Because the man's face was blurred and his voice couldn't be heard, so Clara didn't recognize he in the video, but Jessica recognized him at a glance.

Her eyes glinted, and then she said with mixed emotions, "It... It's my brother, Ryan."

"It is your brother? Then you should thank..." In the middle of Clara's speech, she realized who she was talking about. "Is...is this Mr. Howard?"

"Yes."

They fell silent.

After a long time, Clara said with difficulty, "Did we misunderstand him?"

Jessica wrung her hands and nodded. She had not only misunderstood him, but she also had said a lot of harsh words.

She had mixed feelings. She felt happy that her brother didn't protect Amy, and felt guilty about misunderstanding him.

After some hesitation, she decided to go and apologize to him. He was a workaholic, so he should be in the office at this time.

After Jessica made up her mind, she changed her clothes, and went out of the hospital with Clara. But when they just arrived at the hospital gate, they met Ryan.

Jeffrey and Mark were also there, right beside him.

"Ry...Ryan." Jessica felt ashamed to see him. She greeted haltingly, and did not know what to say.

Ryan glanced at her coldly. Seeing that she was still pale, he frowned and said in a cold voice, "What are you doing here? You should stay in the hospital now."

He took off his coat and threw it at her.

It was such a cold day, and she was injured. Didn't she know that she should put on a coat when she came out?

His familiar and cool scent enveloped Jessica's whole body. She was on the verge of tears. When she spoke, there was a twang in her voice. "I want to apologize to you. I misunderstood you before. I'm sorry."

Ryan looked sidelong at her and only gave a snort lightly.

Mark could not help saying, "Jessica, this is really your fault. Just think about it. Every time when you were in trouble, Ryan always helps you deal with it."

"Even these days, he is busy dealing with Amy and Alex for you. But you kept blaming him without even asking. Do you know how hard it is for him who likes..."

Here Ryan turned to look at him and gave him a warning look. The man never blinked when he was doing a deal involving millions of dollars. But now he was a little nervous.

Mark stopped talking embarrassedly, who felt a little depressed.

He had never been in love, so he didn't understand. He should just tell her that he liked her. Why did he hide the truth? It was not a bad thing!

Then Ryan looked at Jessica and saw that she had not noticed anything. He breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyebrows were tinged with gloom. She had forgotten all that had happened a year before.

But Clara rubbed it in. "Mark, what did you want to say just now?"

"Ha ha, well, it's cold here. Let's go back to the ward." Mark gave her a stern look.

"..." Why did he glare at her? It was obscure.

They swarmed towards the hospital.

Jessica followed beside Ryan deliberately. She hesitated. Until they got on the elevator, then she said again, "I'm sorry, Ryan. I misunderstood you."

"I told you I'd take care of it. Why don't you believe me?" Ryan looked down at her, and there was some anger in between his eyebrows.

Why didn't she believe him? Probably he spoiled Amy too much. He even allowed Amy to bully her and didn't help her identify herself. And every time when she asked him to punish Amy, he didn't agree directly.

Jessica avoided his eyes and didn't say anything, because she didn't know how to answer him.

"Tell me." Ryan added with emphasis. When she encountered problem, she could trust Clara without reservation, but why she couldn't trust him?

"You...You like Amy so much, and you hate me. I thought you would continue to be partial to her even after this happened." Jessica was startled by his sudden anger and retreated several steps.

Ryan hated her? Was she kidding?

He wished he could reach the stars for her.

Mark frowned and was about to say something, but he was stopped by Jeffrey. Jeffrey said with a smile, "Let them take care of their own affairs."

They just arrived on the 15th floor, so they got off the elevator. Jeffrey grabbed Clara's shoulder, coaxed and dragged her out of the elevator.

Jessica couldn't stand Ryan's stare, and she was almost breathless with the pressure. She pressed her lips and followed them out of the elevator, trying to get back to the ward, but Ryan seized her.

He pressed her forcibly against the wall, and pressed his hands against the wall near her ears. His voice was low and husky. "When did I say I hate you? Huh?"

His scent was overwhelming, enveloping Jessica. She was not as mad as she had been the other day, but she was still not feeling well after all.

Especially the way he stared at her, the emotion was so complex that she could not understand it, but it made her breathe hard.

"Didn't you say you didn't like me...as a sister?"

Jessica's eyes flickered as she avoided his gaze. She waited for him to deny or say something, but he said nothing.

She didn't believe him because of that. Did she feel nothing of his kindness to her?

Ryan straightened up and said sarcastically in a cold voice, "Yes, I hate you. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for the reputation of my family. Is this answer satisfactory to you?"

Each word was like a sharp knife, cutting Jessica's flesh. Suddenly, the blood was flowing.

"You did it just...just for the family's reputation?"

Her voice was shaking.

Ryan looked at her coldly, but blue veins stood out on his hands. "Otherwise? Dou you think I do it because you're my sister? Don't be kidding. You're not related to me by birth. I never thought of you as a sister."

He never wanted to be her brother. He just wanted to be her man.

Jessica knew that he didn't like her, but when she heard him say that now, tears fell down uncontrollably.

Looking at her tears, Ryan felt his heart contracted and uncomfortable. He reached out his hand unconsciously and wanted to wipe it off her face, but he forced himself to withdraw.

"Tell me what I do wrong and I can improve." She wiped her tears and looked up at him, her eyes full of hope.

Her look of dependence like a small beast always made his heart soft.

Ryan swallowed, pinched her chin, and said firmly word by word, "It's useless. No matter what you do, I won't take you for a sister. Do you understand?"

After he finished, he turned around and got into the elevator again without giving her another chance to speak.

Her chin hurt, but not as much as her heart.

Through the slowly closed elevator door, Jessica stared blankly at Ryan's expressionless handsome face. Her eyes were covered with a layer of tears, and she forced them back.

He had hated her so much that...he didn't want to give her a second look?

Clara stood at a distance, unable to hear what the two people said. She could only see that they seemed to be unhappy. Seeing that Jessica seemed to cry, she quickly broke free from Jeffrey and ran to Jessica.

"What's wrong?" Clara took out a tissue and wiped her tears.