Chapter 228 I Don''t Have A Friend Like You


    In the grand Daniel Hotel,


    the window wall of the deluxe presidential suite was acutely open. The evening was lovely under the


    starless night sky, and its silence was flustered by the saturated neon light.


    Ryan wore a draping ck silk bathrobe with a loose belt tied around his waist. He held a ss of red


    wine in his hand and gazed at the somber heavens above with a faint smile on his face.


    He had caught up with everything he needed to know about Anne. His smile stretched gradually from


    ear to ear when he realized that he had a rare opportunity within his reach.


    "Anne, I knew you woulde back to me one day." His expression was menacing yet attractive as his


    face was painted with a bloodthirsty intention.


    His father was the head of a small scalepany, and that did not satisfy his skyrocketing ambitions.


    He needed more support to attain his goal.


    Anne couldn''t provide this handy financial power in the past, so he neglected the idea of being with her,


    but things had changed to an exceeding extent. She now owned ten percent of the shares of the AN


    Group.


    It had been recently revealed that she was the daughter of the L Group as well. If he could put a ring on


    her finger, his influence in the industry would be powered to dominance. With this partnership, the other


    ordinary rivalpanies and even the AN Group might make a run for their money from his leverage.


    "Invite Anne to the South Night Hotel tomorrow." Ryan made a quick phone call and hung up


    immediately.


    It was the season of dry spring in A City, but today was oddly cloudy. The roads were quite moist even


    without the showers from the heavens.


    Anne looked distinctly fairer in her vintage high heels and lc turtle-neck sweater. Paired with dark


    crimson lipstick, she looked like a sultry queen on the city streets.


    In the NY Hotel, a waiter greeted her as soon as she walked through the ss doors on the reception,


    and she was courteously lead to a private room right away.


    The room was ill-lit due to the gloomy weather. Even if the lights were on, the ambiance still gave a


    mncholic feeling. Anne smiled upon seeing Ryan drinking a ss of red wine, but his presence gave


    a peculiar sense of alienation to her.


    She was close to Ryan before, so when she saw him like this, she felt an inkling of surprise.


    "There you are." Ryan smiled and ced his ss on the table.


    "Hey, what''s up?" asked Anne pleasingly.


    In her heart, Ryan was a dear friend.


    He unfolded a napkin and seemed to wipe a non-existent schmear on his lips.


    "I heard that you have encountered some difficultiestely." Ryan suddenly pivoted his head. The


    moment he saw Anne, his eyes were filled with wonder and awe.


    Sure enough, Anne was a goddess in disguise. Her beauty,plemented by her fierce temperament,


    gave people a warm sensation that was not to be misconstrued.


    "Yes, I''ve been dealing with somethingtely, but I''m perfectly fine. I can handle it on my own," said


    Anne with a reassuring smile.


    "We have known each other for quite a long time now, so I think you have the right to know my


    sentiments for you," said Ryan.


    His numbing eyes contradicted his sweet words.


    "We are good friends. We used to be, and we are still now if that''s what you mean," said Anne with


    precaution as she had a bad feeling about where this conversation was leading to.


    Ryan grinned in irony. "You''re more than just a friend to me, Anne. If you agree to marry me, I can help


    you punish Kevin and take back your child. What do you think?"


    His smile seemed to be strange, but Anne could tell that he was different from the Ryan she knew


    before.


    "No, thanks. I''m fine on my own. I''ll give it a thought, but thank you." Anne lowered her head as she


    spoke.


    Ryan was painfully persistent and said, "You do have a way to take your son back, but can you treat


    him? I heard that the only way for your son''s survival is that you bear another child to be hispatible


    donor, am I right? Anne, I''m the only one who could help you. Only I canpete with Kevin, and you


    know that. You have to listen to me."


    As Ryan stepped on the pedal of determination, anger fumed from Anne''s heart like a smoke-filled


    muffler.


    "What do you mean?" She was so infuriated with his rude persuasion.


    However, Ryan was poised and unbothered by her displeasure. He said, "Why are you so riled up


    now? Anne, you must think things through. It''s clear that you have no choice but to marry me! Are you


    nning to lock horns with Rose over a man? She is loved by everyone, and you are a disgrace to


    others!"Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    What Ryan eximed was the harsh reality, but Anne found it ridiculous. She did not expect that he


    was such an audacious person.


    "I have always regarded you as my dearest friend, and this is how you talk to me?" asked Anne in


    disbelief.


    Ryan left the ss of wine and walked towards Anne with a disdainful coil on his lips. "You do treat me


    as your best friend, but I don''t treat you as mine. You have always and will be my destiny."


    Suddenly, Anne was petrified and wondered why he thought so.


    When they were young, she had a wonderful rtionship with him. He always came to her aid when


    she was most vulnerable, and she started to feel something special for him. But after some time, Ryan


    ended up with another woman from a well-known family.


