Chapter 3 I'm Back

After five years, Rylee still looked as charming as she had been.

Years of serving in the army didn't effect big changes in Ryder's appearance, but it did alter his aura and spirit. To Rylee, Ryder was as good as dead, so when she saw him again, she felt both shocked and angry.

"Hi, Rylee. It's me."

Ryder put on a gentle smile. He only came back to make things up to Zoey.

Finally, Rylee was sure that the man in front of her was Ryder, her long lost son-in-law.

"It's really you, you damned loser!" She put her hands on her hips, furrowed her brows, and snapped, "Just when Zoey is about to get remarried, you reappear out of nowhere. You're here on purpose to make trouble, aren't you?"

At this time, Ruben walked over to the front door and stood behind his wife. He overheard Rylee talking to Ryder, so he had to see if it really was Ryder himself. Without saying anything, Ruben raised his fist and shouted angrily, "You bastard! How dare you come back!"

Before Ruben could land his punch, a burly man came over in an instant. He grabbed Ruben's wrist and said coldly, "No one hurts him."

The man who stopped Ruben was, of course, Vincent.

He had fought alongside Ryder for years. He was very tall and strong, and he looked fierce. His appearance instantly struck fear in Ruben.

"Let him go, and get out," Ryder ordered icily as his sharp eyes fell on Vincent.

Although Vincent was unwilling to let Ruben go, he would never dare disobey Ryder. He released Ruben and muttered, "Sorry, Ryder."

"If you know you're wrong, then walk away. From now on, don't interfere in my business unless I tell you to. Understood?" Ryder's face betrayed emotion; his tone was enough to make Vincent turn around and distance himself.

At this moment, Ryder inadvertently showed his sternly assertive side. Rylee and Ruben thought that their useless son-in-law seemed to have changed after being gone for five years. But that thought only lasted for a moment. In the blink of an eye, Ryder was back to being a good-for-nothing scum for Rylee and Ruben.

After Vincent interfered, Rylee and Ruben didn't dare make a move against Ryder anymore.

"Now you don't take me seriously. You get lost, now!" Ruben screamed. He would've tried to hit Ryder again if it weren't for his fear of Vincent coming back.

Ryder was burning with rage, but he thought of Zoey, the only reason why he was here. He had missed her for the last five years, and he would do anything to do right by her, including controlling his temper.

"We can't turn away this loser now, Ruben. He has come at the perfect time. We'll make him divorce Zoey today so that Zoey can marry Platt. Getting a divorce is a lot easier and faster than applying for a death certificate," Rylee explained and grabbed one of Ryder's arms, fearing that Ryder would disappear again for a long time.

Ruben was suddenly enlightened. He grabbed Ryder's other arm and said to Rylee, "You're right, dear. Of course." Then, he told Ryder, "You and Zoey should go get divorced when she comes back."

Rylee and Ruben dragged Ryder inside the house. People who didn't know them might even think that they were happy to welcome their son-in-law back home.

Ryder walked into a living room full of people, all of them Rylee's relatives. There was a big table in the center of the room.

In the sea of familiar faces, a strange one stood out to Ryder. He was a young man dressed in a casual ensemble that was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars at the least. He seemed to be intentionally flashing his Rolex to the crowd from time to time. Rylee's relatives were all sitting around him and gawking at him.

At this moment, the strange young man squinted at Ryder, who was led to the house by Rylee and Ruben.

There was a massive cake on the table. It seemed that everybody was celebrating someone's birthday.

But to the best of Ryder's knowledge, today wasn't Rylee's, Ruben's, or even Zoey's birthday. Then whose birthday was it?

Merely moments ago, they were discussing getting Ryder's death certificate. Now, Ryder was standing in the living room, alive and well. Everyone was shocked and frightened at first, but before long, they all got excited. Their eyes lit up as they were ready for a good show.

"Ryder? Didn't he disappear five years ago? Why did he suddenly come back?"

"He has returned at the exact same time Platt is going to marry Zoey. I'm afraid he's here with a purpose."

"A purpose? Compared to Platt, Ryder is just a loser. He can't compete with Platt at all."

All of Rylee's relatives were whispering, but Ryder could still hear them and so could the young man named Platt Quinn.

But Platt acted as if he heard nothing. He looked at Rylee and asked in confusion, "Who is this man, Mrs. Swain?"

With a sneer, Rylee took a look at Ryder in disgust and replied, "He's the one for whom I was going to apply the death certificate. He left my daughter five years ago. But don't worry. He reappeared at the most opportune moment. It will take some time to apply for a death certificate, but a divorce can be handled today."

