Chapter 196 - The Islet Mystery 12

Shiela felt her blood draining from her system, and she froze while gazing at him and back to Jane. Ryan then broke out in amused laughter as he saw her reaction, and before he made his next blink, a pillow was flying towards him, and it hit his face, making him laughed harder.

Jane, on the other hand, held her breath for a moment. She knew Shiela got embarrassed, but seeing them bantering lovingly, she joined in Ryan's laughter.

"Do you think I did not know?" Ryan teased Shiela again, and the next second she heard her squeal in embarrassment, and more pillows came flying in his direction.

"That was so brave of you, Shie. Don't do it again. You don't know the man, and he might do you harm."

"This is a dangerous place with lots of caves and dangerous channels everywhere. Your body may not be found if you get drowned here." Ryan seconded, but it came as a warning to Shiela, as he looked at her with those threatening gaze.

Goosebumps crept down her spine as she thought about it, but the mention of caves made her recall an experience in the past, and her eyes lit up.

Ryan saw it, and he did not waste a second in asking. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"There you are again."

Then, she snapped at remembering something again, something she could use as an alibi. "My phone!"

"I took care of it, dear," Ryan answered nonchalantly, and he walked to the closet, holding later her phone in his hand.

Shiela sank in relief as she saw it as if her life clung to the object. "Where did you get this?"

"The boatman came back and returned it. You placed it on the boat."

The thought of him in trying to help her and his thoughtfulness to return her phone touched her, and her eyes soon glistened in unshed tears. "How I wish I could thank him."

"He helped me in saving you, and that prevented me from shotting him in the head," Ryan spoke in such a calm way as if killing a person sounded as natural as munching bread.

Shiela gasped in horror as her spine crept up again. Was he taking over the responsibility of running their business empire? And did it include their underground movement, including the Myrtle Shade craze?

As she had heard it, the rise of Myrtle Shade branches had been tremendous, and it became the talk of the city. Its name had linked to social branding, and whenever quality, leisure, and fame became the subject, Myrtle Shade always got its place. To avoid suspicion as she got lost in her thoughts, she changed the subject.

"I'm sorry for making a scene, Jane. Because of me, your enjoyment was halted."

"I understand, and I'm sure every one of us understands."

"Please don't tell them about...," she said, looking at him then back to Jane.

Jane chuckled as she stole a glance at Ryan before she promised."You can trust me."

"Thank you, Jane. I'll respect her if she's not ready."

Jane then stood up and bid goodbye to both of them. The love in the air suffocated her, and she felt she was an intruder. She watched as Ryan opened the closet and saw men's clothes hanging there. She did not need to ask to confirm that he was sharing his room with her.

"You'll start the antibiotics after dinner, but for now, you need sleep to recover," Jane said as she paused by the door before finally closing it.

Ryan followed Jane, and when he got back, he already held a tray in his hand with a steaming cup. He placed it at the bedside table, and then he held her hand and helped her to sit up.

"Drink this tea. The concoction has lots of electrolytes to replenish what you lost when you threw up."

'What's that?" she asked, and her hands started to shake when she saw the steam rising from the cup and the inviting aroma started to fill her senses.

"We call it Chara blooms."

If her hands started to shake at the sight of the steaming cup, this time it included her knees when he mentioned Chara blooms. Myrtle Shade was just a brand name, but the actual source was the Chara blooms. For Ryan to say it had lots of electrolytes was an understatement. The richness of its mineral content was the reason why Chara pools got its high buoyancy. Thinking about the Chara pool outside, the more she was sure that she was not far from the place, she got exiled for more than a year.

"What's happening?" Her shaking must be evident because Ryan's brows furrowed in surprise.

"You remind me of the incident, and I get scared at the thought of it."

"I see. I'm so sorry for hurting you, but I can't promise anything as of now."

He brought the cup over to her lips, and with much courage it took her mentally, she finally sipped and gulped it at one go. Chara blooms were medicinal by nature, but taking it in concentrated form, was addictive and could induce rapid neurological damage and irreversible amnesia.

Ryan then put her to sleep by having her in his arms with his arms comforting her. When she woke up later, it was already dark. She glanced at the time on her phone and saw a message notification.

"If you can make it to dinner, we'll wait for you in the dining room, but if you still can't, I'll bring it to you later. Please give me a call."

She tried to sit up and dangled her legs on the bed. After a while, she put her feet on the floor and tried to stand up. She still felt sore, perhaps due to the strenuous movement of her limbs on the water, but her strength had already returned. 

She changed into something more presentable and fixed herself before she went out. All eyes turned in her direction as they saw her coming. Ryan was already there, and so was Jullien. And as expected, she was beside him.

Ryan stood up quickly to assist her, but Jane was quicker than him. She waved a hand at Shiela and told her to sit beside her. Perhaps, she knew that her night was going to get sour again.

"Dear, did you let her drink the Chara tea? I have a pack here," Pauline's voice echoed in her ears like a death call.

"No!" Ryan roared with a horrified look, startling everyone around, including Jullien.

"I'm sorry," he said when he realized his rather odd reaction then looked at all of them with apologetic eyes before turning to back to Jullien, "she already had it."