Contractually Yours, Brother-in-law.

CHAPTER ONE.

JENNA'S POV.

I entered the depressingly big house after Lance, the housekeeper opened the door for me with a big grin on his face and it almost made me puke.

It seems that everyone has moved on from the fact that Lana, my elder sister is gone. It barely had an effect on them, as if she's nothing to the household, I knew she has always been nothing, but it surprised me greatly to see everyone act nonchalant.

"Where's your Boss?" I managed to ask with a voice that concealed the anger bustling through me.

He examined me for a moment and his eyebrows crinkled, it relaxed again and nod foolishly.

"He's around, but I'm not sure if he's ready to meet you." Lance shakes his head with uncertainty and a dry chuckle almost escapes my lips.

Because heaven knows I'm not ready to meet him as well, but I have to.

"Let him know that I don't want to see him as well, but he leaves me with no choice after ignoring my messages."

Lance nodded again after assessing the look on my face, I'm glad he knows when not to push the button further.

I watched him walk into the deeper part of the house to probably ask that condescending piece of shit if I can be let in.

I've always hated coming here, I've always hated everything about the people living here, except my sister–not exactly and her daughter.

Maybe my premonition was right all along, maybe my anger is justified, and now that we're in this deep mess because of Lana's death, I hope I cut ties with him today.

Fortunately, Lance didn't take as much time as I expected, he came back to fetch me so he could take me to his boss.

I walked into the house with so much hesitation rooted in my steps, my anger was replaced with nervousness, etched with pity, because I wondered how depressing it must be for Lana to lived here for years, as Ryker's public wife, always on makeup, dressed to perfection, just to show everyone that she's the stellar wife the almighty Ryker married.

I never imagined the happy-go-lucky Lana to live such a life, and I judged her terribly for it.

My chest tightened more as we both walked further, I almost turned around and walked away like the coward my parents thought I was but I didn't.

Even if I've always been a coward like everyone presumed, I shouldn't be after the misfortunes that befell my sister.

"I will be here if you need anything."He winces a bit before retreating back to his post.

I took a deep breath and opened the expensive looking door, exposing me to the beautifully adorned living room with glittering accessories to elevate the look.

Every corner of the room has Lana's touch on it, I bit my lips and fight back the tears gathering at the corner of my eyes because today, I'm not here for Ryker to see me as the puddle I've always been around him, but the woman who's ready to bring him down the way he did to my family.

Shortly, the sounds of footsteps emerged from the upper part of the house which is from the stairs, I followed the direction of the stairs with my eyes just to see Ryker descending with my niece sleeping comfortably in his arms and every restraint in me snapped.

How dare him touch the child of the woman he killed with his own hands?

I angled towards him like a panther, ready to yank the child off his touch but he raises his finger at me with a confused stare on his face.

"What do you think you're doing?" His low grumpy voice surged in the room like it always does.

His smooth forehead wrinkles a bit into a frown and he continues to stare in confusion.

"What do you think you're doing?" I threw back his question at him in an annoyed tone and he walked past me like I'm nothing, his eyes narrowed.

I watched him drop the sleeping child on the couch, his large hands on her back to calm her fretted body down.

"You shouldn't be here with that child, don't you know the gravity of what you've done?"

Ryker's face crumpled again in confusion, his broad shoulders bulges as he settled down on the lone chair at the far end of the room, staring at me keenly, not bothered.

"Yet, you came here with the hope of seeing me? What are you doing here, Jenna?" My name rolls off his mouth with so much animosity and his cool blue eyes snapped into something more cold, matching the expression on his face.

It makes me wonder why he hated me so much, Although, Ryker hates everyone, he's an asshole, but he is much more aggressive towards me.

"I came here to take my sister's child, you don't deserve to be a father to the child of the woman you killed." 

My harsh words only elicit a scoff from him, a scoff so light, yet, debilitating because it only riled me more.

How dare him scoff when his own wife is dead and it's not even up to forty eight hours?

"Child? Do you even know her name? Are you trying to crack a joke here?" 

My shoulders dropped the moment his words hit me like a painful sting because it's the absolute truth, I don't even know her name.

I've been absent for too long because I was too angry at Lana for marrying Ryker, even when she gave birth, I didn't send her good wishes despite her sending me pictures of the cherub sleeping beautifully on the couch.

I bit my lips back again to prevent the tears but my coping mechanism failed me terribly because they poured out of my eyes freely.

"You don't deserve to be here, Jenna. If the best thing you could do is this when you're just meeting your niece for the first time, then, you don't deserve to see her at all." Ryker growled, his lips tremble and I could swear that tears almost welled up in his eyes but it was gone in a second. In a flash, I noted how tired and spent he looks, his hair ruffled, shirt undone and pants crumpled but I brush it off, maybe this is just a show, I shouldn't trust the soft side of Ryker. He's nothing but pure evil.

His eyes glowed in anger, and his hands trembled.

I've always known him to be always stoic and inhumane, seeing him like this aggravates me a lot.

"I will come back here to take her from you." I warned in a hard tone, but the tremble in my voice betrays me.

"Go ahead and try it, I promise you won't live to say your part of the story."He threatens, jerking himself off the chair, his towering height hovers me and engulfs my small frame but I didn't let it intimidate him.

"I won't be gone like that, You did it to Lana, I won't let you do that to me."

"Play your games well, Jenna and don't forget who you're going against."

"Exactly, that's why I'm doing this. So I will see you crumble and tear you into shreds." I spat in distaste, ready to hear his large gait down with my words but they refused to come out of my mouth because of the emotions welling in me.

I turned around and found my way out of his presence. All I wanted was to have my niece taken away from him and do it in good faith but after the lowly words he said about my sister's death and how he took it with triviality, I don't mind going to the end of the world just to see Ryker go down because this is far from over.