Chapter 82: All The Wrong Reasons

Apartment 274, Terrow Heights Apartment Complex, Baltiney, New York...

 Tossing and turning all night, Valencia Ramos found herself unable to sleep much since the dinner party at Ken's parents' house. She had been well aware that they had plans to force him into a proposal and she'd been looking forward to it all week but Jeff and his drunken digs had put a damper on things. She did not doubt that Ken would have words for her she dreaded it even as she felt her stomach sink in the wake of her fear of it coming on.

She briefly reflected upon the dinner she attended at Ryker's parents' house. While she had known the plan was to get him to propose to her for the sake of the baby, she had not expected it to turn out so badly when a drunken Jeff elected to shoot off at the mouth and ruin the entire evening. Ken had been upset but he wasn't in the least going to cause a scene but the drunken ramblings of his embittered unwanted brother changed it all for the worse. 

Jeff Kennison had not been on the mark at all when he had elected to shoot off at the mouth about her relationship with Ryker Kennison before his awakening in the hospital following his infamous car accident. He had in no way been some creep who elected to groom her from a young age, it had been quite the opposite, he'd become something of a protector for her since that time and did his best to keep her safe. In a way, he'd been a secondary father figure to her at the time and also to her brothers in the wake of the crash that nearly killed them all. 

He saved all their lives and kept them together despite being unable to do the same for his own family. It was the bond from the trauma and his giving her his blood to save her life that made their dependence upon one another possible. Valencia had only felt safe when Ryker had been around and suffered immensely from anxiety and PTSD when he'd been removed from her life due to her parents' insistence. 

She had a hard time developing social skills and exploring the world so she buried her head in books which made her socially awkward and the subject of ridicule among her peers. She didn't go out and explore the world like others in her peer group, she simply kept to herself and studied. Her grades were at the top of her class as a result but she had never truly experienced what it was like to be a teenager or young adult nor did she want to. 

Endless poking and prodding from her parents only made her more rebellious and annoyed at their constant meddling in her life. She attempted to have some form of social life only for it to end in disaster when in high school. Her brief dating stints with boys her age ended with Ken Ryker putting a handsy boy through a table for causing her harm and she'd been less inclined to care for anyone else since then. 

Valencia did not know what to think as she lay there in darkness reflecting on her rather strange relationship with Ryker Kennison. 

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Ten Years Prior...

 Room 24, Hilton Memorial Hospital, Baltiney, New York...

 Valencia Ramos awoke to find that she had not been in the hospital alone as a lone man sat beside her bed dressed in a worn navy blue suit with his head tilted back as his light snoring filled the room. She thought him a funny man at first but recalled him from before when she'd been in the dark after the plane crash. He had been the one to pull her out of the rubble and ordered the rescue team to get her help as soon as possible. She knew his name, everyone had kept saying it, Ryker...it was a funny name all things considered and to her childish mind, it had been a funny name indeed. Ryker Kennison. 

Her parents had been in the room before heading home to rest and change for the next day the moment the doctors had told them she'd been in the clear and would make a full recovery. They had promised to return to visit and she promised to behave until then. Ryker had come to see her, he brought a massive teddy bear and a few balloons when he'd been told she'd made a full recovery.

Valencia supposed that he'd saved her life twice now with his donating blood to save her in the hospital. She smiled when she looked upon the rather exhausted and sad man who had awoken when he sensed that she'd been watching him. 

"Hello there," he said with something of a sad smile. 

"Hi," replied Valencia recalling to speak to him in English. 

"It's good to see you awake, you had us worried there for a moment or two," he said pleasantly enough. 

"Is your name, really Ryker?" she asked not knowing anything else to ask at that moment. 

He smirked at her question. 

"Unfortunately it is," he replied evenly. "Was a tough sell when I was a boy in school if that makes any difference but now that I have a good deal of money I don't get many people willing to make fun of my name these days."

 "I think it's a nice name even if it does sound funny," replied Valencia meeting Ryker's gaze. 

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Some Months Later...

 The Ramos house was buzzing with excitement as Ryker Kennison made his way up the walkway and through the front door. Valencia had been excited to see him and rushed to hug him as he caught her in anticipation of her enthusiasm for his visit. He had chuckled some as he put her back down on the ground and she took him by the hand and led him into the house. Mrs. Sylvia Ramos greeted him at the door and Mr. Hector Ramos found himself also greeting Ryker despite his reservations about the man becoming something of a near staple in his household. He'd always been bringing gifts and expensive presents, Mr. Ramos had not wanted his children spoiled and there was always a pang of jealousy whenever Ryker had come around where Valencia had been concerned. 

Hector had believed that Ryker and his money were a bad influence on his children and opted to have a talk with him about his visits. While he'd been grateful that he saved his family, Valencia especially, he had wanted nothing to do with the man's money. 

The issues came to a head when Hector flat-out told Ryker that he couldn't come around them anymore. Ryker complied with the man's wishes and there had not been any harsh words between them, it was just a matter of what Hector wanted for his family and Ryker had not been helping matters much. 

Valencia had been devastated to learn later that Ryker had not been going to come around to visit anymore and that her parents had been the ones to decide so. 

He attempted to assure her that her parents had her best interest at heart and left her to her own devices as a result of it. She never let it go that they had driven Ryker away and when the devastating news about the accident came to them via the news reports she had elected to take off on her own ever since. 

Valencia in the present sighed as she rubbed her belly and pondered how strange fate had been when it came to the two of them, he had no recollection of their previous relationship, and if he had he never would have sex with her, to begin with, and their unborn child would never have been conceived. Ryker may have forgotten her, but she had never stopped loving him and quite frankly never would. 

Jeff had known nothing at all about his older brother and barely had a glimpse of the pain he'd been in since losing his family, all Jeff did was prove once and for all why everyone disregarded him as much as they already had.