Chapter Three

Ryan stood quietly beside Vanessa's bed, watching her sleep. The room was dim, with only the soft light from the bedside lamp falling across her face. For the first time since he had arrived at the Thompson residence, there was finally some peace. The shouting downstairs had stopped, the relatives had been sent away, and the house that had been filled with noise all evening was now strangely quiet.

His eyes remained fixed on Vanessa.

She looked so different from the little girl he remembered.

The last time Ryan had properly seen her, she had been much younger. He could still picture her running around Richard's living room with her hair tied into two little pigtails, her braces showing whenever she laughed. She had been such a lively child, always asking questions and following her father everywhere. Richard used to complain that his daughter never gave him a moment peace, but anyone who knew him could tell how much he loved it.

Richard had adored his daughter.

To him, Vanessa had been his whole world.

Ryan slowly lowered himself into the chair beside the bed. He looked at her again, this time noticing how much she had changed. She had grown into a beautiful young woman, and yet, beneath all that maturity, he could still see the little girl he remembered.

It was difficult to believe that the same child who used to run around Richard's house was now lying in front of him without either of her parents.

Ryan's chest tightened.

He still couldn't accept that Richard was gone.

It didn't feel real. Even after everything that had happened, a part of him still expected his phone to ring and Richard's voice to come through the other end, complaining about something or making one of his usual jokes.

Instead, Ryan had received the news that his best friend was dead.

And now he was sitting beside Richard's daughter, trying to figure out how to protect her from a world that had suddenly become unfamiliar to her.

He looked around the room.

Everything was still exactly as Vanessa had left it. Her books were arranged neatly on the shelf, a few photographs sat on her bedside table, and there were little reminders of the life she had lived with her parents everywhere he looked.

Ryan wondered how she would feel when she eventually realized that she would no longer wake up to her mother's voice or hear her father's footsteps around the house.

He could not imagine that kind of pain.

And the worst part was that Vanessa hadn't even been given the chance to grieve properly.

The moment her parents were buried, people had started arguing about their possessions. Some of them had barely spared Vanessa a glance before discussing properties and money.

That was why Ryan had sent them away.

He didn't care who they were or what they thought they were entitled to. None of them had any business standing around Richard's grieving daughter and making her life even more difficult.

Ryan leaned back in the chair and sighed.

Tomorrow, he would take Vanessa home with him.

He had already made up his mind.

She needed somewhere quiet. Somewhere she wouldn't constantly be reminded of the people fighting over her parents' belongings. Most importantly, she needed someone she could trust.

But as Ryan looked at her sleeping figure, a small doubt entered his mind.

Could he really do this?

Could he take care of Vanessa the way Richard would have?

He had never expected to become responsible for another person's life, especially not so suddenly. He knew how to handle business, difficult negotiations, and complicated situations. He knew how to protect himself.

But taking care of a grieving teenage girl was completely different.

What if he made the wrong decisions?

What if she needed something he didn't know how to give her?

What if she hated living with him?

Ryan rubbed his hands together and looked down for a moment.

He didn't have all the answers.

But he knew Richard.

And if Richard had trusted him enough to leave his daughter in his care, Ryan wasn't going to betray that trust.

He would learn.

He would figure things out.

He would do whatever was necessary to make sure Vanessa was safe.

Even if it meant putting his own life aside for a while.

His gaze returned to her.

Vanessa shifted slightly in her sleep, her brows pulling together as though she was caught in an unpleasant dream.

Ryan immediately stood.

"Easy, Nessa" he whispered.

He carefully pulled the blanket higher over her shoulders. A few strands of hair had fallen across her face, and he gently brushed them away.

For a moment, he simply stood there.

She looked so young.

So vulnerable.

Ryan's heart ached at the thought of everything she had lost.

He gently placed a hand on her head for a moment before leaning down and pressing a brief kiss to her forehead, the same kind of comforting gesture he imagined Richard would have given her.

"You are going to be okay" he whispered.

He straightened and took one last look at her before walking toward the door.

His hand had barely touched the handle when he stopped.

Something felt strange.

Ryan frowned and placed a hand against his chest.

His heart was beating faster than it should.

He stood there for a few seconds, trying to understand it.

Maybe it was the exhaustion.

Maybe it was everything that had happened that day.

Maybe it was simply the weight of knowing that Vanessa was now his responsibility.

He shook his head and dismissed the thought.

There was no point trying to understand every feeling tonight.

He had more important things to worry about.

Tomorrow, Vanessa would leave this house with him.

And from that moment forward, he would have to make sure she never felt as though she had been abandoned.

Ryan quietly stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

As he walked away, one thought remained fixed in his mind.

Richard was gone.

But his daughter was still here.

And Ryan would protect her with everything he had.