Chapter 13
Ryan’s blood turned to ice.
The poison wasn’t from Thea. That left only one possibility.
Lyra had set it all up.
“You should be grateful she came to me, Ryan. At least those sleeping pills spared her some pain.”
Marcus turned and walked away.
Then his men rushed to Ryan’s side. “Boss, you need medical attention.”
“No.”
The physical pain was nothing compared to what was eating him alive inside.
All of Thea’s suffering had come from him.
The only mercy she’d received was from a stranger.
Ryan gripped the railing as he stumbled down the stairs, every step agony.
He suddenly remembered the day he’d brought Lyra home-how he’d pushed Thea down these same stairs.
Thea must have felt just like this.
Details he’d once dismissed came flooding back.
On their anniversary, he’d given Lyra-who had no business being there-a front-row seat and danced with her instead of his own wife.
He’d had wedding guests slap Thea to defend Lyra’s honor.
He’d never thought about how humiliated and broken she must have felt.
Then he’d demanded Thea make herbal soup for the woman who’d destroyed her.
One betrayal after another…
Ryan’s hands shook. What had he done?
The last thing Thea heard was him comforting Lyra, promising that Thea would never hurt her again.
That’s why she couldn’t go on. Why she chose the most final way to escape him forever.
Ryan returned to the morgue, back to Thea’s side.
“I’m sorry. It was all my fault.”
“I don’t love Lyra. You’re the only one I’ve ever loved.”
“Please give me another chance. I’ll do anything.”
His pleas echoed in the empty room.
Finally, Ryan broke down completely, his shaking hand reaching for Thea’s face.
Before he could touch her, he pulled back, frantically trying to wipe the blood from his hands.
But it wouldn’t come clean. Every time he wiped some away, fresh blood seeped from his wounds and dripped to the floor.
Ryan scrubbed harder and harder, more desperate by the second.
13 7
His shoulders collapsed as the truth hit him.
It was never Thea who couldn’t live without him.
He was the one who couldn’t survive without her.
Over the next week.
Everything Ryan had done to Thea came to light. People boycotted his company and turned against him completely.
Executives kept showing up, begging him to do damage control. He ignored them all.
Key personnel jumped ship, morale collapsed, his empire crumbled.
Marcus-his biggest rival-came out the clear winner,
But Ryan didn’t care about any of it. He’d completely withdrawn from the world.
Day after day, he sat beside Thea, talking to her about old times, pretending she was still alive.
“Thea, it snowed today-first snow of the year. Tomorrow we can build a snowman together.”
“… You don’t want to? Yeah, you always hated the cold. I’d be the one worrying if you got sick.”
“There’s a new hot pot place downtown with great reviews. We should check it out sometime, okay?”
“…Or not hot pot. Whatever you want to eat, I’ll take you.”
“I’m thinking of taking some time off at the end of the year. I promised to take you to see the northern lights. I keep my promises.”
His phone rang suddenly. Lyra was calling.
Rage consumed Ryan.
He hadn’t gone after her yet, and she still had the nerve to call him.
He answered. Lyra’s sobs came through the speaker at once.
“Help me, please!”
“Ryan, Thea sent people to kill our baby! You have to come!”
Ryan started laughing, the madness in his eyes growing darker.
“Perfect. Where are you?”
