Chapter 17 - Ryan Without the Performance
Ryan requested a private meeting.
Rebecca advised against it.
Madison agreed only if the conversation was recorded and attorneys remained nearby.
Ryan entered without a suit.
His hair was uncombed.
The polished man from the wedding no longer existed.
“I loved you,” he said.
Madison looked at him.
“You held me while they forced a pen into my hand.”
“I panicked.”
“You planned the room.”
“My mother planned it.”
“You followed every instruction.”
Ryan leaned forward.
“You don’t know what it’s like to watch your family lose everything.”
“You mean money.”
“My father built that company.”
“And you were willing to use my grandmother’s home to save it.”
“We would have paid it back.”
“You never gave me the choice.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“You would have said no.”
“Yes.”
“That’s why we had to act quickly.”
Madison almost smiled.
Even now, he believed her refusal justified coercion.
“You still don’t understand what you did.”
“I understand that one bad night destroyed my life.”
“No,” Madison said. “Your life was built on believing other people’s boundaries did not matter.”
Ryan stared at her.
Then his voice became cold.
“You’ll regret humiliating me.”
Madison did not flinch.
“That is the first honest thing you’ve said.”
She stood and left.
May you like
Ryan had not requested forgiveness.
He had requested the restoration of control.
