Free Web NovelChapter 31: Chapter 31 A Coat Without Warmth
Rose didn’t think she was overreacting.
Her husband—who wasn’t even divorced yet—was standing right there, completely devoted to another woman. If she didn’t stand her ground, she would have been dragged through the mud long ago.
She couldn’t count on anyone.
She couldn’t rely on anyone.
Even if she threw caution to the wind, it was her only way out.
Clearly, no one had expected Rose to be so assertive.
A flash of irritation crossed Samantha’s eyes.
She had assumed Rose would keep a low profile and play along. Hadn’t she always been meek and unassertive in the past?
If the surveillance footage were really released, wouldn’t Rose deliberately smear her by claiming she had framed her?
“Rose, let bygones be bygones. Sam was just willing to let you off the hook—why are you stirring things up again?” Oliver felt Samantha had already been more than accommodating toward Rose.
Yet she was still so ungrateful.
Rose watched Oliver, who was so eager to take Samantha’s side.
She didn’t know whether it was because Samantha was the woman closest to Ryan’s heart, or simply because Samantha was naturally blessed with good fortune, making everyone like and defend her.
It made Rose feel utterly outnumbered and outmatched.
Her nose stung. After all, she was only twenty-six. Facing such unfair criticism as the target of everyone’s ire, she couldn’t help but feel hurt.
“I’ll say it again: check the surveillance footage,” Rose repeated, enunciating each word clearly.
Only then did Samantha’s expression change.
If the surveillance footage were exposed, how would others view her?
Her gaze instinctively fell on Ryan, who had yet to take a stance.
The man was standing two steps away from Rose.
From her perspective, it almost looked as if Ryan were standing on Rose’s side.
At that thought, Samantha pressed her lips together and furrowed her brow.
“Ryan.”
She wanted to call him back to her side.
She knew Ryan was the only one who could resolve this matter.
Rose also shot a cold glance at him.
Ryan’s gaze was clear and piercing as he looked at Rose. After a few seconds, he spoke.
His tone was utterly detached.
“That’s enough.”
That single, brief sentence brought the matter to a forceful and final close.
Rose felt her chest tighten sharply, followed by a wave of pain.
She stared at him in disbelief.
Ryan lowered his gaze.
“The resort has its own rules. Not just anyone can break them. Does everyone want to review the surveillance footage and can review it? What about the regulations?”
His voice remained steady throughout.
To Rose’s ears, every word felt like an ice pick driven into her stomach.
Because she understood the implication.
This was a blatant attempt to shield Samantha.
Perhaps Ryan had also guessed that she hadn’t pushed Samantha, but he was unwilling to let the truth come out because he didn’t want people viewing Samantha in a negative light.
And so he was sacrificing Rose alone, allowing everyone present to continue believing she had done such a thing.
After all, no one had actually seen what happened.
As long as Ryan didn’t give the go-ahead, the surveillance footage would never be released.
Consequently, everyone would gladly believe Samantha’s version of events, take her side, and join in condemning Rose.
Ryan was the resort’s owner, so naturally, no one questioned him.
Samantha’s expression immediately softened.
A confident smile returned to her lips as she walked gracefully to Ryan’s side, linked her arm through his, and turned to look at Rose.
“I said I wouldn’t hold it against you, and I meant it. We’re all women; we should help each other out. As long as it doesn’t cross a line, nothing else matters. You don’t need to feel guilty.”
Rose looked at the man and woman standing side by side before her.
Such open affection.
United against the outside world.
How ironic.
The man being held by another woman was her own husband.
“A line? Do you even know where it is?”
Was destroying someone else’s family what Samantha considered a line?
Samantha’s gaze darkened.
Ryan cast a cool glance at Rose.
“Escort Miss Bennett back to her room.”
A staff member quickly stepped forward and gestured.
“This way, please.”
Samantha was very pleased with Ryan’s attitude toward Rose and the way he addressed her.
“Miss Bennett.”
How cold and distant.
She was thoroughly satisfied.
Tightening her grip on Ryan’s arm, she smiled at Rose.
