28.
GUARDIANSHIP:
Legal term which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship of a parent and a child, which includes the right of the parent to make decisions for his or her child as well as his or her responsibilities to take care of his or her child.
Astrid.
“Damn it!” I shrieked when I opened my office and found a tall figure standing by my window.
Then my heart hammered in my chest when I realized who it was.
I got that familiar urge to run after him and throw myself in his arms, thinking that he would catch me, like he always did in the past. But I knew I would hit the wall this time.
Then I got that usual flicker of hope that he remembered even a fraction of his time with me. Or he somehow felt our connection. Or he was even willing to work on it until he finally heals. I knew I whacked him on the face the last time I saw him in Manhattan. Did he come here because somehow, he regained some memories back?
“Ryder,” I breathed.
He turned around and looked at me. “So this is what you did with my money?” he asked quietly.
Anger flared inside me again. This Ryder is such an asshole! He doesn’t miss a chance to insult me. If I met him like this, I would not have fallen in love with him. But then, before my Ryder went away, he sort of warned me about this. I remembered what he said to me before he got into that stupid accident.
“Always remember that I love you, okay? I’ll always be that guy who would do anything to protect you, make you happy. I want you to know that even before I met you, you were the woman I needed, the woman I have been looking for.”
Maybe this was what he meant. The old Ryder Van Woodsen didn’t have much faith in people, especially women. And maybe I did change him. Maybe I had a positive effect on his life, too.
I didn’t want to give up on him. When he never gave up on me, on us. He patiently waited for me to come around, to realize that he was the one for me all along. And I must have broken his heart over and over too. But he never showed me signs of giving up. He stood strong. My rock. My knight.
I should do the same. I would wait until he finally found his way back to me. No matter how much he hurt me or shut me down, I knew this wasn’t him. I knew this Ryder was just guarding his emotions from something he didn’t understand, something he didn’t know. But once he regained his memories of me, he would come back.
“I don’t see why I would be interested in these,” he said. “I don’t believe in marriage. My father went through a lot that didn’t work.”
I took a deep breath. “You believed in me,” I told him.
He looked at me for a moment. I held my head high and looked back at him. I didn’t back down. Then finally, as if he couldn’t take it anymore, he looked away.
“I’m sorry, Miss Jacobson, this is… not… working out for me,” he said in an almost broken voice, as if he too, was not sure of what he’s doing.
“Wh-what?”
He turned his back on me. “Call your lawyer,” he said. “Let’s try to do this as easy as possible. I’m pulling out my investment here.”
“But Ryder…” I trailed off. What is he saying? Moreover, what am I going to do about it?
I couldn’t believe this was happening! I cannot believe he could be this harsh. I will be jobless when he shuts my business down.
Just as if on cue, Adam appeared in the room, his eyes looking at me and then at Ryder.
“Van Woodsen,” he greeted Ryder, his voice cold. “I guess you also don’t remember me. I’m Adam Ackers.”
“Attorney Ackers?” Ryder asked. Adam nodded. “You were the one who executed the deed for this company. Good thing you are here. I have no idea what went through my mind when I decided to invest in this. But now, I’d like to undo what I did.”
“Great! If only you can un-do my cousin, too,” Adam muttered under his breath. Ryder raised a brow at him. “Never mind,” Adam said. “Just so you know, Mr. Van Woodsen, you’re going to have to compensate Astrid a lot for this. Her contract states that you are to pay two year’s worth of her salary should you decide to pull the plug on her.”
“Two years?” Ryder echoed.
“Adam! That’s not true! Why would you do that?”
“Because when Van Woodsen decided to put up this business, I knew he was doing it to impress you. And back then I didn’t know what his intentions with you really were. So I decided to put a clause to make sure that you will be able to survive for at least two years after he’s done playing with you.”
“And I agreed?” Ryder asked, a little shocked.
“I’ll send you a copy of the contract. You’ll see that you signed for it, happily too. You told me you genuinely cared for her. And you know what, silly me, I believed you.”
Ryder looked at me for a second. “I don’t know her well enough to care this much,” he said quietly.
