Chapter 481 An Unwelcome Rival

Chapter 481: Chapter 481 An Unwelcome Rival

“What?”

Rose stared at him, utterly confused.

Ryan lowered his eyes to meet hers and reached up to cup her cheek. Her skin felt soft beneath his palm, and he gave it a gentle squeeze.

“You fall asleep the second you’re done getting ready for bed,” he remarked. “I’m not as innocent as you are, you know.”

Rose blinked.

What was that supposed to mean?

Ryan offered no explanation.

He couldn’t exactly tell her that he’d spent most of the night fighting the urge to touch her, tossing and turning until nearly four in the morning before finally managing to sleep for a couple of hours. And even then, his dreams had done him no favors, giving him an even harder time keeping his hands to himself.

Some things were better left unsaid.

“Your incision is healing well, but you still need to take it easy,” Rose reminded him.

She’d more or less figured out what he meant, but she had no intention of discussing it. Waving a hand dismissively, she turned toward the bathroom.

“I’m going to get ready.”

Ryan watched her disappear behind the door.

Coldhearted woman.

He shook his head slightly, then tightened the sash of his loosely tied bathrobe before crossing the room to retrieve his phone.

If James found out he’d sneaked into Rose’s bedroom the night before, there would be hell to pay.

It was already past nine when he reached for his phone.

Before he could pick it up, Rose’s phone began ringing on the other side of the bed.

Ryan glanced toward the closed bathroom door.

Then he walked over and picked up her phone.

The caller ID read Mr. Robinson.

The name was familiar enough.

At Ariel’s school, the teacher had repeatedly referred to Trevor as Mr. Robinson. Ryan hadn’t forgotten it.

And there was more.

After their confrontation the previous day, he’d looked into the wedding Trevor had mentioned. The reports confirmed that the wedding had been real. At the time, the news had made headlines and attracted considerable attention.

The details, however, had been kept remarkably private. Ryan couldn’t find much about what had happened behind the scenes.

But one thing was undeniable.

Rose had nearly married Trevor.

Ryan stared at the screen as it continued to vibrate in his hand. His expression remained unreadable.

A moment later, he declined the call.

Then he placed the phone back on the nightstand, exactly where he’d found it.

He left the room before Rose had even finished getting ready.

*****

After changing, Ryan headed downstairs to the dining room.

Oliver was already there, visiting the Taylor residence. The moment he spotted Ryan, he stood up and approached him with a friendly smile.

“Ryan! How are you feeling? Getting settled in here?”

Then Oliver lowered his voice and leaned closer.

“Okay, tell me the truth. Are you really still suffering from amnesia, or are you putting on an act? Have you remembered anything yet?”

He studied Ryan’s face, clearly hoping to catch a reaction.

“Although, honestly, if this is an act, I can’t say I blame you. Rose is a doctor, after all. Taking care of patients is practically second nature to her. And you’ve managed to get her looking after you around the clock. That’s one hell of a strategy.”

Oliver grinned.

With Rose personally taking care of Ryan, he was certainly in good hands.

Ryan gave him a brief look but didn’t bother answering.

“Where’s James?”

Oliver dropped onto the sofa.

“Busy with a merger. He’d already left for the office when I got here. Told me to make myself at home.”

“Okay.”

Ryan’s attention had already wandered elsewhere.

Oliver stared at him in disbelief, then pressed a hand to his chest as though he’d been personally wounded.

“Seriously? You know, I think you treat us differently now. You’re practically a different person around Rose.”

It was just like before. Ryan had always been more attentive to Rose than anyone else, even when he refused to admit it.

Ryan didn’t react to the complaint.

Instead, he pulled out his iPad and continued reading the articles he’d been looking through earlier.

Oliver muttered something under his breath. Realizing he wasn’t going to get much of a response, he leaned over to see what Ryan was reading.

The headline on the screen caught his attention.

It was an article about the Robinson family’s wedding.

Oliver’s expression grew serious.

“Ryan, the fact that you can’t remember your past puts you at a disadvantage. Trevor isn’t just some random guy Rose knows. He’s been an important part of her life for years, and the two of them are clearly close.”

He paused, choosing his next words carefully.

“Trevor isn’t the type to go all out for a woman, but he did for Rose. He even planned a wedding with her. And you and Rose never had a proper wedding of your own.”

