Chapter 104

"Ryan is getting married," Matthew answered.

Melvin furrowed his brows. "R-Ryan?" He stared at Ryan and pointed. "You mean him? Are you being serious right now?"

Ryan frowned. "What is that supposed to mean? Can't I get married?"

Melvin shrugged. "I never said you can't. I am just surprised. Is it your girlfriend? I mean the one we know?"

Ryan smiled. "Well...,"

"He met her last week and was certain she was the one," David answered.

"Y-you met her last week?" Melvin stuttered. "And you want to marry her?"

Ryan nodded. "Don't try to stop me though."

"Like I can do that," Melvin mumbled. He sat beside David. "You did not try to talk him out of this?" He whispered to David.

"We both know we can't," David answered.

"Why are you both whispering?" Ryan asked. "You should be speaking to me."

"We don't have anything to say to you," David mumbled.

"Can you change your mind?" Melvin asked and Ryan shook his head. "Well, I guess we have nothing to say."

"Shouldn't we be asking how they met and how he knew she was the right one?" Matthew asked. "Or am I the only one curious to know that?"

David and Melvin nodded. Matthew is definitely the only one curious to know that, because both of them can easily guess where he met her.

Matthew furrowed his brows. "Really?"

Melvin and David nodded again.

"It's not what you think," Ryan answered. "I did not meet her in whatever place you are thinking about right now."

"So where do you meet her?" Matthew asked. "I am sure everyone is interested this time." David and Melvin nodded and that made Matthew frown. "Can you stop nodding and say something instead?"

"Fine," Melvin answered. "We are curious now."

"Do you remember the party I went to last week?" Ryan asked with a smile. Melvin and David nodded and he continued. "I..."

"You went to a lot of parties last week, so which are you referring to?" Matthew cut him short.

"You don't know?" Ryan asked. "You seem to be the only one who doesn't."

"I can bet you that they don't know too but just won't say it," Matthew answered.

"I don't want to believe that," Ryan said. "I..."

Matthew groaned. "Why don't you just save us all the trouble and explain in detail?... I still have to go back to work. Melvin's wife has just returned, and he has to go back home. Remember they just got back. And David..." He sighed. "Well, I don't know what he is up to."

"I also have a wife to return to," David answered.

"I always forget you have one," Matthew said. "You never acted like you have one," he mumbled the last sentence but David heard him clearly.

"I act like I do," David snapped.

Matthew scoffed. "Well, it doesn't look like it."

A heated argument ensued between them. Ryan and Melvin said nothing; they only watched them argue.

Maybe they were used to it.

A few months ago, David had gotten married to Matthew's sister, Melissa on a business basis.

At first, Matthew was against it. He had insisted that David does not love her and he doesn't want his sister's marriage to give the same vibe as Melvin and Charlotte's, when they first got married.

"A marriage not built on love will not last," he had said.

Melvin and Ryan had assured him that David would take care of his sister.

Matthew never disputed the fact that David was nice and would take care of her. He just doesn't want her to suffer from being ignored. He had insisted that David would ignore her, but everyone assured her that he wouldn't.

"You spent most of your time with us, remember," Matthew had reminded him.

"But I do too," Melvin had answered. "And I still spent quality time with my family."

Matthew had noticed he wasn't going to win the argument so he gave in not after warning David not to wrong his sister.

At the end of the day, Matthew's predictions were right. David not only spent more time with them, but he was also too busy with work. He was so busy that he could not pick up his sister's call when she needed him and she lost her baby.

Matthew was mad at him, for breaking his trust in him and for failing his sister. It was also at this time that Charlotte left the house.

"But I said I was sorry," David mumbled. "I never meant for that to happen."

"If you have shown up..."

"That's enough, please," Ryan yelled slightly. "You are here for me and not to fight."

Every one of them became quiet. They were all lost in their separate thoughts.

"I am sorry," David mumbled again. "I never wished for that to happen. I am also hurting, and I dislike myself for what happened."

Matthew stared at him in anger. He had tried to let go of what happened, and even assured Ryan that he had let go of it but right now, he just realised he hadn't.

This was the first time he had seen David after the incident happened. He had gone on a trip that same night and had just returned a few days ago.

He picked up his two phones and car keys. "I don't think I want to be here."

Ryan and Melvin tried to stop him but he was adamant about leaving.

"Let him go," David mumbled.

Matthew gave him a deadly look before storming out of the house in anger. An awkward silence lingered between them.

This is not Ryan's plan. He had wanted to share good news that would lighten the mood between them.

After Melissa lost her baby and Charlotte also left the house, their friendship suffered. Matthew left the country, David was mourning his lost baby and Melvin was trying to win back his wife.

He also had a lot going on with him. He had lost one of his biggest contracts, broken up with his girlfriend, and was almost in debt.

He couldn't say any of these to his friends; they all had one or two things to deal with. Ryan had to pass through everything alone. It was during this time that he met Catherine, who helped him out.

Catherine was more than just a friend to him. She was his light in times of trouble. She not only helped him pay off his debt, but she also connected him to new investors.

Ryan had thought about dating her not because of the help she offered but because he realised he had fallen in love with her. Catherine rejected his love and disappeared into thin air, only to meet with her at a party a week ago.

She wasn't the Catherine he knew some weeks ago. She seems withdrawn and less happy. Ryan tried to get close to her to find out what had happened. At first, she declined but a few days ago, she opened up.

Her father had planned to give her away in an arranged marriage to some business mogul. Which was why she ran away the first time.