Heartstrings on Fire

Chapter 827
Ryder strolled over, a lazy smile playing on his lips. “No sweat, Agnes. It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve seen you tipsy
At his words, Agnes could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment
Silence hung between them, thick and uneasy, and Agnes found herself at a loss for words Despite the discomfort. Ryder
remained steadfastly by her side
Feeling the need to break the silence, Agnes grasped at the first topic that came to mind. “You walked away from med school to
take over the family business. Are you happier now?”
Ryder leaned against the balcony’s glass door, arms crossed, his stance giving off an air of nonchalance
“I’m not happy. Agnes. Not at all he admitted without flinching
Curiosity got the better of her “Then why do it? Why give up your dreams for business?”
Why take on the Thomas Group and fight for shares in the Tim Group if it didn’t bring joy? These were the puzzles Agnes
couldn’t solve
Ryder’s gaze settled on her face, intense and searching “For years, I’ve been wondering, Agnes. Why did you fall for my uncle?
Why choose kim first, and then again? We spent so much time together in Manhattan, as much as you did with him, yet you
never really opened curious what it was about his life that drew you in. I wanted to walk his path, live his life, to find an answer
for myself”
Her heart sank at his words. It was indeed all because of her. She felt the weight of his life decisions on her shoulders, a burden
too heavy to bear
Overwhelmed, Agnes directed her gaze downwards, finding sudden interest in the floor beneath her, unable to bear the intensity
of Ryder’s gaze “You didn’t have to give up your dreams for my sake, Ryder It’s not worth it,” she said softly.
Ryder chuckled, a sound that seemed to hold a touch of melancholy. “You seem to have forgotten that I left the Whitfield family
and decided join the Novy Medical Team because of you.”
She was taken aback, memories flooding back.

Yes, it was at the Whitfield Manor, in the garden where they had talked about dreams. Ryder had been uncertain whether to
return to the Thomas family, which would have allowed him to join the prestigious Novy Medical Team.
Back then, everyone in the Whitfield family was against it – everyone but Agnes, who had encouraged him wholeheartedly.
Five years had passed since then, in the blink of an eye.
So much had happened, time blurring the details.
But within those blurred memories, much had changed
Like Ryder, standing before her no longer the innocent and distant youth of five years ago.
Agnes managed a wry smile “Ryder. I should never have entered your life”
He looked at her, his voice a whisper of the past. “Do you remember our freshman year, the campus film festival? We al packed
im auditorium to absorb the spirit of cinema Do you remember the movie they showed?”
Her mind drifted back I remember, The Shawshank Redemption It left a lasting impression.”
And there’s a line in that movie Ryder mused, “about how some birds aren’t meant to be caged because their feathers are just
too bright, but when they fly away, the world seems dulier for their absence To me, Agnes, you’re that bird. You stopped in my
world for a moment, and when you flew away the color went with you It’s heartbreaking and yet. I’m grateful for that brief vait“
Agries lifted her gaze to meet his “Ryder Words failed het, and the things she couldn’t say hung heavy in the ai