Chapter 35

Chapter 35


OLIVIA

I stood outside Ryan’s office door, my hand still hovering in the air after knocking. No answer.

Really?

He was the one who said, “We need to talk.”
And now… silence?

I frowned and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. Maybe he didn’t hear me. Maybe he was on a call. Or maybe, God forbid he said those four words to confuse me even more.

My heart was beating too fast. I didn’t even know what we were supposed to talk about. The meeting? My answer? My lateness? Us?

What us? There was no “us.” He made sure of that these past few days with his cold attitude.

Still… those words kept ringing in my head.

We need to talk.

Talk about what exactly?

I raised my hand again and knocked the second time, a little louder.

This time, I heard his voice, rough and deep through the door.

“Come in.”

My breath caught. I pushed the door gently and stepped inside.

I wasn’t ready for what I saw.

Ryan was standing behind his desk, but he looked… out of place. His tie was loose, his shirt slightly wrinkled, his hair messy like he had run his hands through it too many times. His eyes were a little wild, his breathing off.

He looked like someone who just survived a storm. Or someone still trying to calm one.

I blinked, stunned.
“Are you… okay?” I whispered.

He didn’t answer. He didn’t even blink.

Before I got the chance to say anything else, he moved.

Fast.

He stood up so suddenly the chair behind him rolled back and hit the cabinet. My heart jumped. His heavy footsteps hit the floor as he walked quickly toward me, each step loud enough to shake something loose inside me.

“Ryan—?”

He didn’t slow down.

I panicked and took a step back.

Then another.

And another.

My back hit the door with a soft thud. I gasped, fingers reaching behind me, looking for something, anything to hold on to.

“Ryan, what are you—”

He didn’t let me finish. He placed one hand beside my head and leaned in, not touching me but trapping me all the same. Then I heard the click.

He locked the door.

My stomach dropped so fast I almost lost my breath.

“Ryan?” I whispered, because I didn’t know what else to do. My voice sounded small. Scared. Hopeful. A mix of everything.

He still didn’t answer.

He just stared. His eyes… God. They weren’t calm. They weren’t soft. They weren’t the controlled eyes of a CEO.

They were hungry.

Wild.

Like he was holding something back by force.

I could feel my legs shaking. Not from fear okay, maybe a little but mostly because this man looked at me like he wanted to take every piece of me. Like he wanted to ruin me and then kiss me back to life.

His breathing got heavier. Mine got faster.
“Ryan…” I tried again.

Nothing.

He wasn’t hearing me. Or he was, but he didn’t want to respond.

I could see everything he felt inside those eyes, everything he kept hiding.

And damn it, I wanted him too. I wanted him more than I could ever admit. More than I should.

I wanted him to touch me. Hold me. Pull me in and never let go.

I wanted to feel him close, I wanted to whisper his name against his lips.

I wanted to melt into him like he was the only thing holding me together.

He lowered his face slowly until I could feel his breath on my skin. Warm. Shaky. Too close.

I closed my eyes, begging silently.

Kiss me. Please just kiss me…

But the kiss didn’t come.

Seconds passed. The air thickened. My heart kicked hard in my chest.

So I opened my eyes slowly, scared of what I’d see.

He was still staring at me… but the look was different.

Not hungry, not desperate, not full of need.

It was empty.

Cold as fuck.

Like whatever fire was inside him had been snatched away in an instant.

His jaw clenched. His eyes shifted, losing the heat they had seconds ago. He looked like someone trapped between wanting something and hating himself for wanting it.

I reached up, my hands shaky, and touched his arm lightly, hoping to ground him.
“Ryan… hey. Look at me.”

He turned his face away sharply.

The rejection hit me so hard my chest burned.

It felt like he slapped me without touching me.

My hand dropped. Something sharp and ugly twisted in my gut.

“What the hell is your problem?” I snapped, pushing him away from me with trembling hands.

He stumbled a step back but didn’t react. Didn’t defend himself. Didn’t even look surprised.

He just stared at me with that same distant, unreadable look.

Not a word. He didn't even blink at me.

Can someone tell me what this man truly wants!?

“Ryan!” I cried, voice cracking. “Talk to me! What did I do? Why are you—why are you like this?”

Still nothing.

He turned away slowly, walked back to his desk, and sat down as if nothing happened.

As if he didn’t just trap me against the door.

As if he didn’t look like he wanted to tear the world apart to get to me.

As if he didn’t almost kiss me.

As if he didn’t just break something inside me with silence.

He just sat down, opened a file and didn't lift his eyes. Not even once for him to see he's breaking my heart into a million pieces.

Who does this?

The tears came before I could stop them. Hot, painful and embarrassing tears.

He didn’t notice.

Or maybe he did and didn’t care.

Either way, it felt like someone squeezed my heart until I couldn’t breathe anymore.

I swallowed hard, trying to hold myself together, but I couldn’t.

I c
ouldn’t stay there for another second.

So I turned around, grabbed the door handle with shaking hands, unlocked it, and ran out of his office with tears falling nonstop.