A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 194: I Will No Longer Do Such

"Let her in."

Lancelot pushed open the door and gestured in. Natasha took a step forward and entered the room. The door slammed shut behind her.

Across the table in the room, Ryan sat, writing and signing some documents.

Natasha fidgeted with her fingers, not exactly sure how she should approach him. Even though he was aware she was standing right there, he wasn’t even raising his head to look at her. This was not the Ryan she used to know. He had become so different. So cold and a bit distant.

It was eating her up, and he knew that very well.

"Don’t just stand there, Natasha," Ryan abruptly voiced

"If you have something to say, get on with it. As you can see, I am very busy with some work, and they belong to my father."

Natasha bit her lower lip and moved closer to the table. She sat on the chair opposite him and exhaled.

"Ryan, can you unfreeze my account, please?" she inquired.

"No!" Ryan’s words were straight and outright.

Natasha’s expression immediately fell. "Why? I don’t get it! Why won’t you unfreeze it? What have I done wrong?"

"You froze it without saying anything to me or explaining to me the reason why you did so.

"You really don’t know why I froze it?" Ryan asked, his focus still fixed on what he was doing.

Natasha shook her head.

"Of course I don’t. You never said anything to me nor told me why, so how am I supposed to know?"

Ryan ceased what he was doing and lifted his head to look at her.

"Well, I froze your account because I do not want you running around and doing stupid things. I do not want you to get yourself into further trouble. You have created enough trouble for me already. This is punishment, but not exactly a punishment because, in reality, I am actually doing you a favor."

"You were able to run around and do whatever you wanted because I gave you the money no matter how much you asked for," he explained.

Natasha was staring at him in disbelief. "A-are you kidding me?"

Ryan shook his head at her.

"I wish I was, Natasha, but this is for your own sake."

Natasha vigorously shook her head at him. "No, Ryan, you cannot do this to me! No, you cannot!"

"Calm down, Natasha!" Ryan frowned at her. "I will still unfreeze it but not—"

"Don’t ask me to calm down, Ryan!" Natasha stood up from her chair.

"You do not understand! You don’t understand at all!"

Ryan furrowed his brows. "What don’t I understand? What are you talking about?"

Natasha breathed heavily while looking as though she could cry any moment from then on.

This got Ryan even more confused. Sure, he was mad at her, but the emotion he was feeling from her at that moment was not an act. Something was wrong—something out of Natasha’s control.

He stood up from his seat and walked over to her. He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"Natasha, what is it? What is going on? Tell me!" His gaze on her was intent. He wanted to know—he needed to know.

Natasha took deep breaths to calm herself down and slowly raised her eyes to look at Ryan.

"My life... my life is in danger," she said.

Ryan was stunned that it took him a few seconds to process the information.

"What do you mean by that?" he inquired.

Natasha dropped her head and buried her face in her palms.

She began to explain, "The witch... the witch that I had to do all that for me requests I pay her. It may not have worked, but it had nothing to do with her because I am the one who messed up."

"I tried to reason with her, but she threatened to do something I would regret if I didn’t pay her as soon as possible."

Ryan was at a loss for words. His face slowly contorted in an ugly manner. He burst into laughter and began to laugh as though he had gone mad.

Natasha could only peer at him in confusion. Why was he laughing? Do her words seem funny to him? Or does he find her situation hilarious? Ryan would never do something this harsh to her, right?

Ryan shook his head. He was done laughing. He grabbed Natasha by the shoulder and pulled her into his arms, hugging her.

"Do not worry, sweetheart. Nothing will happen to you," he assured her. "It surprises me that you are this afraid of a mere witch. What do you think she can do? Do you know it’s such insolence for a mere witch—an outcast—to threaten royalty?"

Natasha fluttered her eyes. "I’m aware, but may I ask what you are implying?"

Ryan pulled back from the hug to stare at her face. He smiled at her.

"Listen, I will not be able to unfreeze your account, but I guarantee you that you will be just fine. I’ll take care of the witch. Relax and rest a little bit, alright?" Assurance was written all over his face. "Also, I do not want you going out for the time being. This is until I settle the issue with the witch, okay?"

This was not what Natasha wanted to hear, but she had no choice but to agree. It’s fine if he leaves her account frozen. The reason she wanted him to unfreeze it was so she could pay Ceicei and get out of this mess.

But since he was going to take care of it, she had no reason to bother herself. She will simply lie low for the moment in order to avoid any funny trick that Ceicei might pull.

A long, deep breath of relief fled her nose, and she pulled Ryan into a warm hug, embracing him.

"I’m really sorry for all the trouble that I have caused you," she apologized. "I will no longer do such, and I will try to do better."