MTLNOVEL Chapter 662: One last chance.
Ryan looked at her, a trace of confusion settling over his features. He didn't understand why she was suddenly mentioning that now.
"Our mothers have always been friends. We were first introduced when we were really young, and you were —"
"Ryan!" Arwen interrupted firmly. "I was barely three at the time. I wouldn't have remembered you from then. That's not what I am asking about. I am talking about the time when we both were old enough to remember the people we met."
She paused a little, her gaze unwavering, before she repeated her question again. "Do you still remember that time?"
Ryan furrowed his brows, thinking back. He nodded, a little hesitant. "We met later … at the hospital." His voice softened as he searched her face just to know if that was the time she was talking about. "You had just woken up after the anaesthesia had worn off. Aunt Catrin had introduced us then."
Arwen nodded, confirming it. "Yes. That was the time I am referring to. But Ryan … do you also remember what she said when she introduced you?"
"She —" He opened his mouth to respond, but stopped midway, realizing something. "She —" he faltered again.
Her gaze held his steadily, waiting for him to complete. But she knew he wouldn't be able to bring himself to do that. So, when he couldn't, she helped him finish it.
"She introduced you to me, saying that you saved me. You were the one who brought me to the hospital. That if it wasn't for you … I wouldn't have survived."
Ryan's expression shifted, lips parting slightly as he heard Arwen repeat Catrin's exact words —the same words that had shaped a part of her like … their life.
She stared at him before repeating yet again. "Were you really the one who took me to the hospital that day?" her tone quiet, almost too calm.
"I —" Ryan began, but at that moment, a knock at the door interrupted him.
He turned his head just as the door slid open.
"Ma'am, your order is ready," the waiter announced. On Arwen's nod, he stepped in, wheeling in the covered dishes.
After arranging everything on the table, he gave a courteous bow. "Please enjoy your meal. I will be right outside if you need anything." Then he quietly stepped out, shutting the door behind him.
Silence returned.
Arwen turned back to Ryan, her expression unreadable. "Seems like you finally remembered it."
"A-Arwen, I was there with you, and Aunt Catrin thought—"
"I don't want to know what Mrs. Quinn thought, Ryan," she cut him off. Her voice was composed, but the weight behind her words was sharp. She glanced at him briefly, then began serving herself slowly, each movement precise. "I just want you to confirm it again … Were you the one who really saved me?"
Ryan's face paled slightly in guilt. His fingers clenched into an anxious fist over the table.
Arwen noticed, but she didn't press. She simply waited … for him to confess.
She knew he would do it. She was giving him the chance and space to do it … willingly.
One last chance.
As she sliced into her steak, Ryan finally closed his eyes, as if bracing himself to say what should have been said long ago.
"It wasn't me." His voice was low, tinged with guilt. "I wasn't the one who saved you. I didn't bring you to the hospital that day."
Arwen's fingers tightened around her knife and fork. Her movement stilled for a moment, but she didn't react outwardly. She remained calm.
"It wasn't you," she said, voice low. "Yet you took the credit for it. Why? What made you so desperate for it?"
Ryan shook his head quickly. "No, it's not like that," he said desperately. "I never intended to take the credit. I just … I didn't notice what Aunt Catrin was saying at the time. I was distracted, and later —
"Really?" Arwen asked coldly. "Is that how you have convinced yourself all this time?"
"No, Arwen. I swear, I didn't mean to accept that. I just didn't hear her clearly back then."
"It wasn't just once that she said it," Arwen replied sharply. "She kept repeating it —again and again —until it became the only thing I remembered. So don't tell me you never had the chance to clarify it."
"I —"
"Ryan," she snapped, dropping her knife and fork with a sharp clink. "Admit it. You did have the chance to tell the truth. You just chose not to. Not just once, but every time since then."
Ryan opened his mouth, but no words came out. Deep inside, he knew she was right. There had been moments —plenty of them —where he could have come clean. But he hadn't.
"You liked being the saviour in my eyes," she said bitterly. "You like seeing me trust you, like you, believe in something that was never yours to begin with. You let me place you on the pedestal built on someone else's deed."
Ryan swallowed hard, unable to meet her eyes.
"You weren't just silent, Ryan," Arwen said, her voice steady and cutting. "You were complicit. In every word I said, in every gratitude I showed you, you stood there —letting it happen. Even our engagement."
If not for owing him from that one instance, Arwen would have never would have never agreed to the agreed to Catrin so-called careful arrangement. The whole basis of it was over this one incident.
That's how her mother made her agree to it —made her do everything that Arwen wouldn't have done if not for that one instance.
Ryan felt guilty. But now, there felt to be no way to make amends. It wasn't him who confessed it all … willingly.
"Arwen, I am sorry. I —"
"Don't apologize," Arwen raised a finger to stop him. "For you don't know what damage you caused by not telling the truth. I don't want your sorry, as it won't change anything now."
She let out a breath —soft but exhausted. "Just … just tell me what had happened that day, I want to know it."