Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 329: Why hadn’t he noticed sooner?

Mia took Ryan’s phone with a confused look on her face, held it to her ear, and after listening for a few seconds, she glanced back at Ryan with a strange expression.

Alice actually wanted to talk to her? The odds of that happening were about as likely as a gambler winning all the money in the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas—basically impossible.

Mia knew perfectly well how much Alice disliked her. She had practically gone out of her way to make sure of it. Normally, Alice wouldn’t even bother acknowledging her existence.

Ryan shrugged, signaling that he had no idea what was going on either. Alice hadn’t told him anything, just asked him to hand the phone to Mia. That was it.

Mia hesitantly asked something into the phone, and then her face changed dramatically. Without another word, she grabbed the phone and ran off.

Ryan had been curious to hear what the two of them would talk about, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen.

At least he had managed to get through Alice’s little “check-in.” This was the first time Ryan had lied to someone close to him, and honestly, it felt pretty weird.

If it wasn’t absolutely necessary, he decided he’d try to be more honest with Alice in the future.

With Mia off on her phone call, Ryan figured he could take a break too.

Sure, amusement parks are supposed to be relaxing, but with two mischievous girls like Mia and Anna around, it was anything but.

They had gone on quite a few rides, but the only ones that really stood out were the “Joyful Doughnut” and the carousel.

It made sense that Ryan had never been to an amusement park before, but what surprised him was that Anna, who usually seemed so experienced, was also a newbie when it came to this kind of place.

Curious, Ryan smiled and turned to chat with Anna, but as soon as he looked over, he saw her standing there, arms crossed, deep in thought.

“Anna, something on your mind?”

It was rare to see Anna looking so serious. In Ryan’s mind, she was always the kind of girl who didn’t have a care in the world—always kind and strong.

Was something bothering her?

When Ryan called her name, her expression froze for a second, but she quickly returned to her usual self.

She turned to face him, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, and after a brief pause, she asked, “Ryan… you and Mia didn’t sneak out, did you?”

Well, wasn’t that obvious? Alice had already called to check if he was still at the hospital. It was clear that Anna had her suspicions.

Ryan hadn’t expected Anna to be worried about something like this, though.

“Uh, yeah, technically, we did,” he admitted, scratching his head awkwardly. He nodded and then waved his hand dismissively, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“What’s Alice’s deal, anyway? So controlling. A tyrant, maybe?”

“Does she really not trust me? Ugh, what a pain…”

Ryan had barely finished brushing it off when, before Anna could even react, Mia exploded on the other end of the park.

There wasn’t much for Mia and Alice to talk about. Alice didn’t need to remind Mia of anything because, frankly, she didn’t think much of her. Alice was way ahead of Mia in terms of power and ability, so there wasn’t much to discuss.

The only thing left to talk about was Ryan.

Even though Alice hadn’t openly accused Ryan of anything, that didn’t mean she wasn’t suspicious. Sure, Mia and Ryan had been at the hospital, but Alice still wanted to know exactly what they had been up to.

“Did she seriously just threaten me? One day, I’m gonna chop her up and feed her to the sharks!”

Ryan and Anna stared in shock as Mia ranted, clearly losing her cool. There was no denying that, in moments like this, Mia could be pretty intimidating.

She stomped her foot on the ground, trying her best to curse, but her upbringing held her back. Even when she used the harshest words she could think of, it didn’t sound all that bad. In fact, Ryan found it kind of… cute, in a weird way.

This is so bizarre…

It was almost closing time at the amusement park, and Mia had been planning to take Ryan on the Ferris wheel to unwind after being “tortured” by Anna all day. But that phone call had completely ruined her mood.

If Anna hadn’t been around, today might’ve been pretty fun. And if Alice hadn’t called, Mia wouldn’t be nearly as angry as she was now.

As they left the amusement park, Mia was still holding Ryan’s hand, but the dark expression on her face made it clear how she was feeling.

Ryan had tried asking Mia what exactly she and Alice had talked about, but for once, Mia, who was usually so open with him, just clenched her teeth and stayed silent. Ryan could only scratch his head in confusion, left completely in the dark.

Alice had just finished a press conference at six that evening, so it made sense that Mia had been in such a rush to get back after the call. If they didn’t make it back to the hospital before six, the risk of getting caught would be pretty high.

Within a few minutes, the car pulled up smoothly in front of the hospital. Mia anxiously checked the time on her phone and quickly ordered her team to bring the tracker back and reattach it.

The guy handling the tracker looked exhausted. After Mia gave the order, he had been holding onto it the whole time, driving around the hospital to make sure the movement pattern didn’t look suspicious. He had done a pretty thorough job.

Anna stood nearby, watching with a serious expression as Mia reattached the tracker to Ryan. Her hands were clenched into fists behind her back.

Before, Anna had only had a vague sense of Alice’s terrifying possessiveness. But now, seeing Alice take actions that Anna herself had secretly wanted to take, she couldn’t ignore it anymore.

Her fear and resentment toward Alice grew even stronger.

Once the tracker was back in place, both Ryan and Mia let out a long sigh of relief.

Then, Mia turned to Ryan and asked him a familiar question, but this time with a lot more seriousness: if she gave him a chance to break free from Alice’s control, would he take it?

She asked this right in front of Anna. After all, if she didn’t ask now, Anna would find out one way or another. It was better to get a clear answer right away.

Anna, who usually didn’t get along with Mia, dropped her usual laid-back attitude and fixed her gaze on Ryan, waiting for his response.

“Ryan… you…”

“I haven’t really thought about it yet,” Ryan said, cutting her off gently.

“To be honest, Miss Alice can be a bit extreme sometimes, but I can understand why she does what she does.”

“Besides, I have my reasons for staying by her side.”

Both girls looked at him with hopeful eyes, but unfortunately, all Ryan could offer them was rejection.

To survive, Ryan had no choice but to stay with Alice and help her through her struggles.

Even though his original goal was becoming less and less relevant, whether it was his curiosity about Alice’s past or his concern for Mia’s still-uncertain illness, it was clear that he couldn’t just walk away.

Ryan didn’t have a choice, but Mia and Anna didn’t know why. And even if they did, they probably wouldn’t understand.

The atmosphere between the three of them had grown more and more tense since Alice’s phone call. Not long after, Ryan received a text from Alice, saying she’d pick him up from the hospital at 6:10 to take him home.

“Anna, how about I call a cab and drop you off first?” Ryan asked, putting his phone away. He caught Anna’s gaze and smiled, trying to break the awkward silence.

Anna smiled back and nodded, accepting Ryan’s offer without hesitation. At Mia’s insistence, the three of them stood by the roadside, waiting for a cab together.

Ryan’s attention was on the passing cars, but if he had been paying more attention to the girls, maybe he could have avoided what happened next—something he would come to regret.

He should have noticed sooner. After he had smiled and turned them down, neither of the girls had smiled again. They just stood there, staring at his back, their eyes red with unshed tears.

Why hadn’t he noticed sooner?