Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 287: Ryan, today isn’t the right day for us to meet

“Bel… Bella!?”

Ryan stared at the note that had been slipped under the door, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over him. It was as if the air around him had suddenly thinned, making it hard to breathe.

The impact of the words was overwhelming. Ryan almost dropped the Knockout Gas he was holding.

He had sensed something earlier when they met on the second floor. Even though he had tried to deny the strange feeling creeping into his mind, deep down, he knew better than anyone—Bella was really back.

And the person who had been following him, the one now separated from him by just a door, was her.

“Ryan! Are you listening? What’s going on?”

Alice’s voice came through the phone, filled with concern. When she didn’t get a response, her worry quickly escalated into a near shout.

Alice had always been possessive to a frightening degree, and now, with Ryan disappearing and calling her emergency line, her mind was racing with all kinds of wild thoughts. If he didn’t give her a clear answer soon, she was bound to lose it.

Ryan had called Alice to warn her about the danger, and the situation was indeed dangerous. But as he stared at the note on the floor, it felt like something was lodged in his throat, preventing him from saying a word.

“It’s nothing, Miss Alice… I just thought I saw someone suspicious outside. Are you okay over there?”

Ryan’s eyes were fixed on the small gap under the door. Light was streaming in from outside, and he could clearly see a shadow standing there.

Bella was right outside. She hadn’t left.

There was no denying it now. Ryan had to admit that Nella was Bella from all those years ago. She was back, and just like the note had said, she had come looking for him.

“A suspicious person? Were they after you?”

On the other end, Alice’s brow furrowed. A suspicious person?

She had felt a strange gaze on her earlier in the ballroom, but she hadn’t paid much attention to it. After all, she was used to being watched in her daily life. But now that Ryan mentioned it, she was starting to feel uneasy.

The sound of Alice’s voice wasn’t particularly loud, but in the cramped space Ryan was in, with the echo, there was no doubt that the person outside could hear every word.

Ryan knew Alice was starting to get suspicious. What he was doing right now wasn’t exactly honest, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He had to lie.

On one hand, the person outside was Bella, someone who had once been incredibly close to him. On the other hand, there was the very real threat she had made.

Bella had warned him not to tell anyone what was happening, or else Alice would be in serious danger.

Sure, with Alice’s status and resources, she could probably defend herself if she went all out. But right now, she was tied up in this project, her hands and feet bound. If she focused solely on defense, it would be like waiting for death.

Bella, for reasons Ryan couldn’t understand, had become the third daughter of the Langston family. She wasn’t the same fragile girl from years ago. If she really wanted to, she could cause Alice a lot of trouble.

The scariest thing wasn’t a hidden plot, but an open one—like a terminally ill patient watching the calendar, counting down the days until their death.

“I’m not sure. Someone was following me earlier, but I think I lost them.”

“I didn’t get a good look at who it was, but you should be careful.”

Ryan’s words were vague. He didn’t mention Bella directly, but he was still warning Alice to stay alert. It was his way of hinting at the danger without saying too much.

As soon as he said that, Ryan glanced at the shadow on the floor. It shifted slightly, and then there was a soft knock on the bathroom door, almost like a warning.

Another note was quickly slipped under the door. The message was simple: Hang up the phone.

“Okay… I understand.”

Ryan stared at the note for a few seconds, feeling dazed. He recognized that delicate handwriting all too well.

Back when Bella was in school, she would always ask Ryan to help her with her homework. Her neat, elegant handwriting was practically etched into his memory.

Now, the girl had grown up, and it seemed like her writing had taken on a new purpose.

“What?”

“Nothing… It’s nothing, Miss Alice. I’ll be back soon. Just wait for me there.”

Ryan rubbed his temples, which were starting to throb. He didn’t know what to do with the Knockout Gas in his hand. Should he put it away? Should he use it?

Using it on Bella? That was out of the question.

But putting it away made him feel an inexplicable sense of danger.

Bella’s state was clearly off. She was nothing like the Bella Ryan remembered from when they parted ways. Instead, her current demeanor was eerily similar to Alice’s when she was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

Chaotic. Violent. Mixed with some kind of overwhelming, unidentifiable emotion that seemed to be spiraling out of control. Ryan was grateful for the door between them—without it, he wasn’t sure he could handle her.

Holding the phone, Ryan found himself torn. Alice was his last lifeline, the only thing keeping him from facing the person outside, who had become a complete mystery to him. But was getting closer to Alice really the right move?

“Heh…”

As he waited for Alice’s response, Ryan’s heart pounded in his chest. If he hung up first, Alice would definitely get suspicious.

Then he heard her soft laugh, and a shiver ran down his spine. Had Alice already figured something out?

If that were the case, it would be the worst possible outcome. He didn’t know why Bella was targeting Alice, but if things kept going this way, it would turn into a confrontation between the two of them. And where would that leave him? Whose side would he take?

“So, Ryan…”

“I didn’t expect you to care about me this much. I have to say, I’m kind of happy about it.”

Alice’s voice had taken on a playful, almost teasing tone. In the ballroom, her smile had already drawn plenty of attention, but she didn’t care about any of the people watching her.

Her heart had already made its choice.

The emergency call ended with a conversation that felt absurdly out of place. Ryan’s chest tightened as he listened to Alice’s words.

He had planned to be more honest with her, but when it came down to it, he had lied again. For the first time, Ryan found himself thinking that maybe Alice’s constant surveillance wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

As the call ended, the silence around him returned, thick and suffocating. Ryan took a deep breath.

From the moment he received the note, he had been wondering what it would be like to see Bella again. He had tried to prepare himself, thinking through different scenarios, trying to figure out how to deal with the Bella standing before him now.

But before he could come up with a plan, she had already found him—and trapped him in a bathroom stall, no less. It was like something out of a surreal nightmare.

There was no avoiding it now. Denying it wouldn’t help. Ryan stared at the stall door in front of him, sighed quietly, and reached for the lock, turning it slowly.

“Bella, long time no see.”

He tried to sound casual as he spoke, pushing the door open. But the moment he applied pressure, he realized something was wrong.

Bang—bang—

The door rattled as it hit the frame, but it didn’t budge. It shook a few times, but there was no sign of it opening.

Just as Ryan had suspected, the stall door was incredibly sturdy. As long as it was locked, no one from the outside could get in.

But he had overlooked one crucial detail: if the door was blocked from the outside, he couldn’t get out either.

“Bella! Are you still there? Bella?”

There was no one outside but Bella. He didn’t need to think too hard to figure out who had done this.

He crouched down to peer through the gap under the door. Sure enough, at some point, Bella had left. The space outside the bathroom was empty.

And in the spot where she had been standing, a note lay on the floor. Ryan practically had to lie flat on the ground, stretching his arm out as far as he could to reach it.

The note read:

Ryan, today isn’t the right day for us to meet.

Stay away from Alice. You’re my brother, and I’ll always be watching you.

All the words Ryan had prepared for their confrontation were useless now. He pushed against the stall door again, unsure whether to feel relieved or disappointed.