Chapter 7 The Three Requests
998 Words
When Agnes was about to call Ryan, she found that there are three missed calls from Flora. It could be that she accidentally muted the phone and didn't hear it ring.
The call was made an hour ago. Flora should be on her way here now.
Agnes called Miranda and told her that she had a bad headache and wanted her company. Then she called Ryan, asking him to come.
Ryan came out of No. 6 VIP ward, and was about to return to the company when Agnes called. He directly turned around and headed towards No.19 ward.
Agnes struggled to the door, fighting with dizziness. She leaned against the wall and craned out.
Ryan broke out in a sweat when he saw Agnes’ mummy-like head by the door. He rushed over and held her by the arm, scolding her crossly.
"Are you trying to kill yourself?!"
Agnes shrunk back a little and said in an upset voice: "My bones are getting stiff from lying. I felt bored and wanted to go for a walk."
"I thought you were having a headache?"
"I am. That's why I called you to keep me company." Agnes pouted, and said: "My mom won’t be here until after work. And I can’t go out alone. Ryan, can you take me out for some fresh air?"
She looked up at Ryan, her eyes a little red and watery. She looked adorable.
Ryan couldn’t resist obeying her. He held her by the arm, and walked slowly towards the elevator.
There was a large area of magnolias downstairs, surrounded by gardenias. It was early summer, and the flowers were blooming with fragrance.
Agnes picked up a magnolia flower that had fallen on the bench and held it between her fingers. She began to make conversation.
"Doesn’t it look like a lotus flower?"
Ryan turned his eyes on the flower, and made no reply.
"Pity it doesn't grow nuts. The porridge made from lotus nuts tastes really good. It’s tiring to pick the heart off the nut though. But then you have to, or else it would taste bitter."
Ryan was still silent.
Agnes felt a little awkward. She threw away the withered flower with an awkward smile, and her eyes began to wander.
Ryan didn’t want to beat around the bush, and he said straightly: "Out with it."
Agnes felt even more embarrassed, and she managed a smile: "It’s just that I’m a little nervous. I don't know how to get along with you."
The corner of Ryan's mouth lifted up in a sneer.
His fiancee. The fiancee he had doted upon since a child. This fiancee didn't know how to get along with him.
Huh, that's pathetic.
Perceiving a cold chill around him, Agnes smiled weakly: "Why are you not speaking? I'm embarrassed."
The coldness in his bearing lifted a little at these words: "If there is anything you want, just ask. I'll do anything for you."
"Really?" Agnes raised her eyebrows and asked doubtfully.
Ryan gave a nod, hiding the bitterness in his eyes with a blink.
Agnes called him the minute Malcom left the hospital.
What else could it be but for Malcom?
Agnes held her chin, and named her first request after a moment’s thinking.
"I want a date."
"Eh?" Ryan looked at her in surprise, "a date?"
"Yes." Agnes nodded and looked at him expectantly. "We’ve never had a date. It would be weird to get married without having a date."
Ryan frowned and looked at Agnes thoughtfully.
This must be a trick to stall for time.
Who did she take him for? A fool?
"What else?"
"I want to work in Gilbert Group, but I don't know anything about it. You have to teach me."
"Okay, is there anything else?"
Ryan asked with assumed indifference. Her third request must be to spare Malcom, he thought to himself.
Agnes looked at Ryan and detected no trace of anger. She said with assumed carelessness: "Malcom came to me earlier today."
Ryan narrowed his eyes coldly, and said nothing in reply.
A chill went through Agnes. She wrinkled up her nose and said with embarrassment: "He wanted me to put in a word for him."
Ryan guessed that Agnes would ask him to spare Malcom, but he didn’t expect her to be so straightforward.
"So now you are asking me to let him off?"
Agnes shook her head, and replied calmly: "No."
"Eh?" Ryan gazed at her coldly, clearly not buying it.
"I'm not asking you to let him off. I just want to preserve the last dignity of myself and of the Jenkins family.
The corner of Ryan’s mouth lifted in a sneer.
"You are worried that the Gilberts and the Jenkins might lose face? They’ve lost it already." Ryan said with sarcasm.
Agnes lifted her eyes to look at him. Her eyes looked sharp and clear.
"Whether the Gilberts and the Jenkins can save their last dignity depend on how you deal with Malcom."
"Oh?"
Ryan gave her a cold and ironic look. She met his gaze steadily.
"I stepped out of line when I attempted suicide on our day of engagement."
After a pause, Agnes said: "But my behaviour can be excused. It was the behaviour of a spoiled girl. Nothing else."
"As long as you don't punish Malcom, we can tell the public that we just had a little fight."
"But if you punished Malcom at this juncture, people would think I had an affair with him. It would turn into an issue of ethics, since I’m supposed to be his future aunt-in-law."
Ryan remained silent. He gazed at Agnes intently.
His sharp eyes seemed to be stripping away her tricks and lies, attempting to reveal her every secret.
Agnes almost flinched away from his coldness instinctively. But she resisted it and met his searching gaze.
For quite a while Ryan gazed at her, And then he snorted with disdain.
"So I can't say no to your request?"
- Writer