    She was naive back then, so she didn''t think about it too much. But now, his confession was her least


    expected words toe from his mouth.


    "You want to know why I tell you this now and not before?" Ryan looked at her with contempt.


    He did like her a lot in the past, but she couldn’t bring to the table the much significant power and


    property that he wanted. She was practically insufficient, so he couldn''t be with her.


    Later, when she married Kevin, Ryan''s chances became slimmer and slimmer. Kevin was a paragon.


    Not only was he the richest man in the city, but he also happened to win Anne. Ryan lost the courage


    to court Anne because Kevin could marry her regardless of her value.


    Wasn''t that enough to prove hisck of prowess?


    He was not a man to sumb to reconciliation, so he was more eager to take back Anne this time.


    Ryan red at Anne as her heart was filled with fear and agony. She never thought that the day would


    come when her best friend, whom she cared for all this time, would think of their rtionship this way.


    "Ryan, are you serious?" asked Anne as she nibbled her plump lips.


    She didn''t want to believe many things in life. If someone didn''t like her, she would just shrink her social


    circle an individual shorter. She thought it was best to consolidate and lessen the people around her,


    but she didn''t expect that the person she had always respected would offend her with such a tone.


    "Anne, marry me. I don’t mind what happened to you in your past rtionship. As long as you hand


    over your shares, I will walk you down the aisle and save your son from his death," said Ryan.


    He sounded insanely arrogant as if she was a profitable investment.


    Anne stared at him with menace for a long excruciating time until she grinned.


    "I didn’t expect you to be such an asshole, but you are right. Among the few people that could save me,


    you are indeed my first choice," said Anne in a serious tone.


    It was undeniable that the KIA Group had been slowly climbing up the ranks and gained more influence


    as time went by. Although Ryan didn''t secure many benefits between the feud with Kevin, the failed


    partnership didn''t give him a big loss either.


    If she granted her shares to Ryan, it would definitely affect the operation of the AN Group. The strength


    of the KIA Group would immensely increase, and it would be a huge threat to the AN Group.


    But Anne knew better, she was wise enough to not entrust the fate of her son and herself to the greedy


    hands of Ryan. He was a puny individual who could stomach giving out insults to get what he wanted!


    Ryan thought that he had everything in the bags as he smiled and nodded in agreement with her.


    "But even if you are the king of the world, I would never consider marrying you!" Anne eximed.


    Ryan looked at her in bafflement. He regained his grin and said, "I never expected you to love Kevin


    this much, but I don’t care. It doesn''t matter if we are married or not. Just give me your shares, and I


    would still handle everything for you."


    "No way!" Anne yelled firmly to prove that her stand was absolute.


    Although Anne was not used to losing her sophistication, she despised people who would frame her


    from behind the most.


    "I''ll give you three days to think about your child''s chance of survival and the humiliation you have


    brought upon yourself. If you agree with my proposal, I will avenger you from all this suffering, and


    Kevin won''t be able to pose any kind of threat to you anymore. Once you''ve made up your mind,e


    to me."


    As he spoke, Ryan scurried to take the business card from his pocket to give his address to Anne.


    However, when she snatched it right off his fingertips, she looked at him dead in the eyes and said,


    "There''s no need for this, Ryan. I was so wrong about you. You can go back to whatever hell you came


    from! From now on, I don''t know you because I don''t have a friend like you!"


    When she realized that her most trustedpanion had betrayed her, Anne felt her heart crumble into


    shards, but she also thought that maybe he wasn''t even her friend in the first ce. He valued her


    because she was of very good use to him. From this experience, she would never let herself live up


    with the pain again just because she had mistaken someone else as trustworthy in the past.


    "Well, you''re still quite the tough jewel I expected you to be." Ryan''s voice was hoarse, and he gazed at


    Anne with a piercing look as if he wanted to see right through her mind because he couldn''t fathom


    why she had such an indomitable temperament.


    Despite all this, he was still hopeful that after she figured it out, she would be wiser to know whether it


    was better to cooperate with him or watch Kevin marry someone else.


    Ryan walked out of the room, and Anne suddenly fell on her knees. She might have won the battle, but


    she lost the power to im victory.


    Her eyes were dted and frozen as if she was being suffocated.


    After quite some time, she regained her stance, but the cold still lingered in her smile. It almost


    stretched to the extents of her temple, but nobody would decipher what was going through her


    thoughts.


    The outdoors seemed to have been dim because of the stubborn gloomy weather. She stood still and


    looked out of the glossy window. The day was so dull that it made it hard for her to breathe some cheer.


    She just paused there like a sculpture engraved with an endless quantum of sadness. She could not


    compose herself because her body seemed to be on the brink of copse. Her strong statuesque was


    crumbling in an instant.


    Two harrowing hourster, the closed doors of the room abruptly swung open. With a sh of Ian''s


    silhouette, he looked at Anne like a knight in shining armor heading to save his princess.