Heartstrings on Fire (Agnes and Jared)
Chapter 866

Alyssa sighed heavily, the concern for her son etched deeply into her features. "You've got to be cruel to be kind," she said with a resolute voice. "I know my boy Ryder like the back of my hand. Give him the tiniest glimmer of hope, and he'll cling to it for dear life. So promise me, Agnes, for his own good, you need to cut him off completely. No seeing him, no talking, no texting, not even a hint of a maybe. Crush any fantasy he's holding on to. He needs to detox from you, to replace his own path out of this. I need you to stay away from him, as far as you can manage."

Agnes hesitated, her voice a mere whisper. "I don't think I can." She couldn't stomach the thought of hurting someone on purpose.

"If you can't, then just stay away," Alyssa insisted, understanding the kind soul that Agnes was.

That was why she made such a request. Out of sight, out of mind - it would make things easier.

Ryder hadn't given up all these years because Agnes was always there, always within his reach. That time they spent together abroad had spun a fairy tale in his head. But fairy tales were just that – illusions. Alyssa knew all too well. If she hadn't seen Michael every day back in her youth, she wouldn't have fallen so deeply herself. Why did her son have to walk the same rocky road she had once traveled? She wouldn't allow history to repeat itself.

After a moment of silence, Agnes spoke up, resolve in her voice. "I promise you, Alyssa. I won't reach out to Ryder. I'll do everything to avoid him and reject him, but I can't promise the outcome. I do hope he gives up though. He deserves a real love story, not the half-baked one he has with me."

"Sorry, just came back for my jacket." A cool voice echoed from the doorway.

Agnes and Alyssa turned simultaneously, and there stood Ryder.

They both froze. Hadn't he just left? How had he come back so suddenly?

His presence was cold, his aura detached. From the looks of it, he had been standing there for quite some time which meant he had heard everything Alyssa had said to Agnes.

Alyssa's face turned ashen. Her son had always felt she favored Jared, especially when it came to matters involving Agnes. Hearing her make such a request to Agnes would only cement his belief that she was biased.

Frozen in her seat, Alyssa simply stared at Ryder's handsome face, searching for any sign of what he was thinking. But his expression was unchanged, impassive as ever.

To be honest, he had always looked like this.

For the first time, Alyssa desperately wished he hadn't heard their conversation.

Ryder walked in calmly and picked up his jacket from the sofa, as if nothing had happened. He turned to leave, but after a couple of steps, he stopped and turned back. "Mom, you should know by now that the more you try to stop me, the more determined I become. Stubbornness runs in our blood," he said, his voice echoing his determination. With that, he strode out of the room, leaving the tension behind him like a shattered vase.

Alyssa's tightly wound nerves snapped, the realization hitting her that Ryder had indeed heard everything.

She couldn't help but let out a bitter chuckle at the cruel twist of fate.

Agnes too stood there, her emotions a tangled mess. Ryder had been right outside the door, and neither of them had noticed.