Katie Chen had an awkward smile on her face as her eyes met Violet's.
By now, Katie was very sure that Violet had seen her argument with her ex-husband. Thinking of her messy divorce made her embarrassed to face anyone else. Most importantly, Katie was ashamed to let Violet know about her divorce.
But looking at Violet's relationship with her younger brother…
"Katie."
Ryan's voice made Katie turn around.
"You should go back," Ryan said. "I'm sure that you should be tired after everything."
"I'm not tired." Katie glanced at Violet. A thought crossed her mind, making her smile. "No. Wait. Perhaps you are right. Maybe I am tired."
"You…" Ryan frowned at his sister's sudden change of attitude.
Before he could finish the question he wanted to ask, Ryan found that his sister already pulled him to the side.
"What are you doing?"
"Alright. I know." Katie raised a hand, motioning her younger brother to keep quiet. The smile on her face turned to a tease. "Ryan, you always said that you and Miss Xu did not get along well. But look at you…" She gave Ryan a lookover.
"It's not what you think." There was a trace of helplessness in Ryan's voice. His expression grew sadder as he recalled trying to talk to Violet a while ago. But Violet seemed to be avoiding him.
"Mhm…" The smile on Katie's lips widened. "I think I owe you an apology. I disrupted your date with Violet."
"Katie."
"Don't worry. I won't talk to Mom about this."
Ryan felt an incoming headache.
The women around him were not listening to what he had to say.
"Cheer up." Katie slapped her brother's shoulder. "I'll be rooting for you." She turned to Violet next and told her that she had some place to go. Finally, Katie left after waving her hand at the couple.
"Is your sister alright?" Violet asked once Katie was no longer within their sight.
"She should be alright. This was not the first time something like this happened."
Violet frowned. She had a feeling that Katie might not be as okay as Ryan had thought.
She fought with her ex-husband on the street. Too many people saw them. Violet felt that Katie should be embarrassed.
"That man from earlier…."
"Louis Li, Katie's ex-husband," Ryan said with a sigh. "Did he frighten you?" There was a trace of worry on his expression.
Violet shook her head. "No."
Mostly, Violet was worried about Katie. Her ex-husband seemed like a very violent person.
"Their divorce was messy," Ryan explained. "Louis would often look for my sister to make trouble." A chuckle escaped his lips. "Mostly, he came to look for Katie to ask for her money."
The light in Ryan's eyes turned darker as he recalled his elder sister's marriage life.
The couple met during their studies and got married.
Katie thought that she was marrying the love of her life. But it did not take Louis long to show who he really was. In the end, he only married Katie for her money.
He learned that Katie was going to inherit the company and thought that he would live a lavish life. He felt that he could get a high position in the company with Katie's help, but this idea was rejected.
Everyone who wants to join the company has to start from the bottom.
Even Katie was assigned to the marketing department when she first began. Back then, their mother did not let anyone know Katie's identity so that she wouldn't get any preferential treatment.
The man who appeared sweet and harmless at the beginning started to hit his wife when he could not get the life he wanted from her. He wanted money, but Katie would not give it to him.
After staying together for a few years, Katie could no longer tolerate their marriage. She chose to speak to their mother about Louis before she filed for a divorce.
Louis did not agree to this divorce, but Katie had a lot of evidence of his abuse.
Their mother had to pull some strings to help speed up the divorce.
They hired the best lawyer.
Of course, Louis did not get a cent from the divorce.
But the divorce did not stop Louise from making trouble for Katie. He would show up in front of her every now and then, even after that restraining order. This man still thought that he deserved some compensation for the divorce.
When they were divorced, Ryan was just happy that the couple did not have any children. Or else, who knew what Louis would be willing to do? Ryan had a feeling that Louis would dare to harm their children just for some money.
"Ryan?"
Ryan snapped out of his trance when he heard Violet's voice. He quickly adjusted his expression and tried to smile. "It's getting late. Come on. I'll take you home, alright?"
Violet nodded. She had a few things that she wanted to ask Ryan, but she noticed that he was not in the mood.
…
The car pulled over in front of the Xu residence.
Ryan stared ahead before he finally turned to Violet again. "We are here."
"Mhm…" Violet smiled. "Thank you." She cleared her throat. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
Ryan nodded. He had so many things that he wanted to talk to Violet. Mostly, he wanted to discuss their future now that their contract would end sooner. He hoped that he could keep Violet by his side, but he felt that Violet might not be feeling the same.
He could sense her unwillingness when he tried to bring up the topic earlier.
Ryan was afraid of hearing Violet's rejection. Because of that, he decided not to mention their contract again.
Yes. He was a coward.
But this was the first time that he liked someone this much. As someone who did not have a lot of experience, Ryan was clueless about what he should do.
Violet pushed the door open and stepped out.