Ryan gritted his teeth, fighting through the pain, as he hurriedly settled into a nearby chair andid out the stack of books neatly in front of him. There were over a dozen of them, each one hefty and packed with real-life business case studies. Sarah had clearly put a lot of effort into picking them out. She was nning to marry Ryan someday, after all, and the better he did, the better her life would be.
"I''ll read them all thoroughly. If I finish these, will ra agree to meet me?" Ryan asked, hopeful.
It would take him at least six months to get through them, and by then, ra might just be ready to see him.
"That''s what she said. She also mentioned not to let her down."
Ryan took a deep breath, determination shing in his eyes. "I won''t let her down!"
For the next three days, Sarah visited Ryan daily. Since ra hadn''t called and no one reached out to her, the staff assumed Sarah was sent by ra and didn''t interfere. All Sarah did was chat with Ryan, but spending so much time together could easily lead to feelings developing, especially with Ryan not yet twenty.
ra had a straightforward n: she wanted Ryan to learn his lesson. She nned to see him again when he turned twenty. Ryan diligently worked through the books each day, grateful for Sarah''spany. Whenever he struggled with pain, Sarah encouraged him, reminding him that ra wouldn''t want to see him give up. Those words carried him through countless tough moments.
Meanwhile, ra was genuinely busy. After finalizing investment details with Kaitlyn, she began exploring partnerships with otherpanies. What she didn''t expect was a call from Dn.
"Need some business?"
His tone was calm, but she knew he wasn''t just making small talk. If Dn threw even a small deal her way, it would sustain the Bradford family for a decade.
"Yes, Mr. Dn, are you offering charity?"
After a pause, Dn replied, "Seven o''clock, at Moonlight."
ra''s eyes brightened, nodding eagerly. "Should I prepare anything?"
"No need." And with that, he hung up, not wasting a second more.
ra felt a twinge of being disliked. Was Dn still upset about theirst encounter? She quickly applied light makeup and headed to the mall to find a gift. It couldn''t be cheap, and a watch was out of the question-toomon for someone of his stature. She picked out a pair of silver-blue cufflinks for twenty thousand dors, top quality for cufflinks.
After making her purchase, she noticed a small stand nearby selling red beans processed tost without spoiling. They had thin strings for making jewelry, and ra was immediately intrigued. She crouched down, selecting beans carefully, holding each to the sunlight to check for blemishes.
Once satisfied, she followed the vendor''s instructions to string them with a
delicate red cord. It was a painstaking task, but she thought Z would appreciate it. After finishing one string, she picked more beans to make a matching set for herself.
As she worked on the second string, footsteps approached from behind. She ignored them until she heard Jackson''s mocking voice.
"Isn''t that you, ra? Has the Bradford family fallen so low you''re selling red beans outside a luxury store?"
ra frowned, turning to see Jackson, and not far off, Dn. They were there for a joint venture between the Ferguson and Dawson families. Jackson was
surprised; usually, Aiden apanied Dn, but not today.
He couldn''t resist taking a jab at ra. Seeing her without doing so felt iplete. ra was crouched with red beans looped around her finger.
Jackson snatched them up, tossing them lightly.
"Who''s the lucky recipient of this cheap trinket?”
ra took a deep breath, stood, and snatched it back. "Jackson, that''s enough."
Dn''s voice cut through the tension. "That''s enough."
Jackson shrugged, snorted, and turned back to Dn. As they walked into the mall, he couldn''t help butment, "She''s really nning to gift that? If any woman gave me something like that, I''d toss it out. It''s just so tacky."