Free Web NovelChapter 21: Chapter 21 He Knew All Along
Rose didn’t answer.
It was obvious.
Ryan was only willing to exchange a few words with her when no one was watching. In public, he was always in "avoid suspicion" mode.
"Did you take your medicine?" Ryan asked again, seemingly unconcerned whether Rose answered or not.
Without turning her head, Rose said, "Yes."
"You’re lying."
Ryan’s tone remained unchanged.
He knew her well, yet she could detect no genuine concern in his voice—only a matter-of-fact statement.
Rose: "..."
She’d almost forgotten.
When they first got married, even if Ryan didn’t love her, he still had his manners.
Whenever she got sick, she refused to take a single pill, preferring to lie in bed and sleep.
She hated moving and would sleep for a day or two at a time, as if she were hibernating.
Even back then, he knew she absolutely hated taking medicine.
Once, to get her to take it, he’d even swallowed the bitter medicine himself, dragged her out from under the covers, and—while she was still groggy and half-asleep—pried her mouth open with his thumb, index finger, and middle finger before spoon-feeding her one mouthful at a time.
They had been married for less than a month at the time.
Afterward, Ryan had said, "If she died during our first month of marriage, I’d end up with a reputation as a husband who brings bad luck to his wife."
Rose had never imagined that an elevator ride down a dozen floors could feel so agonizing.
Ryan’s concern, in particular, made her feel even more uncomfortable.
"This is a medicine prescribed by the hospital for cold symptoms. Try it."
Ryan held out a brown paper bag containing the medicine and effortlessly slipped it into Rose’s arms with a flick of his wrist.
Rose had no choice but to catch it. Frowning, she said, "I don’t need it. Thank you."
She hadn’t expected this.
At the very last moment, right at the final stage of their divorce, Ryan could still act like a decent human being.
Seeing her refusal, Ryan’s long eyelashes lowered slightly.
"I recall that you have several medication intolerances. Mike also has a cold—similar to your condition. Since you’re an expert in pharmacology, you can review the formulation and evaluate whether the prescription is appropriate. Consider it a second opinion.. It’s a win-win."
Rose looked up at him in disbelief.
"You want me to test the medicine for Samantha’s brother?"
So, she’d overthought it again?
Ryan’s expression remained impassive. "It could also treat your condition, couldn’t it?"
What a noble excuse.
Rose nearly laughed in exasperation.
Her chest felt tight and painful.
Even at a time like this, this man could still effortlessly stab her where it hurt most.
She wanted to throw the large packet of cold medicine back at him.
Just as she raised her hand, Ryan seemed to remember something. He looked at Rose quietly. "I recall that you used to participate in several New York elite groups as Mrs. Knight. Quite a few people there have your WhatsApp."
Rose looked at him warily. "So what?"
She had joined those groups when she was newly married and blissfully happy.
She’d done it to get closer to Ryan’s world—after all, it was his social circle.
But she had never shown her face.
People knew she existed, but they knew nothing about her personal information.
"If you haven’t left those groups, you’ve probably seen some of the negative comments about me buying a house for Samantha."
"Were they wrong?" Rose shot back.
Ryan clearly had no intention of debating right and wrong. He looked at her with a calmness bordering on indifference.
"I hope you’ll clarify the situation."
Rose thought she must have misheard him.
"What?"
Ryan glanced at the elevator display. They were three floors from the lobby.
"She needs to build connections in elite circle. She’ll be appearing on TV programs, so her image can’t be tarnished, and there can’t be any rumors."
His dark eyes landed on Rose’s new phone, which she had casually slipped into her pocket.
Then he took it from her.
Taking advantage of the fact that Rose’s hands were occupied, he unlocked her phone, which she hadn’t yet set a password on.
He logged into her WhatsApp account.
He didn’t bother looking through her messages. Instead, he went straight to her status updates.
Ryan moved with astonishing speed.
Rose’s expression changed. Just as she reached out to grab the phone, he handed it back.
He didn’t linger on her private posts like he had last time.
It was as if he couldn’t be bothered to look.
The elevator arrived.
Ryan walked past Rose, whose expression had turned sour, carrying a bouquet scented with mint and rose.
Rose had no idea what he had just done.
She found Ryan’s casual disregard for her utterly distressing.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the elevator.
She found a quiet corner, set down the packet of herbal medicine, and finally checked her phone.
After nearly getting caught by Ryan while looking at Ariel’s photos last time, she’d learned her lesson and hidden all of Ariel’s albums.
She opened her status feed directly.
The moment she saw it, she froze.
Her hand trembled around the phone.
Just one minute earlier, Ryan had posted a message on her behalf:
"Everyone, there’s no need to speculate. Samantha is my biological older sister. The property Ryan and I purchased for the Hill family was bought jointly in our names as husband and wife. It was not purchased solely for Samantha. Rumors stop with the wise."
Seeing the words "my biological older sister," Rose felt a chill spread through her entire body.
Ryan knew.
He knew everything.
He knew about her feud with the Hill family. He knew Samantha was the person who had taken everything from her. He knew Samantha was the daughter brought in by Logan’s mistress.
Yet he still forced her to post this on social media to protect Samantha’s reputation.
Ryan was too ruthless.
Rose deleted the post immediately.
Even though no one had seen it yet.
The feeling still gnawed at her like a parasite beneath her skin.
Making her call her enemy "sister" and helping whitewash Samantha was the most disgusting part of all.
Rose stared at the packet of cold medicine.
No wonder he had suddenly become "concerned" about her.
He had intended to offer her a little kindness first.
Then she would willingly help clear his name.
With a blank expression, Rose picked up the packet of medicine, walked to the trash can in the corner, and tossed it in without hesitation.
The entire afternoon, Rose felt miserable.
Some people were simply a curse in her life.
Endlessly troublesome.
Now she was even more eager for the day she finally received her divorce papers.
She wanted to rid herself of this nauseating mess as quickly as possible.
If Ariel weren’t her Achilles’ heel, she would have lashed out in retaliation without a second thought.
But reality was cruel.
Before she had firmly established herself, offending Ryan and the Knight family would only lead to her own destruction.
She understood the wisdom of keeping her head down.
****
That evening, there was activity in Rose’s account.
As she stared at the endless string of numbers, she felt dazed.
There were too many zeros—more money than the annual GDP of some small cities.
And it wasn’t the two hundred million she had agreed upon with Ryan.
It was three hundred million.
She knew Ryan wasn’t short on money, but this wasn’t a matter of a few million dollars.
He had casually thrown in an extra hundred million.
However, after the initial shock faded, Rose began piecing things together.
It was probably because he had used her phone to post that WhatsApp status earlier.
Was this extra hundred million a reward?
Or compensation?
Rose couldn’t help but sneer.
Ryan truly spared no expense when it came to Samantha.
Thoughtful in every way. Generous in every way.
Even the prenuptial agreement Chairman Knight had once forced her to sign was no longer relevant.
She hadn’t inherited any of Ryan’s assets. Instead, Ryan was being forced to compensate her because of another woman.
If she had divorced him when their marriage first fell apart, she wouldn’t have received a single cent.
Now, however, money was pouring in endlessly to support her child.