Rylee made no secret of her intention to make Zoey divorce Ryder. After talking to Platt, she told Ryder complacently, "Ryder, this is Platt Quinn, the eldest son of the head of the Quinn family in Linbourne. He will take his father's place in a few years. We all have agreed to his and Zoey's marriage, so I advise you not to waste your time or have any improper thoughts toward my daughter. Zoey's going to be here any second now, and you two can end your marriage. Let's not drag this out."

At the table, all of Rylee's relatives were talking at the moment. They all wanted to suck up to Platt by mocking Ryder.

Ryder gnashed his teeth together and narrowed his eyes.

Rylee's relatives were really annoying. If it weren't for Zoey, he would've taught them a lesson already.

Platt was very satisfied. Putting on a relaxed, smug look, he leaned against his chair and swirled the red wine in his glass. He grinned at Ryder and said in a mocking tone, "Where have you been in the last five years, Ryder?"

Ryder looked at him indifferently and answered, "I was in Mapleley."

"Mapleley? What did you do there? Did you shovel snow there?" one of Rylee's relatives chimed in before Platt could say anything.

He laughed loudly, and the rest of Rylee's relatives burst into laughter as well.

Ryder kept silent.

With a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, Platt reached into his jacket pocket and took out his checkbook. He signed a check, ripped it out of the book, and slid it across the table toward Ryder. He chirped, "You look like a smart, perceptive man. You must've known that you're not welcome here, so you must've shown up for money. Here's a blank check. Write whatever amount you want on it and cash it at any bank in Linbourne. All I want in exchange is that you divorce Zoey."

All of Rylee's relatives looked at Platt and then at Ryder with wide eyes. They wished they were the ones receiving that blank check.

"You don't need to give him money, Platt. Zoey is my daughter. If I want them to divorce, they must divorce. No need to give her soon-to-be ex-husband money," Rylee cut in. Looking at the check, she felt as if she were the one throwing money at Ryder to divorce Zoey.

Disdain flashed in Platt's eyes, but he still smiled and said, "Mrs. Swain, it's okay. Money isn't the issue here. I don't want anything to go wrong. I just want Zoey to become single as soon as possible."

Hearing what Platt said, Rylee didn't dare say anything more. She just looked at Ryder coldly.

Under everyone's envious gaze, Ryder picked up the blank check.

Just when everyone thought Ryder was going to take the money, he tore the check into pieces.

Then, he looked at Platt and said calmly, "If Zoey wants to divorce me, I will sign the divorce papers. But if she doesn't, we will stay married whether you all like it or not."

If Ryder's subordinates from Mapleley were present right now, they would tell everyone in the room that when Ryder was this calm, he was most dangerous.

Platt narrowed his eyes slightly. This man in front of him just put pressure on him with a few well-said words, which upset him.

The others fixed their eyes on Ryder. They thought that by offending Platt, Ryder was courting death.

The tension in the air was broken by the clicking of high-heeled shoes against the marble floors. After a few moments, Zoey walked into the living room with Sloane in tow.

"Platt? What are you doing here again? This is my house. You're not welcome here. Please leave right now." As soon as Zoey saw Platt, her face darkened, and she directly asked him to leave.

Hearing his wife's familiar voice, Ryder, who had his back to the door, trembled.

He had imagined his reunion with Zoey a million times over the years. He even practiced his response when he finally saw her again. But when he was about to face her for real, he realized that even if he had practiced for a thousand years, it never would have been enough. Guilt threatened to swallow him whole as he struggled to keep his knees from buckling. He wasn't sure if he could show his face to the woman he abandoned five years ago without completely falling apart.

"Daddy!"

Before Ryder could turn around, a small, awfully familiar voice came from behind him. Once more, he shivered. When he turned around, he saw a cute little girl joyfully rushing over to him.

It was the little girl he met at the airport, the same kid who ran to him and called him "Daddy".

Instinctively, Ryder squatted down and caught the little girl in his arms.

The reflex came so naturally that he felt as if he had hugged the little girl countless times already.

At this moment, Zoey also saw Ryder. Their eyes met. For a few heartbeats, everything seemed to have slowed down, and the couple felt as if they were the only people in the world.

Not a day went by in the last five years that Zoey didn't cross Ryder's mind. He missed her every single day, and the thought of coming back to her was what made him persevere. And so he did. It had been a long and exhausting journey, but here he was now, finally worthy of her.

Zoey fixed her eyes on him, and he watched as emotions played like a movie on her beautiful face.

"Hi, Zoey. I'm back." It was Ryder who first broke the silence.