Chapter 002 (Ryan)

"Excuse me, Mr. Myers. I'll go check on Ryan."

Lila said after a moment of contemplation. The last few minutes had weighed heavily on her heart. Seeing her mother holding Chris Myers's hand, looking happy, smiling with genuine joy in her eyes… it struck her.

When had Lila stopped noticing? When had she failed to see that her mother had been broken, sad, and lonely?

A wave of sadness engulfed her heart, prompting her to utter those words even though she couldn't stand Ryan.

Mr. Myers smiled warmly and gestured toward the stairs. "Of course, my dear. He's upstairs in the last room. And sweetheart, your room will be right next to his. It's best you two talk and get along."

"Lila, please don't be upset with him, darling. Perhaps he just doesn't remember you—you were so little seventeen years ago. Now, you're an exceptionally beautiful young woman."

Lila gave him a faint smile and quickly ascended the stairs. She wanted to leave her mother alone with Myers. Fine, she had surrendered. She saw her mother's happiness with her own eyes now.

She wasn't going to confront Ryan and announce they'd be siblings or anything like that.

She only wanted to tell him one thing: she would stand in his way if he tried to come between her mother and his father.

Lost in thought, she forgot to knock. She opened the door without warning and was stunned to find Ryan completely naked, in the middle of changing.

She snapped her head down, staring at the floor. "I'm sorry, Ryan! I didn't mean to, I swear! Uhmm… I just wanted to talk to you for a bit…"

She didn't notice, didn't hear his swift, powerful footsteps hammering against the floor as he approached. He slammed the door shut behind her and snarled in fury, hastily covering his lower half with a towel.

"Didn't you humans learn to knock before entering? Or is the barbarism of your kind still intact?"

Lila looked at him, fear and confusion in her sky-blue eyes. She wanted to argue but knew she was in the wrong. She tried to deflect. "Oh… that's a lovely scent. Is it your shampoo or… cologne? It reminds me of a forest. Like walking through the woods after rain, with the sun shining softly."

She said it innocently, describing the fragrance she caught. Little did she know, those words made Ryan's heart pound violently, almost breaking out of his ribs. He slammed his fist against the door, his voice a barely contained growl. "What do you want?"

Lila mustered faux courage: "I just wanted to tell you—don't you dare try to ruin my mother's and your father's happiness. I won't allow it. I won't let you destroy my mother's joy."

"Won't allow it? Because you're desperately craving the Myers fortune? Is that what drove your mother to lick my father's boots after her husband died? My father remained faithful to my mother's memory for seventeen years. What did your mother do to him? Cast a spell? Or did she just open her legs and beg?"

Lila spanked him hard across the face, her hand trembling, her whole body shaking with rage. "Shut up, you shameless dog! I won't let you say one foul word about my mother. If you think my mother is defenseless, it's me you'll have to deal with, you… dog."

She emphasized the last word, as if reminding him of all the times she'd called him that as a child because he was always sniffing around.

He grabbed her jaw forcefully, yanking her toward the bed. He threw her down angrily, pinning her beneath him, his hand threateningly gripping her throat—not cutting off her air, but with enough pressure to show her his strength.

"Remember this, Lila. I am Ryan Myers. My power doesn't just come from my family name or my father's wealth. I am Ryan Myers. The world's top-ranked racing driver."

He brought his face close to hers, his hot breath fanning her cool skin.

"Look closely. I could tear every inch of you apart and break every bone in your body. So, don't be insolent, Lila. Don't make me do it."

Her chest rose and fell sharply from the intensity of the moment. Ryan, naked above her, his hot breath ghosting over her trembling lips.

She raised her hand to hit him, but he caught her wrist before she could, twisting her arm behind her back. He growled, struggling to restrain himself.

"Lila! I'm warning you!"

In any other situation, she would have trembled before him as she did in their childhood, but this proximity frightened her more than his anger.

She didn't realize what she was doing until after she'd done it and was already fleeing the room.

She had hit him… there! He would kill her without mercy.

"Lila!"

His furious roar propelled her to run into a random room and lock the door.

She looked around—a small walk-in closet, a mini-fridge, and workout equipment.

She gasped in horror. She hadn't escaped his room; she'd stumbled into another one of his rooms. She tried to open the door.

"This door only opens from the inside with my fingerprint, you idiot."

Ryan's voice, cold and mocking, came from behind her. He emerged from a connecting door between the rooms, wearing nothing but boxer briefs.

"So… what should I do with you, Lila?"

He approached her slowly, like a predator. "You know I don't hit girls, but… brats need to be punished, Lila."

He cornered her against the door, turning her so her back was to him. "Arms up."

"Hey! Let me out of here, or I'll call Mr. Myers!"

He pressed his warm, bare chest against her back. "Oh no, and ruin your mom's happy marriage?"

Lila reluctantly raised her arms. "Good girl," Ryan mocked, and delivered a sharp spank to her behind. Lila gasped, stifling a cry.

"That's for entering my room without knocking."

Another spank landed.  

"And this is for defying me."

A harder spank followed.  

"And this is for trying to slap me."

Another, even stronger.  

"And this… is for hitting my manhood."

He squeezed her buttock hard, making her yelp in pain and anger.

"You bastard, that hurts!"

He looked at her coldly, his chest rising and falling with quiet, furious breaths. The sight of her tears and that maddening scent she carried… He was losing control.