"Vivian...you and him?" Henry choked out, his fists clenched.
"What, is it not obvious?" Vivian asked, wrapping her arms around Ryan's neck and kissing him passionately.
She knew Ryan was using her to provoke Henry, and she didn't care.
However, she had despised this persistent guy for a long time.
So, she went along with Ryan's act, though for her, it was half performance and half real.
"Impossible! How could you fall for this guy?!"
Henry couldn't believe it. The woman who had ignored his advances for so long had been "conquered" so easily by some poor guy.
What does he even have?
"I get it," Henry sneered, his ego refusing to accept defeat. "You're just using him to push me away. This is all an act."
Ryan sighed. Idiots were all the same—self-important to the bone and thinking they were some kind of prize.
"An act? For you? Don't flatter yourself."
"Buddy, time to go. Staying any longer would just be rude," Ryan said coolly. "She clearly doesn't like you. Why keep embarrassing yourself?"
That broke Henry.
Furious, he lunged at Ryan. "You bastard! You must've threatened Vivian! I'll teach you a lesson!"
His fist flew toward Ryan's face.
"Henry, stop!" Vivian panicked, trying to intervene. Ryan held her waist firmly, keeping her in place.
"Ah—!"
A scream rang out but not from Ryan.
Henry's face twisted in pain as Ryan gripped his fist, squeezing just enough to make his bones creak. As Ryan stood, Henry was forced to his knees to avoid having his wrist snapped.
"Pathetic."
Ryan looked down at the kneeling man, his sheer presence suffocating. To Henry, Ryan seemed less like a person and more like a monster in human skin.
"If I catch you bothering Vivian again, you know what'll happen."
Ryan released Henry and watched the formerly arrogant white guy scramble back, fear plastered across his face.
Typical.
These people were all the same—bullies at heart who only acted tough toward the weak. In a place like this, showing weakness was an invitation to be trampled.
The best policy? Hit back twice as hard.
But what if fists didn't work? Well, Ryan was proficient with firearms, too.
—
As they stepped outside, Vivian clung to Ryan like a koala, reluctant to let go. There was something oddly addictive about his scent. If they weren't in public, she would have stayed glued to him.
"So...what are we?" she asked, studying him.
They had done everything couples do, but in the U.S., that didn't necessarily mean anything. Was she just a fling? Or something more?
"FWB," Ryan said bluntly.
Girlfriend? Hell no. He wasn't about to settle down. Keeping things casual meant freedom.
Vivian pouted. "You could've at least sugarcoated it."
Most guys would have lied to spare her feelings. But Ryan? Brutally honest.
"Don't like it? No one's stopping you from leaving."
He turned to walk away.
"Wait!"
Vivian stomped her foot, but followed him. FWB is better than nothing. If she played her cards right, maybe she could upgrade to girlfriend status.
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{ T/N- "I appreciate your comments, reviews, and Power Stones!" }