“I know,” Adam said coldly. “And I was afraid for her, so I made sure she would be taken care of.”
“Adam, you don’t have to do this,” I begged.
Adam stared at me for a while, completely apologetic, but I could also see that he was not taking any more bullshit from Ryder Van Woodsen. He’d seen me cry more than enough.
Adam reached out and touched my cheek. He looked at me reassuringly. He gave me a warm smile that made me want to cry even more. I thought Adam was the most unemotional person I knew, but I could see now he really cared for me.
“You said you two are cousins?” Ryder asked, watching us. Right! He forgot everything, never met me, nor Adam.
“Yes and no,” Adam replied. “We’re not related by blood,” Adam said still not taking his eyes away from me, as if assuring me to trust him and he will make it right.
“Oh really? So would you please get your hands off her?!” Ryder scowled.
Both of us stared at him. I didn’t expect it, but he looked so angry with Adam… for touching me? The same brotherly way that he always does.
“Excuse me, Mr. Van Woodsen?” Adam asked, dropping his hands and raising his brow at Ryder.
As if he realized what he just did, Ryder turned away from us and looked outside the window.
“Draw up the papers. Minimize my losses. Pay her whatever severance pay you see fit. I want out,” he said curtly and then he walked away without looking at me again.
Adam turned to me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded at first, and then I shook my head. And tears rolled down my cheeks again. Adam reached out and hugged me.
“Damn it, Astrid! How many more of these are we going to face? When are you going to give up on that guy? You deserve better than this.”
“I can’t give up, Adam. I love him,” I said.
“I know. But he doesn’t even remember you.”
“He… he made me promise to always remember that he loves me. I will not break that promise. I will not give up. I will wait for him.”
Adam sighed and then he pulled away from me. “What do we do now that he wants to pull the plug on you?”
“How much does he want? How much did he invest here?”
Adam and I looked at all the reports that we have. Apparently, about fifty percent of Ryder’s investment had already come back. It’s cash available in the banks.
“What if I just buy him out?” I asked Adam, a far out idea coming to my head. Can I really do this alone?
The business was doing very well. I had four weddings lined up just this month alone and I didn’t want to disappoint my clients. I cannot shut down. Just because my ‘ever after’ is in jeopardy didn’t mean I would let down the clients who put their faith in me.
Adam gave me the figure needed to buy out Ryder’s investment. My heart sank. The money that I currently had was just not enough to make the fifty percent, even if I put all my savings into it.
Adam reached out for my hand. “I know you really want this, Astrid. I will lend you the money.”
“Adam, it will take more than a year for me to return it to you.”
“Then it takes a year or more,” he said. “Or if your stupid boyfriend wakes up earlier than that, I’m sure he’ll be begging to put back his investment here.”
I bit my lip. Four months I had been waiting for Ryder to wake up. Nothing was happening. I was getting weaker and weaker every day. It didn’t help that he was not even trying to remember me and what I was to him before his memories of me were taken away.
“Are you really going to do it for me?”
Adam nodded. “We may not be related by blood, Ash, but I’ve always loved you as my cousin.”
“I’ve always hated you,” I told him, laughing bitterly.
“I know,” he laughed.
I reached out to hug Adam. I will always be thankful for him. He had always been there; during the times I needed someone the most. And now, it seemed that he was all I had for the second time in my life.
***
Ryder.
“You did what?” Janis almost shouted on the other end of the line when I told her that I was pulling out my investment from Astrid’s business. “Why do you have to be an ass, Ryder? Astrid will be jobless when you do that. And that was exactly the reason why you invested in her in the first place! You didn’t want her to be jobless. You wanted to help her, but she wanted no help from you! So you devised a way to trick her into accepting your offer…” She trailed off, realizing that she said too much.
“Thanks!” I muttered sarcastically. I specifically told her not to tell me anything about my past with Astrid until I am ready to hear it.
“Undo this right now!” Janis demanded.
“Jan, why do you guys like her so much?”
Janis sighed. “Because she is a good person. She’s beautiful inside and out. And because she is a hundred times good for you. And…”
“Stop.” I told her. “I don’t want to hear about her again, okay?”
