Chapter 277: Despair

Chapter 277: Despair

Chapter 277: Despair

Dinner ended in a strange, tense atmosphere. To be honest, not many people really enjoyed the meal.

Anna and Alice had been subtly competing the whole time. Since Ryan was there, Alice couldn’t fully express her frustration, which left Anna in control of the situation.

In just half an hour, Alice was visibly upset—her face had darkened considerably.

The reason Alice had brought Anna over wasn’t because they had reconciled. If it weren’t for the fact that she had to let Ryan see Anna alive and well, Alice would never have done something so self-sabotaging.

“Thanks so much, Miss Alice. I had a great time tonight,” Anna said, seemingly sincere as she thanked Alice. Alice’s heart was bleeding—she wanted nothing more than to tear Anna apart, but all she could do was twitch the corner of her eye and nod without a word.

The conversation had run its course, and it was Mia who tugged on Anna’s sleeve, signaling her to wrap things up. Only then did Anna reluctantly leave.

During Anna and Ryan’s conversation, Alice had tried to jump in a few times, hoping to reassert her position. But things didn’t go as planned. Both Mia and Anna had a way with words that Alice couldn’t quite match.

Even though Ryan responded to everything Alice said, it never felt as natural as it did with the other two.

It wasn’t until Anna and Mia were about to leave that Alice’s mood started to improve a little. Finally, she’d have some alone time with Ryan...

“Bye, Ryan! Take care, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, see you later.”

As Anna left, she turned around and waved enthusiastically at Ryan. Her energy was infectious, and just watching her made you feel more motivated.

They briefly revisited their plans for the weekend, and Ryan gave her a big smile in return.

You couldn’t deny that Anna was the kind of girl who made people feel at ease. And to be clear, there was nothing inappropriate about that—it was just that she had a knack for making people comfortable.

The villa grew quiet again. The real host, who had been standing silently to the side, finally got her long-awaited chance.

“They’re gone?” Alice asked softly as she slowly approached Ryan, watching the girls’ figures disappear behind the villa’s door.

She flared her nostrils slightly, catching a whiff of the scent on Ryan. It was a sweet, milky smell she didn’t like at all. Mia must’ve done something while she wasn’t around. She needed to get Ryan to take a shower immediately—there was no way she’d let that scent linger on him.

“Yeah, they’re gone,” Ryan exhaled deeply, feeling a bit relieved. But when he noticed Alice getting closer, he instinctively took half a step back, a little wary.

Alice caught the small movement, but she didn’t say anything. She just straightened up and looked at Ryan seriously.

“You seem pretty reluctant to see them go,” she said, her voice tinged with frustration. “And what’s this about the weekend? Did you make plans with her behind my back?”

Ryan looked up and met Alice’s eyes, which were practically burning with anger. She had misunderstood again.

Ryan had always thought Alice was great, but she could be so contradictory.

She’d told him before that she didn’t like him hanging out with other girls, yet today she’d invited two of them over for dinner. She already knew about his previous conversation with Anna—she’d eavesdropped—yet she was acting like she had no idea and was getting mad about it now.

As Ryan’s figure faded from Alice’s view, her eyes, once cold, turned bloodshot. It felt like an invisible hand was squeezing her heart, her chest rising and falling as she teetered on the edge of suffocation.

Instinct told her that Ryan’s change in behavior had something to do with Anna and Mia. What she needed to do was remove those two from Ryan’s life completely.

But she also had to consider Ryan’s feelings. She could easily kill Anna, but she couldn’t bear the thought of Ryan resenting her because of it.

Her gaze flickered, and a sharp pain twisted in her stomach. Her face turned pale as she sank to the floor, overwhelmed by a mix of hatred, frustration, and pain. She couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong.

Had Ryan realized her feelings and started avoiding her? Or had Mia said something to him?

Everything seemed possible, yet nothing seemed certain.

Clenching her fists, Alice’s eyes fell on the dining table. Just thinking about Anna’s smug face and the way Ryan had been so gentle with those two made her feel sick.

That should’ve been hers. Ryan’s kindness should’ve been hers and hers alone.

In a fit of rage, Alice yanked the tablecloth, sending the untouched dishes crashing to the floor.

The maids rushed in, startled by the noise, only to find Alice standing in the middle of the mess. Her usually delicate face was now filled with murderous intent, sending chills down their spines.

“M-Miss Alice...” one of the maids stammered, meeting Alice’s gaze. They had been with Alice for years—three, five years, some even longer—and they had never seen her this angry.

“Throw out all the dishes they used. Buy new ones. I don’t want to see any of this tomorrow.”

Without even glancing at the shocked staff, Alice left that one command and hurried upstairs, almost as if she were fleeing.

As she passed by, her eyes couldn’t help but glance toward the basement door. The guard stood at his post, and the iron door was tightly shut.

Ryan was still locked in. There was no way he could leave, yet Alice felt a deep sense of unease.

It was as if something had changed, and she hadn’t noticed. The feeling was unsettling.

She wasn’t stupid. As much as Anna’s behavior at dinner had infuriated her, it had also made her realize something.

She had thought that if she did everything right, Ryan would naturally come to appreciate her, and they could be together. But without expressing her feelings properly, how could Ryan ever understand?

She was furious—furious at Mia and Anna for disrupting the peace she had worked so hard to maintain.

But more than that, she was furious with herself. Why couldn’t she just be honest about her feelings? Ryan had said before that he wanted to see her smile, so why did she keep acting so cold?

She was terrified that Ryan would leave, so she resorted to controlling him. But the more she tried to hold on, the bigger the emptiness inside her grew. Now, it was almost unbearable.

The maids watched as Alice ascended the stairs, wondering what had happened to her.

The always-strong Alice now looked so fragile, her steps unsteady, as if she were on the verge of collapsing from the heights she had once stood so confidently upon.