The silence that enveloped them was deafening as the tension was rising quickly. Anne was staring defiantly at her husband, who was not ready to give her whatever thing she had asked him for-precisely, a reply.
The silent treatment she got from him instead of a reply annoyed her to the core, her anger was ready to burst as it surged through her veins -why would he keep mute instead of a reply, this was the vexed question she asked herself?
She was forced to ask him how he dared to ignore her question, but she holds herself. However, she was unable to hold it for long, at last, she speaks, breaking the long and tensed silence that suddenly envelop them.
"Why aren't you saying anything, Ryan?" Anne hissed out in frustration. Her voice was slowly rising to its peak as it was laced with demand and as cold as an ice.
"Why am I not saying anything?" Ryan forced himself not to let the sarcasm reflect in his tone as he repeated her question, slightly irritated by it. "Is that even supposed to be a question, eh?"
Anne flared up. "Of course, it is a question -and not supposed to be." She muttered with a defiant look. "I asked you several times, but you aren't saying anything." "Fine, I am not giving a reply. Why...？" His question was rhetorical as he shrugged his shoulder slightly before giving a reply to his question. "-because that was a dumb question coming from you, Anne. You have no right to ask such to my face."
"The guts, Ryan, the stupid guts. I see you've got the guts to yell and talk back at me." She blurted out in a sharp yet warning tone. "The Ryan I once knew and fell in love with would never have done such."
At first, Ryan thought he heard her wrong. Did -did she really tell him to his face that he's grown guts? Because he cautioned and condemned her for asking such a disgusting question from him?
"What did you mean by I've grown the guts to talk back at you?" He requested, staring questionably at her. He couldn't help but wonder if he had not made a wrong choice from the start -despite his mother's warning. This lady before him is far from the Anne he did everything for to get married to her.
She used to be a calm and sweet soul but lately, and she seems to be supporting every of his move but lately, she seems to find pleasure in interrogating him and keeping records of every of his moves.
"Isn't it obvious? You flared up when I asked about the reason your mother had shown up in your office out of the blues." She enunciated with the same demand from earlier, reflecting once again in her tone. "-and couldn't defend yourself with a concrete reply. What did she want from you this time around, Ryan?"
"I do not know how best to put this phrase but Anne..."He suddenly trailed off deliberately, sucking in his breath to calm his mixed feelings of anger and confusion. "...you need to try to listen to whatever words you've been sprouting out so carelessly since my arrival."
"What the hell ...？" She chided in total disbelief as she widened her gaze, her big brown eyes looked like they weren't containing their sockets enough. "Did you just imply that I'm being obnoxious and unreasonable -that I now sprout out nonsense? Is it not?"
Ryan rubbed his temple continuously, like he was trying to ease the imaginary headache that was starting to gain space in his head. Why is she trying to misinterpret his words, making it look really complicated?
He sighed and think the whole situation through; like he was attempting to review the whole talks from the start of it. 'How did it turn out to this?' He asked within himself, unable to pinpoint anything.
"Look here, Anne..."He muffled out, calling her by her name since he could remember. "I never say something of such, but -" He trailed off, swallowing the rest of the phrase inside him.
"But - yes?" She cited simply as she waited for him to finish what he was saying.
'But you can insinuate it as you so pleased...' He had wanted to say, however, he completed his phrase with another reply instead. "-and I never mean for it to be interpreted that was, either. Why make a big deal out of nothing?"
"Yeah, I know, right?" She said in mockery. "It will only be nothing if I know why your mother suddenly decided to pay you a sudden visit out of the blues. And don't give me the excuse that she missed you -because I won't buy that lame reply."
Ryan could not stop wondering why Anne was being too obsessed with his mother's reason for coming to his office earlier that day. He can't possibly tell her the reason behind her visit, it would only worsen the situation at hand.
But on a second thought, how did she find out about his mother's visit? This was the question he asked himself.
Anne has always been at home since their marriage, she never left the house -so was his belief, how then did she find out about his mother's visit? As thought, has she been watching and monitoring every of his steps?
The more he tried solving the puzzle, the harder it becomes. He sees no reason Anne would be on his tail and taking notes of everyone that visited his place of work. Is this her definition of being overprotective of him?
If so, then this is the lamest thing anyone would ever do!
"Why do you suddenly care if my mother visits or not?" He finally finds his voice after several seconds of thoughts and silence. She needed an answer, so does he!
"Of course I care! Who knows what she been up to?" She asked him, but did not wait for his reply. "Did she not disowned you as her son after we both got married? Why did she -no way!"
Ryan, taken aback by her sudden change of expression, asked. "What -what is it?" His face crumpled down in a deep frown as he stares at her differently.
"D -did she want you to hand the company over as well? Is that why she came to you all of a sudden?" She rushed out her words, but instead of a reply, he only stares strangely at her. Anne was pissed as she seized him by his shoulders, shaking him violently. "Tell me, Ryan. Is that why she came to you earlier, to seize you from being her successor because you failed in her plan?"
Ryan did not understand how much she managed to reason too fast. Oh, how did he forget she always thinks ahead of everything? As he fixated his gaze on her, he saw the look of worry that etched on her face. He could tell how greatly disturbed she is by her own makeup stories and theory.
"And what if that was the reason behind her visit...？" Ryan threw the question at her, patiently anticipating the kind of reaction she would omit.
Her face was tightened into a deep frown as well as glaring down at Ryan. "She dare not, Ryan..."