Chapter 127: A confused kiss
Months of Ryder’s relentless pursuit had slowly chipped away at Noah’s resistance, though Ryder remained the same arrogant, flirty asshole. But despite that, Noah couldn’t deny that he’d come to tolerate the man. What started as hatred morphed into an odd kind of...coexistence. They talked now—civilly, at least. And even though Noah still rolled his eyes at Ryder’s shameless flirting, he didn’t hate him anymore.
In fact, over the past year, Noah had seen sides of Ryder he never thought existed. Beneath the cocky exterior, Ryder was actually kind-hearted, in his own irritating way. He showed up when Noah needed someone—sometimes uninvited, sometimes with terrible timing, but always present.
Noah got his company back, but he had to lose a friend in the process—Ash. That night when Ash showed up at Noah’s place, crying and begging to escape from Elijah, everything else in Noah’s life faded into the background.
Elijah relentlessly pestered him for Ash’s whereabouts ever since. He looked worse and more desperate every day, but Noah refused to tell him anything.
After helping Ash escape, Noah isolated himself from everyone, even Ryder. The pressure of keeping Ash hidden and watching Elijah spiral took its toll. But Ryder never pried, never pushed for information—though he was always there, in his own way.
Noah was coming out of a business meeting in a high-end hotel one evening when, of course, he bumped into Ryder. It was like fate had decided to shove the man back into his path at the most inconvenient times.
Ryder grinned as soon as he saw Noah. "Well, well. Look who it is. The elusive CEO, gracing us mere mortals with his presence."
Noah couldn’t help but smile, though he tried to suppress it. "Do you ever not have a smart-ass comment ready?"
"Not when you’re around, no. You bring it out of me," Ryder smirked, his hands in his pockets as he casually leaned against the wall, looking as confident as ever.
They stood there for a moment, a strange familiarity settling between them.
"So, how’s your empire?" Ryder asked, the sarcasm still in his tone, but less biting than usual.