“Ryan, don’t be so cold and stiff with a lady—it’ll hurt her feelings.”
Oliver chuckled. “Do you think everyone is just like you? Not everyone gets special treatment from Ryan.”
Rose understood Samantha’s meaning.
She also understood Oliver’s subtle sarcasm.
She realized Ryan was shooing her away.
He was probably afraid she would expose Samantha’s true identity in public.
He was overthinking it.
Until the divorce papers were finalized, she wouldn’t act on impulse.
Rose said nothing more and turned to leave.
The gazes fixed on her back were laced with scorn. No doubt they all saw her as a clown, utterly defeated.
Rose didn’t return to her room right away.
Instead, she wandered aimlessly around the resort’s massive artificial lake.
The pain in her lower back still hadn’t subsided, as though it were constantly reminding her of what had happened.
The temperature on the mountain was seven or eight degrees lower than indoors.
The distant mountains were blanketed in snow beneath the desolate moonlight.
It failed to illuminate the path ahead.
Rose didn’t feel particularly miserable.
She was simply overwhelmed by a profound sense of loneliness.
A person’s disappointment and sorrow aren’t imagined.
They are born from comparison.
Some people, it seemed, received all the sweetness in the world without having to do anything at all.
Rose sniffed, her nose numb and red from the cold, then wiped at the corners of her eyes—even though they weren’t wet.
It was okay.
She didn’t want candy that depended on someone else’s generosity.
Candy that could be taken away at any moment.
She would earn her own.
Sooner or later, she definitely would.
She walked for more than half an hour until her mind finally settled, then returned to the hotel.
As soon as she reached the park at the foot of the hotel, Rose spotted a tall figure standing beneath the moonlight.
She had always known Ryan was strikingly handsome.
At that moment, he was wearing a simple white shirt. His back was straight, his lean frame clearly outlined beneath the fabric. Years of habit gave him a posture that was both relaxed and impeccably upright.
His head was slightly lowered, his jawline sharp and defined.
Standing there, he looked flawless.
Anyone unfamiliar with him might have mistaken him for a movie star.
Ryan wasn’t wearing a jacket.
He had casually draped it over one arm.
A cigarette burned between his fingers, its ember glowing intermittently in the darkness.
He exuded an air of aloof pride, keeping the world at arm’s length.
Hearing footsteps, he turned his head.
“Where have you been so late at night?”
His tone was calm, betraying none of the tension from earlier.
Rose looked away. “I was going to jump into the lake. Too bad it’s frozen over—I couldn’t do it.”
The ill-timed joke cut like a knife.
It was pure sarcasm.
Ryan could tell.
He stubbed out the cigarette and walked over.
His gaze swept over her frost-reddened face.
Ignoring her remark, he draped his coat over her shoulders.
“It’s late, and it’s cold up here. This isn’t the city.”
Caught off guard, Rose found herself enveloped in the crisp scent lingering on his coat—a blend of roses and mint.
Faced with this rare display of thoughtfulness, she felt strangely detached.
She looked up at him. “Is this your apology?”
“For what happened at Oliver’s birthday party?”
Ryan lowered his gaze.
Instead of answering, he asked, “We’re having a family dinner the day after tomorrow. What time do you get off work? I’ll pick you up.”
Rose paused.
Then she understood.
Was his concern about her being out late and his gesture of draping his coat over her shoulders all for the sake of the family dinner?
He didn’t think he had done anything wrong by taking Samantha’s side at Oliver’s birthday party.
The corners of Rose’s lips twitched.
A chill spread through her entire body, making her tremble slightly.
She didn’t make a scene or throw away the coat he had placed over her shoulders.
Instead, she simply looked at him quietly.
“Is it appropriate for me to go back?”
After all, they were getting a divorce.
Did the Knight family dinner have anything to do with her anymore?
Did Ryan still see her as a member of the Knight family?
Besides, she had already resigned from Hospital, yet Ryan still didn’t know.
To be a husband to this extent, he certainly was “thoughtful.”
Ryan adjusted her collar.
“If you don’t come back, Grandma will assume it’s because of Samantha, and that’s bound to cause trouble.”
