Her Return, His Regret

"Ryan, thank you for doing this with me," Ivy remarked as Ryan pushed her wheelchair into a gemstone boutique. "I thought you were being forced to marry me but seeing you accompany me here gives me hope.'

"Can you do your business fast, I have things to do," Ryan replied, his jaw tight.

He wanted to be anywhere but there... shopping for rare stones that would be used for their engagement jewelry with Ivy made him feel empty.

Why was he even doing this? Was it worth it?

Was this really the solution?

Did he want to marry Ivy and live in a loveless marriage again?

Would he be able to forget about Ivy's real face? To be honest, when she stole Lora's work and accused Lora of plagiarism, Ivy lost her image in Ryan's eyes.

She might have gotten hurt while saving him, but was marrying her really the best way to repay her for her legs?

"Ryan, what do you think of this rare pink stone? I think it would look good on my engagement ring," Ivy's voice brought Ryan back to the present.

He lazily glanced at the stone glittering under soft lighting and nodded. "It's ok."

Ivy bit her lower up, stopping herself from throwing a tantrum. She could tell that Ryan was only there physically, his mind, soul and heart were somewhere else.

He showed no interest in their engagement ceremony. It was like he wasn't a part of it.

Forcing a smile, she said, "I'll pick this one and I'll choose a blue one for you. I want our engagement rings to be unique. I'll design them myself."

Although she couldn't make good designs that were market-worthy, she could still create something that she would wear for her engagement. She wanted to surprise Ryan and possibly make him forget about the plagiarism incident.

Ivy smiled at the thought but her smile faltered when she saw Lora and Jason at the other side of the store.

'What are those two doing here?' She thought in her mind, her jaw clenching tightly.

Ivy looked up at Ryan and sure enough, she found him looking at Lora and Jason too. It seemed he had just noticed them too.

The longing look on his face made Ivy clench the arm of her wheelchair tightly. 'I'll never let you reunite with Larisa, Ryan. Never.'

She suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, look, Ryan! It's Lora and Jason! Let's go and say hi."

Ivy wheeled herself closer to Lora and Jason. When they noticed her, she smiled and said, "Lora, good to see you here. I didn't expect to see you and your boyfriend shopping for rare stones like Ryan and I. Are you trying to get rare stones to make couple rings too?" Lora furrowed her eyebrows. What did this troublemaker want?

Just as Ryan approached them, Ivy didn't wait for Lora's response. She grabbed Ryan's hand and uttered, "Ryan and I had finally set a date for the engagement ceremony. We are here to get materials for our engagement rings." Lora rolled her eyes. She was bored of Ivy's antics, so she didn't respond.

"I'll send you an invitation card. You will come, won't you? After all, our fathers are close friends. I expect you to come and support me and maybe you can be my bridesmaid on my wedding," Ivy remarked with an air of triumph.

Lora furrowed her eyebrows. She had already cut ties with Ryan and didn't want anything to do with him. As she was about to refuse Ivy's invitation, Jason's voice beat her to it.

"Thank you for the invite. We will be sure to attend as a couple," Jason said, his eyes turning to Ryan challengingly.

Ryan's jaw tightened and his stomach churned from anger.

The spark of jealousy in Ryan's eyes

fueled Jason's satisfaction. He wrapped an arm around Lora's waist before pecking her cheek and saying, "I'm sorry I accepted on your behalf, my love but it's not bad for us to attend... they've invited us after alp"

Ivy smirked and uttered, "Thank you for accepting. By the way, did you two really come to get rare stones for couple jewelry?"

Jason smiled and looked at Lora before replying, "No... I'm here to choose a rare stone for my piece of male jewelry that Miss L designed specifically for me." Ryan clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding as jealousy flared through him.

It seemed Lora was serious about Jason seeing that she took time to design jewelry for him.

When Ivy looked at Ryan and saw his angry face, anger flashed through her eyes.

Looking at Lora and Jason, she remarked, "That's so sweet of you, Lora. You must love Jason so much. I'm sure you two will get engaged soon, am I right?" Jason nodded and replied, "Of course. I plan to start a future with Lora very soon."

The air around them turned colder than a block of ice as Ryan glared at Jason like he wanted to punch him in the face.

"That's awesome, I hope we get an invitation to your events too," Ivy remarked excitedly.

Lora rolled her eyes, tired of Ivy and her schemes. She didn't want to continue conversing with them, so she said, "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

"I'll come with you-"

"No... it's fine. I'll find you," Lora told Jason, smiling at him before leaving.

When Lora came out of the restroom, she almost jumped when she saw Ryan in the hallway. He had his back against the wall with his hands in his pockets. She furrowed her eyebrows and questioned, "What are you doing here? Did you follow me here?"

Ryan turned to face Lora, a thousand emotions swirling in his eyes. He admitted, "Yes. I followed you here."

"Why?" Lora arched an eyebrow. She couldn't understand Ryan. They were strangers, so he shouldn't pay this much attention to her.

Did he know who she was?

"The engagement ceremony... I'm only doing that because I feel responsible for Ivy," Ryan remarked, his eyebrows knitting in confusion. He didn't know know why but he felt the need to explain to Lora.

Lora scoffed and asked, "How is that any of my business, Mr Kingsley? I don't care what you do and I have no reason to."

Ryan's jaw tightened in frustration. He glanced at Lora and questioned, "Are you really going to marry Jason?"

"Yes, I am," Lora replied, raising her chin defiantly. "I love him very much."

Those words felt like a knife to Ryan's chest, twisting deeper with each second.

It hurt like hell.