Breaking Free, Loving Again -The Flash Marriage with Mr. CEO

Ryan expected Arwen to react —anything, really. A glance, a flicker of acknowledgement, a shift in expression. But she didn't.

She simply continued eating, her demeanor cool and composed, as if he didn't even exist beside her.

His jaws clenched. His hands curled into tight fists beneath the table, and his frustration mounted with every passing second. He never imagined it would be this difficult to get even a simple reaction from her.

Ryan's gaze darkened, sharp as daggers, sending silent glares in her direction. But Arwen remained completely unbothered. To her, he was nothing more than air —and she made sure he knew it.

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Beca, who was sitting next to Arwen as well, could clearly see what his son was trying to do. Her brows knitted a deep frown, and she was about to voice out her disapproval when felt Gareth place a hand over hers.

Their eyes met, and Gareth gave a small shake of his head, silently asking hir to not make it obvious.

Though Beca's frown deepened, she understood what he meant. Arwen was already ignoring Ryan; if she called attention to it, things would only grow more awkward. And given how strangely Ryan had been acting, she wasn't sure what he might say next.

Letting out a quiet sigh, she nodded and remained silent.

Gareth turned his attention to Ryan. "Since you are already at the table, finish your dinner," he said, passing him a bowl of another dish. "Here, try this. I liked it."

Ryan had no choice but to shift his focus away from Arwen. He took the bowl from his father's hand and served himself some.

Meanwhile, beca and Gareth kept the conversation going with Arwen, talking about little things here and there. Arwen responded naturally, her expression light and warm. Occasionally, she would laugh —soft, genuine and carefree.

Ryan watched as his parents engaged with her, and it only made the bitter taste stronger in his mouth.

Several times, he tried to strike up a conversation with Arwen as well —but Arwen either didn't reply at all or if she did, she gave him the kind of short answers that one wouldn't even prefer giving to strangers.

A single word.

A simple nod.

Nothing more.

And that only pushed Ryan further to the edge.

He wasn't sure why, but it felt like he was trying to prove something —to himself. He wanted to believe that the emotions she once had for him —the emotions she wrote down so vividly in her writing were still buried somewhere in the depths of her heart.

That if he just tried hard enough, she would forgive him.

That she would come back to him.

But no matter what he did, she gave him nothing. Not even a sliver of hope. She wouldn't even glance at him, as if looking at him would make her eyes hurt.

Had she become this cold and distant just towards him? Or had this become her nature?

The question gnawed at him, a quiet ache settling in his chest.

Just as he was sinking deeper into his thoughts, a soft yet sharp ping of phone notification cut through the air.

His gaze instinctively flicked toward Arwen's phone, resting beside her plate/

Arwen rarely checked her phone when she was with others, but when it pinged again, she reached out and unlocked the screen.

Her eyes gazed down at something, and Ryan felt his stomach twist, watching her expression shift ever so evidently. It wasn't much actually —just a faintest hint of something softer, something fond —but it was enough.

Enough to tell him that whoever messaged her was important. Important to the extent that she didn't even care to think that people might see her and realize that all this while her smile wasn't at all genuine. It was just her politeness which was making her smile and laugh in response to the conversation.

The real, genuine smile of hers was the one she was giving to the text she had just received.

Ryan's grip on his utensils tightened. And he didn't dare want to know who was the person on the other side of the phone.

Maybe because he had already guessed it and didn't want his guess to be proven correct.

Beca noticed the smile on Arwen's face, and her lips curled up slightly. She didn't mean to but from the corner of her eyes, she had seen it was an image that made her smile like that.

Not able to hold back her curiosity, she asked, "What made you smile like that? Did you receive a text from your husband?"

Arwen glanced up at her and softly nodded. "He sent me to see what he is going to have for dinner."

"Dinner?" Beca asked, slightly confused. "Does he send you all those things?"

Arwen shook her head, smiling. "He usually doesn't," she said, explaining, "But since he is out on a business trip and I have requested him stop skipping the meals. He has that bad habit."

"So, he is keeping you on the tab so that you don't worry?" Beca asked, her eyes holding small glitters. Arwen nodded and she chuckled. "Aye, that's kind of romantic. You know husbands usually don't like the prying eyes of the wife over everything," Beca said, adding, "But if he willingly helps you keep eyes on himself, it means he likes it when you do so. You know, your Uncle Gareth loves me but he would never let me look into those little things about himself."

Arwen casually shook her head. "Aiden never stopped me. If anything, he has given me all the access to him and everything around him." She didn't know it was so different. Aiden has always kept it so easy and natural that it started to feel like the culture that every married couple gets adapted to.

Beca was amazed. She exchanged a glance at Gareth and then turned to look at Arwen. "That means he loves you a lot to give you his all, without even making it obvious. He treats you well. I am so happy for you."

Arwen felt her heart skip a beat when she heard Beca saying that Aiden loved her. Although she has many times felt it, she never dared to really think of it as love. The idea of him loving her always made her heart jump and skip. She wanted it to happen but was scared that she might end up expecting too much.

"Won't you reply to him?" Beca asked when she saw Arwen staring at her phone.

"I think I will just go and make a quick call," she said before looking down at her plate. "I am already done."

Beca nodded before tilting her chin up. "Go. We will wait for you in the living area."

Arwen nodded with a smile, before pushing the chair and leaving the place to call Aiden.