Chapter 168: Own Bread
Vivian’s POV
"You do not have to work, you can quit your job, and I will take care of you," The words left Ryan’s mouth with the ease of a feather floating through air. But to Vivian, they landed with the heaviness of a one-ton boulder.
What?!
Did he really just tell her to quit her job? Sitting up Vivian put distance between them, grabbing a cushion, she squeezed it tight, and when that did not get rid of the rage that she was feeling, she brought it to her face and screamed into it.
When she raised her no doubt red and blotchy face, Ryan was staring at her, his eyes wide, and his mouth open in shock. "Vivian, what is wrong?" He asked. Unable to speak, Vivian once again buried her face in the cushion and screamed.
After two more screams like that. Her voice was finally able to form words.
"Can you repeat what you said to me?" She asked, shocked by how soft her tone was.
"I said that it is fine for you to quit your job, that I will take care of you," And there it was again. Not only was she lightheaded, her heart was going a mile a minute. She felt like she had to run, that she should just open the window and jump out, never mind how high up she was, so long as she got away from him she would be fine.
"Vivian! Vivian!" She had not realized that she’d spaced out until she blinked and found Ryan kneeling in front of her, his hands on her shoulders.
"What is it, what is wrong?" He reached out, the back of his palm settling against her forehead, as he checked her temperature and Vivian forced herself to breathe as she gently gripped his wrist and forced his hand down.
"I am not sick, Ryan. I am just in disbelief that you want me to quit my job,"
***
His head tilting to the side in confusion, Ryan stared at her for a few seconds.
"Why? I have already told you that I would be able to take care of you. Money is not an issue for me,"
Oh, looking into his eyes, Vivian saw the innocence there, and her rage began to melt away. The man was literally just saying it out of the goodness of his heart. He had no idea what he would be asking her to give up if he insisted that she leave her job.
"Money might not be a big issue for you, Ryan, but you know that money is also power. If I were to leave my job, then I would be handing over the power of what happens to me over to you. That is not something to be done lightly,"
" I have been working ever since I have become an adult, and I am not about to stop," Ryan stared at her in confusion.
"But you are always stressed, even now you are worried that you could be fired for something that is not even your fault. If you quit and let me take care of you, you would not have to worry about that anymore. My mother never worked a day in her life, and she was well taken care of. She never wanted for anything,"
Deciding to take deep breaths, instead of snapping at him, Vivian tried to think of another way to explain things to him.
"Alright, Ryan, what if I told you to freeze all of your accounts, or to donate all of your money to various charities and never try to make a single cent again?"
"What-" Placing a finger over his lips she continued.
"I would take care of you, we should be able to make ends meet on my salary," The moment she moved her finger from his mouth Ryan inhaled sharply.
"But I love what I do, and I love all of the money that I make from it. Why should I give that up, "
Vivian shrugged, "If you gave it all up, you would be able to appreciate the small things in life. Not only that, you would be able to spend more time with me. And you would be able to dedicate more time to your hobbies like boxing,"
Ryan shook his head, "No way, I like knowing that I can earn money for myself. As stressful as it can be sometimes, I really enjoy it, so I’m sorry Vivian, there’s no way I can stop doing what I do, even for you," The moment that he finished his statement, his eyes went wide.
"Oh," He said softly, and Vivian smiled gently at him.
He finally understood.
***
Ryan was so chill that sometimes Vivian forgot that he was a rich boy at heart. Reaching out, she caressed his cheek while laughing softly.
"Relax, I will not ask you to quit your job, to give up all of your money and start living like the lower class, but you also have to respect my decision to keep working. Making my own money is not just about being fiercely independent or me doubting your ability to provide for me. It is also about me having my own pride,"
"I like being able to just nip out and buy myself something without having to consult anyone. And nothing quite beats that feeling at the end of the month, when I get my payment notification. You get that feeling whenever you close big business deals right?" Ryan nodded and Vivian smiled at him.
"Exactly, so please, please, Ryan Terrell, never again ask me to quit my job. Agreed?"
Ryan smiled. "I will only agree if you promised to never ask me to give up my fortune," Vivian could not help but chuckle at that, Ryan was such a business man, always trying to negotiate. But this was a negotiation that Vivian was very much in favour of, so she did not even try to put up a fight.
"Agreed," She leaned forward, sealing their deal with the kiss. When they parted, Ryan rejoined her on the couch and he brought up a topic that was eons away from them talking about their careers, but was no less serious.
"I have my best people searching for Bryce, but so far not a single one of them is finding anything. Can you think of anywhere that he might have mentioned, where he might be hiding out right now?"
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