Hate To Love You My Billionaire Lover

Chapter 22: You Look Like Audrey Hepburn



Ryan couldn’t help paying another glance in the rearview mirror to see her when he was driving.

Arianna had very different looks between day and night.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

At night time, she often wore a rich color on her lip and a perfume fragrance to match. Her dull expression showed a monstrous beauty.

Ryan would not look anywhere he wasn’t supposed to when Travis was present. But when he was alone with Arianna, he observed her.

He watched her spray perfume on her body and applied lipstick in the small car mirror. Arianna felt his eyes on her and said. politely, “Try pretending like you didn’t see it, thanks.”

Since then, Ryan has paid attention to Arianna and discovered one of her secrets. The color of her lipstick and the scent of her perfume were always ever-changing. They were rarely repeated when she was with Travis Cooper.

Arianna raised her head and lifted her hand toward Ryan’s neck. Her fingertips brushed his skin, and he jerked the wheel.

“Don’t move, there’s long hair on your shoulder.” She told him.

He froze, waiting for her to take the hair off, but the soft hand still rested on his shoulder.

Arianna said softly, “You’ve been watching me this morning. Why? Does my look today remind you of someone?”

He nodded stiffly.

She continued, “Do I remind you of your first lover?”

“You look like Audrey Hepburn. I watched her movies a lot as a kid.” Ryan stuttered.

Arianna laughed, “What are you nervous about? Are you afraid I will seduce you?”

Ryan discreetly tried to shrug her hand off without success. Eventually, she pulled her hand back to her lap.

Arianna continued her fantasy excitedly, “What do you think Travis would do if we got together?”

He didn’t find the topic amusing in any way. Ryan said calmly, “Please don’t try it. It doesn’t matter if it’s with me or anyone else.”

“Has it happened before with someone else?” She gushed.

“I do not know.”

Ryan kept his mouth shut. He did not reply when Arianna asked him to stop at a bakery for some breakfast.

“Do you want anything? I’ll just be a minute.” She asked sweetly.

Ryan shook his head.

“Okay, then you will just wait for me here.”

He gave her a single nod.

After five minutes, Arianna returned to the car with two croissants. She began to eat hers and passed the other one to Ryan. He ignored the gesture.

“The croissant is really good. You sure you don’t want to try it?”

Ryan remained silent.

“Are you afraid I’m going to drug you?”

He snorted but still did not say a word. Arianna finished her croissant and then continued to eat half of the other one. She felt more normal with a full belly.

She sensed that Ryan was upset with her, so she said, “I was just joking about waking you up. I know you’re tired at this time in the morning.”

Ryan nodded, but he felt like something was wrong. He dropped her off at the office and drove away without waiting for her to get into her own car as he usually would.

He realized that Miss Jenkins seemed to have assimilated into Travis Cooper’s world. She was beginning to speak like him and pull on people’s weaknesses without a second thought.

He needed to mind his own business, he reminded himself.

****

Arianna drove away from the office and out of the city. The roads were covered with deep water, and a few sections of roads under construction were muddy. Her car was not the best for such road conditions.

At least it began to rain again, washing the mud off her car.

She was by no means a professional driver. Arianna had to pay lots of attention to the road and its bumps so she wouldn’t damage the car.

Despite the messy roads, the drive was still boring. She loaded a rock and roll disc into the CD player, and the car was instantly filled with guitar and loud drums.

She made a quick stop at a coffee shop right off the road. This was where she usually stopped whenever she made this journey.

Arianna got herself a latte and a water bottle for later. She would get a snack too, but she was still full from the morning’s croissants.

After burning her lips on the hot latte, she sighed and took the lid off for it to cool as she continued to drive.

When she reached her destination, her CD was only halfway done playing the songs she had put on it. She got a parking pass from the machine and drove into the parking lot.

She looked at herself in the rearview mirror and practiced her smile. She tried several times until she was satisfied. Then she unclipped her seat belt and got out of the car.

At first glance, the place appeared to be a hospital. It was located on a hillside with nice scenery. But in fact, it was actually a famous medical research institution.

Arianna checked in at the registration desk and received a visitor’s badge, which she placed around her neck. She first went to see the attending doctor, an energetic man in his mid-forties.

He said kindly, “Your grandfather has been mentally stable for a while. He talks with nurses about his memories.”

“Did he mention me?”

“I’m sorry. His most recent memories are at least ten years old. He does know who you are but still thinks you are a child.”

Arianna looked down, and she bound her fingers together.

“But don’t be discouraged. He has made much improvement over the years. You know that before, he could only remember his twenties and younger. Now he can recall that he taught you how to fish when you were a child.”

He finished, “Just be patient. He will get better.”

“Thank you, Dr. Lynch. Can I see him now?”

“I’ll go with you, but don’t get too close to him. We don’t know when one of his violent outbreaks will occur. Especially when he sees you, it could trigger memories and emotions that may put you in danger.”

The corridor was long-doors of steel-lined the hallway on both sides.


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