‘’What?’’ Wendy was stupefied. Like an arrow launched from a bow, Ryan’s words instantly pierced the softest, most delicate part of her heart. She blushed. She covered her face with her unsteady hands and sat there in a daze, unable to react for a long time. Reese slapped her on the shoulder. “What…What are you doing?” Wendy asked. “Are you flipped?”. “No…”. “Tell me the truth! You know you can be brutally honest with me. Reese hugged her as she did when they were still little. “Silly Wendy! You should know that Mr. Ryan is the CEO of the Oliver Group. He is a very busy man! But because Ray and I are the people you care most about, he is willing to sacrifice his precious time and energy to take care of us. It’s really rare to come across someone like that. “Reese, you are my sister, not his. Why do you always take his side?”. “I’m not on his side. I’m on your side!”. Reese prodded Wendy’s forehead and said, “If he doesn’t treat you well, will I praise him to the hilt?”. Of course, in Reese’s heart, Wendy’s mind, nay her life, mattered. Reese and Wendy had grown up together and were extremely close. She could read Wendy like a book. She knew that Wendy had serious feelings for Ryan. Although she was in denial, her eyes and body language told a different story. Perhaps Wendy wasn’t aware that every time she was with Ryan, she was in a relaxed and comfortable state. This was something she had never experienced with any other man. “Reese, do you really think we are a good match?”. “Yes, you are a perfect match!”. Upon hearing that, Wendy wobbled. “Reese…”. “I know why you are hesitant to make a commitment to him, but if you deny him, then you will be doing him a great disservice. Don’t you agree? It’s better to leave the choice to him than to be entangled with your unnecessary worries. I believe that he is not a superficial being. To say the least, if he leaves you because of your messy past, then that’s his choice. But it’s better to give him the benefit of the doubt. Reese’s powerful words drove Wendy into a serious dilemma. “Well, I think I’ve said enough. Think it over. I won’t influence your judgment. Wendy was silent. ‘’You said everything you wanted to say

Moreover, your words have already had a deep impact on me” Confused, Wendy went to freshen up. It was already eleven o’clock at night. Lying on the bed, she couldn’t fall asleep because of what Reese had said to her. “Alas!”. She tossed and became more edgy and fidgety again. Her restlessness unnerved her! She even tried to count sheep so as to fall asleep but she about those sheep, the more sober she became. Now she didn ’t want to s leep at all. “ Ah l” . She covered her head in frustration, then lift ed the quilt and sat up. It’s annoying !’ she compla ined inwardly. She got off the bed and barefoot went and poured herself a glass of water and gulped it all down. Thereafter she wiped he r mouth and put the gla ss on the bedside table. “Sleep!” s he command ed herself. Then she jumped into the bed and covered h erself with the quilt. She tried ever y trick in the book failure. Every effort , made her m ore listless. All she cou ld think abo ut was Ryan. ‘’Damn it ! It’s so annoying” . “A hh h!” . She lay limp on the bed, kicked off the quilt and whined, “You are so insidious and cunni ng. You promised not to meet me for seven days so that I could think clearly without any di straction, but you still tried to influence my decision by helping my sister. It’s unfair. She couldn ’t fall asl eep at all. With disheveled hair, sh e got out of bed and wal ked to the French window. “S wis h!” . She ope ned the curtain. Autumn nigh ts were alwa ys ice cold. As the pale moonlight flooded the room, it had the appearance of a haunted house from a horror movie. Wendy shud dered. Subconsciously, s he looked at the v illa opposite her. To her surprise, she found tha t the lights on the second flo or of the villa were still on. The sight of light instant ly calmed her and her fear of the unknown disappeared. From afar, appeared the sil houette of a man standing in front of the French window. He was tal l and rese mbled Ryan. ‘’Damn! It was Ryan’s bed room!’’ Wendy finally rea lized who the figure was. “S wis h!” . She drew back the curtain instinctively. After closing the curtain, she felt it was too deliberate, so she gentl y opened a small gap in the curtain. She leaned against the glass and peeked at t he other side secretly. Across her, she realized that th e person standing in front of th e French window was indeed Ryan. He was smoking a c igarette and lookin g in her direction

Although he was a good di stance away, she sensed t hat he was staring at her. “What a freak! Why don’t you go to bed? It’s so late. It’s So scary to see someone stands by the window staring out like some ghost…” . As soon as she finished groaning, her phone on t he bedside table beeped. Who could possibly be sending a messag e at this unearthly hour? Wendy saunte red over and took a look at the phone. It was a message from R yan. She hesitated for a while then clicked it. “You hav en’t sle pt yet?” . “No, I ’m sle eping!” . “The light in yo ur room is still on,” said Ryan. “I just like to sleep with the light on,” lied Wendy stubbornly. “It turns out that you can still chat when you are asleep,” said Ryan. Wendy was g agged. Embarrassed, she felt like an utter fool. She texted him , “Why are you still awake?” . “I can’ t fall asleep. “Inso mnia a gain?” . Leo had researched over a per iod of time, what the best sol ution for Ryan’s insomnia was. That was one of the reasons why Wendy insisted that th ey not meet for seven days. However, this method could only be used for a short duration. Leo discovered that Ryan c ould keep calm only as lon g as Wendy was around him. After the experiment, strangely enough , Leo found that Ryan could also fall a sleep with Wendy’s clothes in his arms. However, it must be the cl othes she had worn, the ki nd that hadn’t been washed. The clothes th at carried the scent of her. Wendy was sh ocked when sh e heard this. After assessing the situation, Wendy was at a loss for words. In her mind, Ryan ha d always been a seri ous and arrogant man. But when she visualized such a man hu gging her clothes and sleeping like s ome freak at night, she was disturbed. ‘’Damn! What’s the difference between him and a pervert? They were both trying to satisfy their abnormal psychological needs in the same ways! But at the end of the day, it was a way to help Ryan fall asleep! Therefore, after they agreed not to see e ach other for seven days, she took the trouble of collecting a large basket of her unwashed clothes and dispatched it to him. In this way, there was no pressure on her to sleep with him and she could take her de cision regarding his declaration with ease. Logically speaking, R yan should not be suf fering from insomnia. ‘’Ding! “ She receive d another message from Ryan, “Yes. Insomnia. “W hy ?” . ‘’Did the smell on my clothes dissipate? How about I s ave the clothes I had changed today and ask the servan ts of No. 1 villa to fetch them later?’’ Wendy thought. Her pho ne beepe d again. When she looked down, she saw a few staggeri ng words sent by Ryan. “I can’t fa ll asleep w ithout you