Save Myself from Desperation

Chapter 172 Only taking one glance at Miranda’s pained and sorrowful expression, Ashley felt a pang of heartache. Ashley quickly approached her. “Did Ryan do anything to you?”Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

No. Miranda’s lips turned white as she struggled to hold back tears. “I just talked to Ryan, and we decided never to contact each other again. We're... We’re going to act like we never knew each other.”

“Miranda, you know, actually...” Ashley felt uneasy. She reached out and gently wiped away the tears in the corner of Miranda’s eyes. “If you still have feelings for him...”

“No,” Miranda interrupted, gripping Ashley’s hand tightly in hers.

Tears shimmered in Miranda’s eyes as she looked earnestly at Ashley, saying, “Ashley, even though | had feelings for Bradley... Ryan has done. so many hurtful things to you in the past. You’re my good friend. If | had. to choose between the Ramos family and you, | would definitely choose.

you.”

Upon hearing this, Ashley’s heart ached terribly, and she couldn't resist. pulling Miranda into her arm. “Miranda...”

Miranda hugged Ashley back, and her arms trembled slightly. As she buried her forehead in Ashley's shoulder, her tears began to flow uncontrollably. “I just never thought that | had already met him two years ago...”

Ryan had just said that regardless of whether Miranda despised him or not, he would never forget that snowy Christmas night. He would always remember the young lady who gave him a red apple. Ryan even said he had been looking for Miranda for two whole years.

However, there was something Miranda couldn't comprehend. She mused, ‘Ryan can care so much about me, a stranger, so why couldn't he be kinder to Ashley, his own sister? Why does he treat a stranger better than his own family? If only Ryan had treated Ashley well, | wouldn’t have been so repulsed by him...

Meanwhile, Ryan, watching Ashley and Miranda embracing, furrowed his brows deeply. 11:07

He wondered when Ashley had become interested in car racing.

Ryan pondered, ‘If it weren’t for Ashley wanting to watch the race, | could have continued pretending to be Bradley and be with Miranda much longer. Now that Miranda knows I’m Ryan, she’s decisively chosen. Ashley’s side and no longer wants to have anything to do with me. If | start treating Ashley well now, will Miranda stop despising me? No, why should | be nice to Ashley? She's the reason Miranda dislikes me so much!”

Soon after, Ashley led Miranda back to their seats. Joseph, noticing their return, raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What happened? Why does Miranda look like she’s been crying?” “| wasn't,” Miranda denied, though her eyes were still slightly red..

“Still denying, huh? Your eyes are all red like a little rabbit,” Joseph commented, lounging with his legs crossed, teasingly looking at Ashley. “She didn’t just have a breakup, did she?”

Ashley was at a loss for words, thinking, Joseph really knows how to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Miranda pressed her lips together. “I haven’t even dated yet. How could it be heartbreak?”

“Breakups are no big deal,” Joseph confidently said and snapped his fingers. “There are plenty of handsome men out there. I'll introduce someone to you later!”

“You? Introducing someone?” Jaden couldn’t help but retort, “Come on, knowing you, you'd introduce another playboy like yourself. Don’t go. ruining young girls’ lives.”

Joseph immediately got defensive. “How am | a playboy? I’ve never done anything immoral like cheating or meddling in others’ relationships! Bryce, back me up here!”

Bryce glanced at Joseph and smirked. “Maybe it was last year? | happened to see you being quite chatty and touchy with a few girls, Mr. Fox...”

“Damn it, stop slandering me!” Joseph snapped, wishing he could tape Bryce’s mouth shut.

“Alright, enough, quiet down for a bit, Ashley said, rubbing her temples. in frustration, wondering why the conversation had shifted to

11:07

introducing boyfriends.

Clinging to Ashley’s arm, Miranda whispered, “Let’s forget about introducing men.” For Miranda, men were never as important as her sisterhood.

Ashley was constantly attentive to Miranda’s mood and gently patted her hand. “Do you still want to watch the race? We can go back if you don’t feel like it.”

“No need.” Miranda immediately shook her head. “We're already here. It would be a waste not to watch. Besides, Ashley, you're interested in racing, so we should definitely stay until the end.”

“Alright, then we'll stay until it's over,” Ashley responded, her heart. softening as she gently pinched Miranda's cheek.

Lester, who was sitting nearby, observed the interaction between Ashley. and Miranda and quickly figured it out. “Did you guys just go see Ryan?”

“Yeah.” Ashley acknowledged.

“Ryan...” Lester uttered the name, a cold indifference flashing through his

eyes.

He thought irritably, ‘Another one of the Ramos family who once bullied Ashley... Soon after, the car race began, and the atmosphere was electric.

The competing vehicles zoomed off from the starting line with incredible. speed.

Ashley had always been interested in racing and was quite familiar with Ryan’s racing skills. However, as she watched for a while, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise.

She saw that Ryan was off his game today. He wasn’t performing at his usual standard.

When he took the first bend, he was unexpectedly overtaken by two other cars.

This was an unlikely scenario, given Ryan’s standard skills.

Though Ryan managed to regain his lead for a brief moment, he was surpassed again at later turns and nearly caused an accident due to his

11:071

rashness. And because he was too impatient, he almost overturned.

By the time he crossed the finish line, he only managed to secure fifth place, not even making it into the top three. After the race ended, Ryan’s team members surrounded him, expressing their frustration.

“What happened to you today, Ryan? This isn’t like you!”

“Exactly, you could have easily taken first place, but...”

“Ryan, no one but Ava, the Racing Legend, is better than you at racing. But today you only managed fifth place, that’s so unlike you! What went wrong?”

For a professional racing team, winning first place means not just honor but also a significant prize. Now, he had lost out on both.

Ryan then irritably ran his fingers through his hair. His ruggedly handsome face showed traces of defeat. He knew his performance was off because he couldn't stop thinking about Ashley and Miranda...

Ryan cursed under his breath and kicked a nearby wall in frustration. He then looked up toward where Ashley was sitting in the audience.

To his dismay, he found that Ashley wasn’t even looking at him.

The feeling of being ignored, especially by Ashley, instantly made Ryan’s temper flare up.

He then looked toward Miranda beside Ashley.

But as soon as their eyes met, Miranda looked away indifferently and unhesitatingly.

Ryan instantly felt a tightness in his chest, as if his heart had been clenched, causing a dull, throbbing ache.

He couldn't help but wonder, ‘How did | end up in this situation?”