CHAPTER NINETY–FOUR–Who Will Pay the Ultimate Price?
Their silent contemplation was broken by the buzz of Laura’s phone. She pulled it out, her heart skipping a beat as she saw another message from the unknown number.
She read it aloud, her voice barely above a whisper: “Stop looking. I’m ready to talk.”
Laura and Tim’s eyes met, a mixture of relict, anticipation, and apprehension passing between them. Their persistence had finally paid off, but what would they find when they finally came face to face with Ryan?
Laura’s hand trembled slightly as she raised it to knock on the door of Ryan’s penthouse. The sound echoed in the empty hallway, but no response came from within. She waited a moment, then tried again, louder this time. Still nothing
“Ryan?” she called out, her voice tinged with concern. “It’s Laura. Are you there?”
Silence greeted her. Laura bit her lip, weighing her options. She knew she shouldn’t, but… Her hand reached for the doorknob, turning it slowly. To her surprise, it wasn’t locked.
THE
The door swung open with a soft creak, revealing the dimly lit interior of the penthouse. Laura stepped inside hesitantly, her adjusting to the gloom.
“Ryan?“” she called again, softer this time.
As she moved further into the apartment, the state of disarray became apparent, Clothes were strewn across the floor, empty takeout containers littered every surface, and the air held a stale quality that spoke of days without tresh air.
Laura’s heart clenched. This wasn’t the meticulously organized space she remembered. It was as if a whirlwind had torn through, leaving chaos in its wake.
She found him in the living room, curled up on the couch, staring blankly at a muted TV, Ryan looked… different. His usually clean- shaven face was covered in several days‘ worth of stubble, his hair disheveled. He wore wrinkled sweatpants and a stained t–shirt, far cry from his usual impeccable suits.
“Ryan?” Laura said softly, not wanting to startle him.
He turned slowly, his eyes taking a moment to focus on her. “Laura?” His voice was rough, as it from disuse. “What are you doing here?
all have.”
Laura moved closer, carefully navigating around the debris on the floor. “I’ve been worried about you. We all have.”
Ryan let out a humorless chuckle. “Worried? About me? I’m fine. Just peachy.”
Laura sat down next to him on the couch, close enough to offer comfort but not so close as to invade his space. “Ryan, you don’t have to pretend with me. Talk to me. Please.”
For a long moment, Ryan was silent, his gaze fixed on his hands. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. “I feel like such an idiot, Laura.”
“You’re not an idiot,” Laura said gently.
Ryan shook his head. “I am. I should have seen it coming. All the signs were there, but I was too… too caught up in the fantasy of it all.”
“What do you mean?”
Ryan sighed, running a hand through his unkempt hair. “Julia. She’d been distant for weeks before the wedding. I thought it was just nerves, you know? But now… now I think she’d been planning it for a while.”
Laura felt a surge of anger towards Julia, but she kept her voice calm. “You couldn’t have known, Ryan.”
“Couldn’t 17” Ryan’s voice rose slightly. “I’m supposed to be this brilliant businessman, right? The guy who can read any situation, make the right call every time. But I couldn’t even see that my own fiancée was about to leave me at the altar.”
Laura reached out, placing a hand on his arm. “Ryan, relationships aren’t business deals, You can’t always predict how people will act, especially when emotions are involved.”
Ryan’s eyes met hers, and the pain she saw there made her heart ache. “Do you know what it felt like, Laura? Standing there in front of everyone, waiting And waiting. And then… nothing.”
“I can’t imagine,” Laura said softly.
“It was like like the whole world just stopped,” Ryan continued, his voice thick with emotion. “And then it started again, but everything was wrong. People whispering, looking at me with pity. God, the pity was the worst.”
CHAPTER NINETY–FOUR–Who Will Pay the Ultimate Price?
Laura squeezed his arm gently, encouraging him to continue.
“I keep replaying it in my head,” Ryan said. “Wondering what I did wrong. Was I not attentive enough? Did I work too much? Was I… was I not good enough for her?”
“Ryan, no,” Laura said firmly. “This isn’t your fault. Julia made her choice, and it says more about her than it does about you.”
Ryan let out a shaky breath. “I thought she was the one, you know? I thought we were going to have this perfect life together. And now…. now I don’t know what I have.”
“You have us,” Laura said. “Your friends, your colleagues. We’re all here for you, Ryan.”
A ghost of a smile flickered across Ryan’s face. “Is that why you’ve been playing detective, trying to track me down?”
Laura felt a blush creep up her cheeks. “You knew about that?”
Ryan nodded. “Bo told me. I’m sorry I made you worry. I just… I couldn’t face anyone. Not like this.”
“Like what?” Laura asked gently.
Ryan gestured to himself, to the mess around them. “Like this. A failure. A joke.”
“You’re not a failure, Ryan,” Laura said, her voice firm. “And you’re certainly not a joke. You’re human. You’re hurting. That’s okay.
Ryan was quiet for a moment, absorbing her words, When he spoke again, his voice was softer. “I feel so… lost, Laura. Like everything I thought I knew about myself, about my life, it’s all just… gone.”
Laura shifted closer, her hand moving from his arm to take his hand. “It’s not gone, Ryan. It’s just… changed. And change can be scary, but it can also be an opportunity.”
Ryan’s eyes met hers, a glimmer of something – hope, maybe? – shining through the pain. “An opportunity for what?”
“To rediscover yourself,” Laura said. “To figure out what you really want, who you really are without… without the expectations of others weighing you down.”
Ryan squeezed her hand. “I don’t know if I remember who that is anymore.”
Laura smiled softly. “Then we’ll figure it out together. That’s what friends are for, right?”
For the first time that night, a genuine smile crossed Ryan’s face. It was small, barely there, but it was a start. “Yeah. I guess it is.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, the muted TV casting flickering lights across the room. Eventually, Ryan spoke again, his voice hesitant.
“Laura? Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