Oliver leaned back slightly.

“Whether you think it’s important or not, those things can matter to a woman. Trevor gave her a relationship that looked like the kind of future she might have wanted. They’ve known each other for years, and even though the wedding never happened, he could still have a special place in her heart.”

He looked directly at Ryan.

“You need to be prepared for that. Don’t underestimate him just because you’re her husband.”

After all, Ariel had called Trevor Daddy for years, and that bond meant something.

When Rose and Trevor had grown close, her relationship with Ryan had been at one of its lowest points. She and Ryan had been at odds, and Trevor had been there to comfort her when she was hurting.

Oliver couldn’t help worrying that Ryan, with his memories gone, might not understand just how much history stood between them.

He needed to know what he was up against.

Better to recognize Trevor as a serious rival now than to dismiss him and regret it later.

Ryan’s eyes remained on the screen.

“Why didn’t the wedding happen?”

The question came so abruptly that Oliver paused.

Then he gave a short laugh.

“Because you showed up and put a stop to it, of course. There’s no way you were going to let Rose marry someone else.”

Ryan’s fingers stilled against the edge of his iPad.

“Was she angry with me?”

Oliver hesitated.

“Well...”

The truth was complicated.

Ryan had played a part in disrupting the wedding. Oliver didn’t know every detail of what had happened, but he knew there had been plenty of tension between Ryan and Rose at the time.

As for whether Rose had blamed him, Oliver couldn’t say for certain.

He wasn’t about to give Ryan an answer he couldn’t stand behind.

“I see.”

Ryan closed his iPad, his expression as impassive as ever.

So, back then, he’d been the one standing between Rose and Trevor.

Almost like the third person in their relationship.

The thought made the corner of his mouth twitch, though it was impossible to tell whether he found it amusing or infuriating.

Still, one question lingered.

If Rose and Trevor had shared such a strong connection, why had their relationship fallen apart so easily?

Whatever place Trevor had once held in Rose’s heart, Ryan had managed to stop their wedding before it happened.

And he could do it again.

This time, he would make sure Trevor no longer stood between him and Rose.

’Trevor Robinson. What makes you think you can compete with me?’

Oliver studied Ryan’s face.

There was no obvious sign of anger, but something about his expression made Oliver uneasy.

Apparently, any man who came anywhere near Rose was enough to get under Ryan’s skin.

Not that Ryan would ever admit it.

Oliver was genuinely stunned.

Since when has this guy cared so much?

*****

After getting herself ready, Rose contacted NYU to arrange her return to work.

She had barely finished checking her phone when she noticed the missed call from Trevor.

Then she saw it.

The call had been declined.

Her call log was still open, and the missed call stood out plainly on the screen. Ryan hadn’t deleted anything or tried to hide what he’d done.

He’d simply rejected Trevor’s call and left the evidence for her to find.

Rose raised an eyebrow.

Ryan Knight, you really don’t do anything halfway, do you?

He wasn’t even pretending to be innocent. He clearly wanted her to know he’d refused Trevor’s call.

And apparently, he wasn’t worried about what she’d think of him for it.

Rose shook her head and headed downstairs, phone in hand.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, a housekeeper approached her.

“Miss Rose, you have a visitor.”

Rose stopped.

“Who is it?”

“Mr. Robinson, from the Robinson family. He’s brought the gift he promised Miss Ariel.”

Rose pressed her lips together.

Of course it was Trevor.

She knew him well enough to understand what he was doing. He hadn’t given up on her, and now he was using Ariel’s gift as a reason to come over.

He probably knew Rose might refuse to see him if he’d asked to visit for her sake alone.

Bringing something for Ariel gave him a more acceptable excuse.

Before Rose could respond, the housekeeper added, “Mr. Knight has already gone to greet him on your behalf.”

Rose’s expression changed immediately.

“Ryan?”

A headache was already beginning to form behind her eyes.

“Where are they?”

The housekeeper gestured toward the front sitting room.

Rose let out a quiet breath.

Ryan was openly hostile toward Trevor now, and it was obvious that Trevor’s presence bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

The two men were already at odds. Putting them in the same room without supervision was practically asking for trouble.

And knowing Ryan, Rose couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go wrong.