Ryan’s POV

Despite his best efforts to forget all about it, the strange phone call that Ryan had had with Vivian was bothering him. No matter what he did, it kept replaying in his head as the days passed.

Why had she sounded so out of it? The voice had been Vivian’s, but it had been so devoid of warmth, of all of the joy that Ryan was used to when it came to her that he was worried. That worry was the reason why now that he had a bit of time to himself in between meetings, he was trying to reach out to her.

"Ring...ring,... ring,"

When the first call went unanswered, Ryan tried a second time, then a third. Realizing that if he carried on any longer, he would be crossing over into a creepy, stalker-ish territory that he did not wish to visit.

He stared at his phone, while on the outside he appeared calm on the inside, Ryan was shocked beyond belief.

When it came to his relationship with Vivian, there were things that he had gotten used to without realizing, and her always making sure to pick up his calls, even if it was to tell him that she was busy, and he should call back later, was something that he had begun to take for granted.

Now he had been making calls to her for several days, and Vivian had not answered at all.

Making the decision not to focus too much on it, Ryan pocketed his phone and went back to work.

Hopefully the next time that he got a few minutes to himself again, Vivian would have reached out, or she would actually answer when Ryan called.

The day carried on, and as had become a routine for him, each time that Ryan had a break, he checked his phone. Vivian did not reach out, and she continued to not answer when he tried to call.

Not wanting to appear too clingy, Ryan only allowed himself to call her three more times. In a pattern he wished would stop, his calls went unanswered. The billionaire did not get a good night’s rest that evening.

The next day, Vivian did not answer his calls once more.

The same thing happened the next day, and the day after that.

Now after almost a week of radio silence, Ryan had seriously considered hiring some people to check in on Vivian and make sure that she was okay.

He had even considered asking Mark to pass by Vivian’s school to check on her. But in the end he had decided against both options.

Just because he was worried about her, it did not give him the right to invade her privacy in such a way.

***

Having taken the decision to not call Vivian and wait for her to reach out instead, Ryan was not doing very well. With each passing day that Vivian did not call him. The temptation to hire some people to follow her and report back to him was growing. The fact that his mind was coming up with a worrying number of scenarios on what her reason for not contacting him could be was not helping at all.

Each thought that he had on the matter was nothing good. Sure there was a huge possibility that Vivian was ignoring his calls because she was super busy. But if that were a possibility, then other possibilities were also likely.

Maybe she had been kidnapped. Or maybe his Vivian had fallen down a flight of stairs and broken her neck, or maybe she had been in a car accident. Or maybe she had gone to sleep and never woken up. Those possibilities were as likely as the first more reasonable one.

And that was not calming Ryan’s nerves at all.

What would he even do with himself if something really was wrong with her? What if she had been robbed and the thief had stabbed her in order to get her phone? What if she had come down with some sort of fast acting incurable illness?

What if-

Realizing that he was spiraling? Ryan stood and began walking back and forth.

His steps far too loud in the quiet of his hotel room. But they were not as loud as his thoughts which continued to whirl around in his head, pulling him this way and that, as he tried to make sense of the situation.

***

"...I have been trying to reach out to you for a few days now and you haven’t answered. Are you ok?"

"Hey Vivian, it’s Ryan again. I was just calling to check if you’re ok. Get back to me when this reaches you ok,"

"Vivian, are you alright? I’m seriously starting to get worried now. Please call me,"

"You know I just realized that the entire time you and I have been carrying out our arrangement I never actually got your best friend’s number. If you are unable to talk, can you send it to me so that I speak to you through her? Thanks, bye," 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

" Hey Vivian, it’s me again. Over here it is night. I know it’s probably early morning where you are, but I just wanted to wish you good night, or good morning whichever one it is. Bye,"

"Hey Vivian, it’s Ryan again. It would be really nice to hear your voice. You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to but I just wanted you to know that,"

"Vivian, you would not believe what some country’s president just said to me. Call me later and I will tell you all about it. I am looking forward to it. Bye," What he was doing was a sign of desperation and it was incredibly pitiful. Whatever was going on with her. Vivian was clearly unable to respond to him. Yet Ryan had taken to leaving her messages with each one he sent. He hoped to turn on his phone and find a reply waiting for him.