Heartstrings on Fire

Chapter 819

After Ryder got into the car, he managed not without difficulty, to buckle her into the seatbelt.

But he didn’t just start the car and drive away Instead, he turned to study her face intently

It felt like ages since hed allowed himself such a luxury in the past, he never dared to gaze at her so openly After all these years, he always felt shackled, and each stolen glance was a secret treasure

To be honest Ryder was tired of that feeling. He was tired of lurking in the shadows, aching for the sunlight. It was blinding, it hurt, but he couldn’t bring himself to settle in the dark corners where light never reached

He didn’t know how long he watched her. Memories flooded back as he looked at her face–most from their school days

Ryder remembered when they rehearsed a play together it was “Romeo and Juliet” He was Romeo, and she was Juliet

Night after night, they practiced their lines in the attic of Whitfield Manor.

collapse into the

when her eyes were closed could his gaze

those moments were rare sparks of joy in his life–a celebration of youth

He drove along the city’s

living with Jared now, at Maplewood Manor

it twice, and never stopped But in

Agnes to his

bumped into a neighbor from downstairs.

had rented during his internship at Hope Hospital Before leaving, Ryder had

from the hospital. Though it had been years, Ryder’s

Kermit, the neurology department’s former

hide his curiosity. Dr. Ryder, finally brought a girlfriend home,