Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 327: Alice must have had a mother. But where was she?

Since Ryan was too tall to ride the carousel, all he could do was stand outside the fence and wait for Mia to finish.

Ryan had always been a bit puzzled by Mia’s mental age. She was clearly still just a young girl, but sometimes the mischievous ideas she came up with could make anyone blush—ideas that even someone ten years older might not be able to pull off so smoothly.

And just when you thought she was more mature, she’d go and choose something like the carousel, which was usually for little kids.

Ryan had actually ridden a carousel before. A few years ago, not long after he first met Bella, she had a natural resistance to everything. To get closer to her, Ryan had taken her on a carousel ride.

Ryan didn’t find the ride particularly interesting. In fact, he was so bored that he almost fell asleep on the horse. But Bella, on the other hand, was full of energy, dragging him on ride after ride, playing for an entire afternoon without getting tired. Ryan had been completely dumbfounded.

Now, though, the carousel had stopped, and Mia was finally getting off. But she didn’t look particularly happy.

“Mia, what’s wrong?”

Since this outing was mainly for Mia, Ryan had been paying close attention to her mood, especially after learning about her illness. Seeing her wobble unsteadily as she got off the carousel, he quickly rushed over to her.

He wrapped his arms around her small frame. Mia, swaying like a tumbleweed in the desert, seemed to still be feeling unwell.

“Ryan… sniff…”

“I’m never, ever riding a carousel again.”

Mia’s face was scrunched up in frustration, her big eyes misty as she looked up at Ryan. When she saw Anna standing nearby with a smug look on her face, Mia’s anger flared even more.

She clenched her little fists and threw herself into Ryan’s arms.

Grabbing onto the collar of his shirt, she took a deep breath, as if she were a space traveler finally getting a whiff of oxygen after being stranded in the void.

It was a small comfort. At least he still smelled like sunflowers, that familiar scent that always made her feel safe. No other unpleasant odors had tainted it.

Ryan was hers. She was sure of that now. And she had to keep a close eye on him. If some dirty little rat from the shadows tried to steal him away—or even just touched him—she wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Still not feeling well?”

Ryan held Mia close, noticing that her mood had worsened even more since they’d left “Joyful Doughnut” earlier. She had been the one to suggest the carousel, but now she seemed heartbroken. Ryan, who didn’t consider himself particularly emotionally intelligent, instinctively patted Mia’s back gently.

This time, Mia wasn’t faking it. She was genuinely crying, and a patch of his shirt was already soaked with her tears.

Ryan glanced over at Anna, hoping for some advice.

But Anna, who was usually reliable and always had his back no matter what, was now casually looking off in another direction, whistling as if she hadn’t noticed anything.

“Anna?”

“Huh? What’s up, Ryan?”

Only when Ryan called her name did she finally turn her attention back to him, puffing out her cheeks in a way that made it impossible to be mad at her.

Ryan had every reason to believe Anna was pretending not to notice on purpose. As for proof? Well, she had almost burst out laughing when Mia started crying.

Mia, still sobbing, had been calming down a bit under Ryan’s comforting touch. But the moment she heard him call out to Anna, her anger reignited. Her face flushed red, and she bit down on Ryan’s arm in frustration.

With Mia’s “bloody” revenge in full swing, Anna was no help at all. Ryan had no choice but to juggle comforting Mia while also trying to find a place where they could sit and rest.

They had entered the park at around 3 PM, and the park was set to close at 5:30. After all the walking, playing, and waiting in lines, it was now 5 PM, leaving them only half an hour before closing time.

The crowd was moving in one direction, gathering around something. Ryan followed their gaze and saw that it seemed to be a spot for taking family photos.

A happy family of three stood in front of the clown holding balloon animals, smiling warmly at the camera. As the photographer’s shutter clicked, photo after photo was taken, and soon they were handed over at the payment counter.

This was one of the park’s most typical money-making schemes. You’d see this kind of setup all over the country—sometimes it was a clown with balloons, other times it was a variety of plush mascots.

“Ryan, what are you staring at?”

“I’m telling you right now, there’s no way I’m taking a family photo with you!”

Mia noticed Ryan standing still, lost in thought, and followed his gaze. When she realized what he was looking at, she bit her lip and pinched the palm of his hand.

Even though Mia could handle things on her own and was destined to be a high-ranking figure in the mafia, she still looked quite small and young.

Standing next to Anna and Ryan, she resembled the child in a family of three. You could tell from the way the carousel staff had treated them earlier.

Ryan tilted his head in confusion, but when he finally understood what Mia was thinking, he couldn’t help but laugh. He quickly patted her head, reassuring her. He definitely didn’t have any weird “daddy issues” like she was imagining.

Today’s trip to the amusement park with Mia had finally brought a thought to the surface—something Ryan should’ve realized a long time ago.

Ryan was a local. He hadn’t visited the amusement park much as a kid, but he’d seen plenty of ads for it on TV and in the papers.

He vaguely remembered that ever since the city’s economy had taken off, this amusement park had been the dominant one. Over the past twenty years, the rides had been updated again and again, and countless visitors had come and gone, but the park itself had remained.

Ryan wasn’t interested in taking a photo with the clown. It was just that the scene had triggered a memory.

It seemed like the photo in Alice’s bedroom had been taken here. The clown wasn’t the same one, but the family photo was unmistakable.

Ryan didn’t know much about Alice’s background. All he knew was that her father had passed away last year, leaving the heavy burden of their mafia organization on her young shoulders.

Alice must have had a mother. But where was she? Had she passed away too? Or…

Ryan recalled the image in the photo. Young Alice had been holding her father’s hand with one hand, and her other hand had clearly been holding someone else’s. But that person’s figure had been cut out of the photo.

If it was a family photo, then it was almost certain that the person cut out was her mother.

What had happened between them? What had Alice’s mother done to make Alice so determined to erase her from the picture?

Staring at the clown, Ryan’s thoughts froze for a moment. In that inappropriate moment, a fragile yet incredibly strong figure appeared in his mind, and he couldn’t shake it.

Just then, his phone rang, snapping him out of his daze.

Mia’s small hand darted into Ryan’s pocket, grabbing the phone before he could. But when she saw who was calling, her expression darkened.

She quickly gestured to Anna to stay quiet, then dragged Ryan to a secluded corner and shoved the phone into his hand.

“It’s Alice! Ryan, you’ve got to think of something!”