He froze for a minute as though he remembered that he was with someone else, and he had completely let his guard down and showed his true emotions behind the poker mask.
His face became expression less again. He hung his head low, and in his eyes, a dangerous flicker of light passed as he looked at me.
" It seems that you indeed heard what you shouldn't have."
" I-"
" Give me a reason I shouldn't kill you?" He said, with unhidden murderous intent.
My whole body froze, my eyes panic stricken, and the forefront of my brain was me flying out of a window. I started shaking uncontrollably and curled up into a small ball on the floor in order to stop the shaking and hoping that doing this would make me invisible because I couldn't bear the murderous aura, it just brought back memories too painful to bear.
I remained on the floor for a while without saying anything, and he didn't either. So, he looked up to check his next move, but he hadn't moved a bit. He still stood leaning against the table with his arms crossed.
Suddenly, I felt like something wasn't right, If Ryan set his mind on something, then he would do it. Right now, something felt amiss. Then it came to me.
Though I was scared, it felt like he was testing me. That was why he released his murderous intent without hiding it.
I gathered myself. Though it was a gamble, I would still go through it.
" It's because I know." I started
" I know the pain of not getting justice for something that appeared as what it was not." I continued. I was still curled up on the floor, looking at the carpet.
" Just before my mother remarried, my parents had an accident. My father lost his life, and my mother survived, but she lost something even more precious." Tears started rolling down uncontrollably, I remembered the pained look my mother had as she had just lost her husband and her unborn child.
On top of that, her family forced my mother to remarry a few months after we passed the mourning period, and they didn't even attend the wedding.
" Before the investigators closed the case, I had already attempted to search for the reason and the private investigator who worked with said it involved foul play and when I took the evidence to the public investigators, they didn't believe me."
" When they told us that they were closing the case because we did not have a male representative, my mother refused and even went to her family for help even though they had cut ties with her because she married my father. They sent my uncle Robert to assist us in exchange for her remarriage, and she agreed without a doubt. The case was stalled for a while and then closed again due to insufficient evidence." I paused to sniff and wipe my tears off. Ryan just stood there, not saying anything, but I didn't care. I just wanted to get my point across, and his silence meant that my gamble was worth it. It was indeed a test.
Then I stood up and said, " See, my mother is a very strong woman, even though the case was closed and her hopes were shattered so much that we suspected that her family didn't real put pressure on the investigators, she still saw through her promise and remarried. She wore a smile and accepted her new situation.
But I... Though I was forced to accept it, I couldn't, and so my desire to know the truth remained. It's still painful. However, the pain now is more from not knowing the truth than it is about the loss. I must say it hurts more because I know I couldn't bring any justice."
I paused again, mainly from being breathless from talking for so long. Surprisingly, Ryan gave me a glass of water, and I drank some.
" So, if I can help someone else, then I am willing. At least one of us will find closure." I said firmly. My tears had dried, and I looked at Ryan with a resolute look. The ball was in his court, and it was up to him to decide.
Finally, he spoke, " Your makeup is a mess." I blanched. After giving such an emotional story and opening up, that was the first thing that came out of his mouth?! Are you kidding me?