.”
“Don’t let your back touch the floor and get back up again.”
Ryan tried to do that. He held his breath as he extorted his abdominal muscles to prevent his back from touching the floor. He could hold out for a few seconds, but it
The sky was blue. Vast, with floating white clouds saying hello to the people of the Earth.And Ryan had no damn care for that.His sight was full of black spots. He could still see the spots mocking him behind if he closed his eyes. Sadly, that wasn't the only problem he had."Hah!"The air seemed to refuse, filling his lungs fast enough. He couldn't breathe. Ragged, with his heart pounding in his chest, constricting wildly to pump the blood through his veins.He couldn't move a muscle."Oh, my…"Violet peered at him from her sitting position by the pool. Her feet were inside the water, leaving her knees dry. She leaned back on her palm and once again mocked him with her eyes."You're so done already after five repetitive sit ups? Come on, talks about getting stronger and you can't even catch up with my daily exercise yet?"Ryan let her be.Well, what choice did he have anyway? Even breathing was hard, let
Dimn ballroom with overhead lights casting the runway in a cold, bluish color. The midnight blue curtains part for each model. A Strobe of lights danced on either side, matching the background's slow beat.Pretty people in fancy clothes sat on the chairs along the runway's sides, perhaps celebrities and the riches. He might not be able to name even one of them, but Ryan could tell that none seemed friendly. He had proved it by saying hello to the woman sitting next to him with big busts and overly-done ginger hair. She didn't even bat an eye, preferring to look ahead with a perfect smile on her heavy makeup face.Sighing, Ryan did the same. The models on the runway were as tall as a lamp post, with long legs and curvaceous bodies. He didn't think three hours were enough to do their hair alone, let alone apply some of their bold makeup. Here, he wasn't talking about bright red and gold eyeliners but more like black lipstick and dark blue around their eyes.He won
The sky was still bright, with lazy floating white clouds high above, and salty breeze from the open sea in front of them. Ryan brought his folded arms on the edge of their private pool, mirroring Violet who was in the same position as him. They shared this comfortable silence for once, feeling relaxed even when they were still in the middle of a shitstorm. Just for this while, they forget about all of the rioting media out there, choosing to enjoy this moment while they can. Because, like it or not, they must be back in the public eye. It was something they couldn’t escape from, except for a short respite. The pool’s water was cool against their skin. Soft, small currents from the bottom of the pool made them sway with buoyancy. Today was especially hot, so hanging out here felt the best. Furthermore, so with his wife by his side. “So… I have several names for our production house,” Violet declared, picking Ryan’s attention. He glanced at her with a smile on his face, “That’s qu
The name of their production house. Ryan never thought they’d talk about this in the first place. Hell, he never thought he’d share a pool with Violet and look at the beach and open sea in front of them from their own house on top of a hill. Not even once had he ever imagined it would be reality. But here they were now. Floating on the edge of their private pool, enjoying the sunny afternoon with such a blue sight in front of them. Ryan couldn’t be any happier. Yet, he expected their happiness would grow even more from here on. Starting with naming their production house. “Fire Crowne, you said?” Ryan hummed, repeating that name again in his head before he nodded, “I’m fine with that.” However, unlike what he thought earlier, Violet was troubled by it. Somehow. “Well, I’m not.” He frowned, not following. “But you’re the one who suggested it.” “Yes, and you didn’t protest.” He really could not follow her trail of thoughts. “You want me to protest?” “Yes. Just, tell me of you
A sudden ring from a certain phone broke the contentment they both felt. They both swam to the side of the pool and got out of there. Violet picked up her phone while Ryan fetched two towels from the room beside the pool. It was a short trip, but when he came back, Violet looked like she was seeing a ghost. Or hearing what a ghost sounded like right in her ear. “What is it?” Ryan asked her, frowning ever so slightly. He dropped the towel on her shoulders while wearing his own with his baggy t-shirt still on. Violet didn’t answer right away. She looked at him and accepted the towel, troubled. Something big weighted heavily on her mind, that was for sure. Then, when he contemplated whether he should ask her again in case she didn’t hear or if he should just ignore it for its probably unimportant feel, Violet grabbed the sleeve of his towel. She said, “Mom leaves home.” Ryan blinked, yet confused again. “Ugh… sure?” Clicking her tongue, Violet crossed her arms in front of her che
Ryan got on the plane after he had breakfast with Violet. There was some small change in the ceremony. Or whatever people call it, this handling of the company he didn't want. He only needed less than three three-hour drive if Ashford Group's headquarters was still in Lancaster. But, through all of his disappearance in the last ten years, he didn't think that Howard would move the company's headquarters halfway through all the States. Located in Seattle, it was basically on the other side of America. Then, after a few hours of flight, the plane was ready to land. Ryan watched for a moment as other people around him were getting ready to board off the plane. Looking back out the window, Ryan wondered if he should ask Violet to accompany him. She might say yes, and they might explore Seattle for some time. Although, he would leave the next day, so he'd prefer to get some rest any other way. Exiting the small loading bridge from the plane, he was relieved when he stepped on solid fl
There really was nothing amusing about the loss of someone's personal space.Reaching their destination, Ryan practically threw himself inside the short limo that was waiting for him. He never felt so glad to be inside a car."We tried our best to keep them away, sir. But as you can see, it is a hard work." Thomas said as he sat beside the driver.Ryan slumped on the back seat, murmuring, "Could be worse." He tried his best to avoid looking out the darkened windows. "I probably woud have punch someone if I was here by myself."Sighing, Ryan watched the array of people slowly disappear as the car began to move forward. He really was crazy if he thought he'd ask Violet to come with him, too. Sure, she could handle it more elegantly, what with her being used to being in the light. But that would still cost her extra stress.All in all, the drive to the hotel was smooth, and there were no more reporters waiting for them.Ryan parted away with Thomas and the others, choosing to have some p
Ryan followed Thomas to the conference room that was at the very end of the hallway.The double doors were opened for him as he stepped inside, finding a large table that was seated with at least eleven men who all suddenly fell quiet. Seated against the wall were a few more people. No matter where he looked, everyone seemed a little tense.“Have a seat, Rayven Ashford,” an even voice said.Looking up at who had said his name, Ryan’s eyes fell on a dark-haired man who looked fairly old. Wearing a slim-fitted black vest with dark red tie, his suit jacket was neatly perched behind him against the back of his chair.The old man studied Ryan for a moment, glancing back down a thick packet of documents before him on the table. After seeing Edric seated next to the man, without another thought, he knew it had to be someone he should know because his voice sounded familiar in his ears.Everyone else around the table stared with a mix of