Free Web NovelChapter 239: Chapter 239 The Misunderstanding Between Them
Just one sentence.
It sent a chill through Rose’s entire body.
The blood in her limbs seemed to surge upward, sending a sharp pain crashing through her head. Her breathing stopped for a moment, as if all the oxygen had been sucked from her lungs.
Almost numb with shock, she met his gaze.
His eyes were sharp enough to cut through her and expose every secret hidden in her soul.
“...What?”
The word barely escaped her throat.
Ryan missed none of the changes in her expression.
He took a step forward, his long legs closing the distance between them.
“Where is the child you gave birth to a few years ago?”
Rose’s pupils contracted violently.
Ryan knew.
He knew everything.
The realization shattered her thoughts almost instantly.
It had happened too suddenly.
She had only just finalized the divorce and had not yet had time to transfer Ariel’s legal custody to Trevor. The truth being exposed now was enough to make her entire world collapse.
As though he could see through her thoughts, Ryan held up the phone.
His eyes carried emotions too complicated to decipher.
“Your phone. It contains photos from your pregnancy, including the records of your postpartum hemorrhage and critical condition.”
His voice was almost devoid of warmth.
Every word carried a chilling sharpness.
Rose suddenly understood.
There was no escaping now.
The phone she had lost few time ago had, through countless twists of fate, ended up in Ryan’s hands.
What she had feared for so long had finally happened.
She looked directly into his eyes.
“So how do you want me to explain it?”
He stared at her. “Why did you keep it from me?”
Rose suddenly laughed. “Why should I have told you? Weren’t we living in different countries for those years?”
For the first two years of their marriage, they had lived apart.
Separated by entire oceans.
Besides, Ryan had never wanted children with her.
Why would she tell him?
Ryan remained silent for a long time.
The sharp pain in Rose’s eyes stung him.
Finally, he asked quietly, “Whose?”
His voice was not loud.
In fact, it was almost calm.
But those two simple words completely extinguished the last trace of warmth in Rose’s eyes.
It only took a few seconds for her to understand what he meant.
And why he had asked.
It felt as though burning acid had been poured down her throat, scorching her lungs. Every breath became painful.
In that moment, overwhelmed by anger, heartbreak, and bitterness, she unexpectedly smiled.
What an absurd misunderstanding.
Living abroad alone.
Becoming pregnant.
Giving birth.
It truly looked like the perfect betrayal.
She understood why Ryan thought this way.
Even if she had been an outsider, she would have suspected the same thing.
The only time they had not used protection had been the night before he left for his overseas assignment.
But Ryan had been drunk.
What could he possibly remember?
Moreover, he never knew that seven years ago, Chairman Knight had secretly forced her to sign a seven-year divorce agreement.
Their marriage had been doomed from the beginning.
It had never been meant to last.
Ryan had no reason to believe she would willingly conceive his child and hide it.
Therefore, the only conclusion he could reach was betrayal.
It was a vicious cycle.
But Rose saw nothing wrong with it.
Perhaps this was for the best.
If Ryan believed the child belonged to another man, he would never obsess over finding the child.
Instead, it would become a source of humiliation—something he would never want to acknowledge.
She lifted her chin.
Her eyes were red, but she offered no explanation.
“Do I need to remind you, Mr. Knight? We’re divorced. We already have the divorce certificate. Do I really owe you an explanation?”
Ryan’s thin lips tightened slightly.
His eyes held no warmth.
But Rose still felt it wasn’t enough. “We’re even now. I’m no longer standing in the way of you and Samantha, and I’ve made room for both of you. Likewise, you have no right to interfere in my life.”
She did not mind making the misunderstanding even worse.
After all, Ryan had been the one to ask, “Whose?”
She was simply going along with it.
Perhaps this was for the best.
She no longer cared whether Ryan misunderstood her.
What mattered was that even if he someday discovered that Ariel was her child, the thorn of this misunderstanding would still remain.
Ryan stared at the determination in her eyes.
The resolve to destroy everything.
He stepped closer again.
His voice grew colder.
“Tell me who the father is, and tell me where the child is.”
The pressure of his presence forced Rose to take a step backward.
She had not expected Ryan to pursue the matter so relentlessly.
She clenched her jaw. “Why should I tell you? What are you going to do? Take revenge?”
He looked at her defensive posture and her reddened eyes.
After several seconds of silence, he spoke slowly.
“You could have told me earlier. Perhaps I would have granted your wish.”
Rose had endured countless disappointments over the years.
She thought she had become immune.
Yet hearing those words still cut deeply.
Because Ryan had completely denied every year they had spent together.
He was telling her that he had never cared.
That he could have let her go at any time.
As though she had always been a burden.
“Does Trevor know?” Ryan asked. “But I suppose he wouldn’t mind. After all, the two of you are quite similar.”
His gaze remained cold. “Both of you are raising someone else’s child.”
Rose said nothing.
Ryan fell silent as well.
A moment later, he continued. “You don’t need to be afraid of me. I won’t do anything to the child. Maybe one day I’ll even tuck some money into the child’s birthday card.”
His voice remained steady. “I just won’t tell him that his mother gave birth to him while she was still married.”
He never raised his voice.
Yet every word struck like a knife.
Slap!
Unable to endure it any longer, Rose raised her hand and struck him.
That sentence had crossed her bottom line.
Ryan could insult her.
He could misunderstand her.
But he could not use Ariel against her.
Ryan’s face turned slightly to the side.
The shadows along his jaw deepened.
The tension between them reached its breaking point.
Yet he showed almost no anger.
His gaze remained cold.
His tongue lightly brushed against his lips.
He looked at Rose.
As though testing the limits of her restraint.
The moment the child was mentioned, Rose transformed into a lioness protecting her cub.
She was prepared to fight anyone.
She no longer cared how completely their relationship collapsed.
The only thing she cared about was that hidden child.
His gaze lowered.
He saw her trembling with anger.
Her fingers were clenched so tightly that they had turned white.
The skin looked thin enough to split.
Ryan suddenly fell silent.
He stared at her for a long time.
Then he slowly stepped back.
Rose had never expected things to escalate this far.
She had slapped Ryan.
Perhaps from the day he was born until now, no one had ever dared strike him.
He did not retaliate.
But his eyes grew colder.
And his words became even crueler.
“If you haven’t told Trevor that you have a child, then don’t worry.”
His voice was calm. “I won’t ruin your happy marriage.”