“Ryder, please! That business is everything to Astrid. She worked so hard to put it up. It’s doing well. You didn’t need the money! What were you thinking?”
“I just… I don’t know.” I sighed. In truth, I really don’t know why I wanted to pull out my money. I just didn’t want anything to do with her. I wanted no connection with her.
When I went to her office, I saw her portfolio and how good she is. The phone was ringing non-stop with inquiries. It’s a good, lucrative venture. And she is probably the best in town.
But I thought maybe she used me to get to her dreams. She must have cajoled me to invest in her to make her dreams come true.
But now, when Janis was saying to me that I tricked her into accepting my investment, I was not sure about what I did anymore. And I’m scared that when I wake up from all this, I will regret my decision.
“Undo it! I cannot believe you would hurt her like this!” Janis said angrily.
I sighed. “It’s too late. Her lawyer called.” Speaking of the good-looking lawyer, my blood boiled when I remembered how tenderly he touched Astrid, as if she was a crystal ball.
But she’s my crystal ball! At least that’s what everybody said to me. And even if I didn’t remember this, somehow I didn’t like the way he touched Astrid. They may be cousins, but they are still not related by blood. I don’t understand, but an ugly, unfamiliar feeling swept through me, I couldn’t resist telling the guy not to touch her.
“Adam?”
“I guess that’s his name,” I replied. “He said Astrid is buying me out. She will continue to run the business and will return my investment to me.”
“Wow!” Janis breathed, and I can hear the admiration in her voice. “She’s really good if she’s saved enough to buy you out.”
“I think she is. I saw her portfolio,” I said. “But it’s too complicated for me, Janis. I want to remember Astrid… in my own time. I cannot go by what you guys tell me about her. I will not put my guard down for nothing.”
“Put your guard down?” Janis echoed angrily. “Sometimes, I want to take that guard from you and hit you so hard in the head with it so you will wake up from all this.”
I laughed humorlessly. “If that was guaranteed to work, I would do it myself, you know.” I sighed. “Speak to you later.” And I hung up.
I decided to go look around my house. I only have a faint memory of it; it was new since I just bought it.
I opened my fridge; it was fully stocked. Funny. I haven’t been here for four months. But the house looked very well taken care of.
Of course.
She was here, just like she was in my apartment in Manhattan when I was in the hospital. Had I asked her to be here too?
I went to my room. I found that my clothes were all in order. The hamper was empty. One shelf of my cabinet has some pieces of clothing that were not mine. I took out a pair of lavender pajamas. Definitely not mine!
The bathroom also has some tampons, a pink razor, and some other feminine stuff.
Dear God! I’ve been living with a woman! Somehow, it terrified me. I never thought I would be capable of doing this. And it made me even more curious. How did Astrid Jacobson make me do all these?
I never dated a woman long enough. I have had some flings. After we go to bed together, I call a cab for them. They barely even stay the night.
What has this woman done to me?
I went downstairs and took a box. I shoved all of her stuff into it. I don’t know if I asked her to live with me, but all that has changed now. I am not going to let her invade my personal space anymore.
Then I fished my phone from my pocket and scrolled to find her name.
Astrid Love
I blinked at the name on my phone. What the hell? How did she make me do this? Maybe she was lying. Maybe she really was a witch and she put me under a love spell.
“Ryder.” Her voice was soft like velvet. The sound is as familiar to me as it is strange. This is so confusing.
I took a deep breath, gathering the courage I needed. Gathering the courage to hurt her again… one last time.
“Can you come to my house? You left… a couple of your things here,” I said, as gently as I could.
There was silence. Then she said, “Okay. I will also return your key. What time are you going to be home?”
“I’ll be here all evening,” I replied.
“I’ll finish my meeting and then I will go there.” And she hung up.
I looked at the clock. It was eight o’clock. Astrid is coming to the house. Somehow, an unfamiliar feeling crept through me. My heart pounded in my chest and my pulse was hammering like crazy.
What the hell is wrong with me? Am I… excited?