Chapter 128: Deadly Beauty
Ryan’s POV
In the wild, it was a well-known fact that the prettiest, most colorful animals were often the most dangerous.
It might not have been the same when it came to human beings in the modern environment.
Some of the most colorful people with the most vibrant tattoos were often the gentlest, kindest souls.
But to Ryan, when it came to Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth, with her undeniable beauty and her love for dressing up, the statement rang true. She was just as dangerous and as deadly as those animals out in the wild. As she stood before him and Mark, dressed in a pastel-colored jumpsuit, her coat hanging off her shoulders, her hair in a soft bun. Nothing about Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth screamed danger.
Everything about her was welcoming. She looked soft and approachable.
But Ryan knew better. Now as he stared at her, not only did he see the woman who had slept with his brother and shown absolutely no remorse for it. He also saw the person who was responsible for the end of the one good thing that Ryan had had in years.
"Was it fun for you?" He found himself hissing instead of giving her a proper greeting. Clearly shocked by the amount of venom in his tone, Gwendolyn took a step back before she caught herself and squared her shoulders.
"Was what fun for me? In fact, you know what, I do not wish to know. If you invited me here just to make me a punching bag, I will not stand for that,"
***
Getting to his feet, and moving right into her personal space Ryan stared Gwendolyn down. The woman, her fear clear to see despite her attempt to seem unbothered, looked between Ryan and Mark. Obviously looking to find what it was that had both of them glaring daggers at her.
Any other day, he would have taken his time making her squirm. But he was not in the mood for that.
"Was it you who went into my penthouse and walked around naked while I was not there?"
Her eyes went wide for a split second before Gwendolyn threw her head back and laughed.
"Oh that, that was eons ago. I had almost forgotten about it. Why are you bringing up that little prank now?"
Tucking a loc of hair behind her ear, Gwendolyn smiled.
"I had a really great time back then. Didn’t your housekeeper tell you of my visit?
I was certain that she would have, especially after I sprayed a little water on her, just for kicks," Gwendolyn had the nerve to give him a dimpled smile after that, and Ryan felt like he was going to be sick.
His poor Vivian...Ryan was so angry that he was trembling with it. But he still had some information that he had to get out of her.
"How did you get in?" He asked, his voice completely flat.
Clearly still thinking that it was nothing serious. Gwendolyn answered him easily enough.
"Oh, it was not hard at all. You are still in the habit of using a combination of your brother and grandfather’s birthdays as your code. I got it right on the second try," Ryan wanted to kick himself for that. Mark had often admonished him for the habit and he had always dismissed his friend.
Now he wished that he had listened.
"If you ever try to come to my place of residence again, I will have you shot before you can even think to look in my direction," Obviously thinking that it was some sort of joke, Gwendolyn laughed and she reached out to pat him lightly on the shoulder.
"Keep your paws to yourself you hideous beast," He told her coldly and she gasped in shock. Genuine hurt showing on her face, Gwendolyn took a step back, a hand raised to her cheek as though he had struck her.
Seeing her in pain filled Ryan with vicious glee. Just as she had known about his code thanks to them dating. He knew a few things about her as well. One of those things was the fact that she placed so much stock in her beauty that even the slightest criticism of her looks was enough to leave her in a foul mood for days.
A tear running down her cheek, Gwendolyn took another step back, wiping the tear on her cheek, she looked him in the eyes, her expression serious.
"If this is about your housekeeper, I am sorry if I made your staff feel uncomfortable, but I really thought she would not mind, that you had found somebody well trained. She even went as far to tell me that she was nobody, that she was nothing,"
The woman before him had not just taken Vivian by surprise, she had done serious emotional damage. Absolutely stunned by just how cruel she had been, he could not even speak. Gwendolyn was not even trying, but she was still landing solid hits that Ryan could feel all the way in his soul.
What an awful human being.
***
"Now, why did you call me here? Does your grandfather wish to see me? Which smile should I give him? Would it be best for me to look worried yet hopeful? Or would you like me to smile at him in such a way that makes him think everything is going to be alright, even if it is not?" Feeling as though he had aged by several decades since the conversation had begun.
Ryan looked at the woman and said just two words.
"Get out,"
Not seeming to understand what he was saying. Gwendolyn looked him up and down.
"Do you mean, Mark?" Pointing at Ryan’s best friend, she made a shooing motion with her hands, then she turned back to Ryan.
"Come on, let’s go. We cannot keep your grandfather waiting," Wow, she was really something.
"I mean you, Gwendolyn. Get out of my sight,... get out of this hospital,... get out of my life. I never want to see you again, you unsightly thing,"
Her mouth fell open in the most unflattering expression that Ryan had ever seen on her. Proof that she had not been expecting that at all.
"Do you mean to tell me that you called me here just to kick me out? How childish of you!" From the weak comeback, it was obvious that his comments on her looks were really getting to her.
"Gwendolyn, get out before I throw you out. Believe me I will make a spectacle out of you, and it will not be the kind of attention that you enjoy getting,"
Looking from Ryan to the still-seated Mark, Gwendolyn finally realized that he was being very serious.
Throwing her hair over her shoulder, she leveled him with a disapproving look.
"Fine then, I will leave. But you, Ryan Terrell, are going to regret treating me like this," He regretted a whole lot in his life, but he doubted her words a great deal.
He did not even bother to watch her walk out. Instead, he collapsed back onto the chair where he had been when she had initially come in, unable to even say anything.
Mark helped him out in that respect, saying words that Ryan’s entire being wholeheartedly agreed with,
"Good riddance,"
