Chapter 17
Within two weeks, the Mitchell Group empire had crumbled completely. If Marcus hadn’t decided to expand overseas and left the market, the company wouldn’t even have had a chance to survive.
Despite all the public ridicule and criticism, Ryan ignored everything, focusing only on staying by Thea’s side.
His mother, who’d been living quietly in the countryside, rushed to the hospital when she heard the news. She froze when she saw the scene inside.
“Ryan, Thea is…”
“Shh.”
Ryan carefully tucked the blanket around Thea, his voice barely a whisper. “Mom, Thea just fell asleep. Don’t wake her up.”
Had he lost his mind?
Mrs. Mitchell’s heart clenched.
“Ryan, are those news stories online true? Did you really do all those horrible things to Thea?”
Ryan didn’t deny it. Mrs. Mitchell’s last hope died.
“Thea helped you build your business, took care of everything at home. When I was sick, she looked after me personally. How could you bear to treat her like that?”
Mrs. Mitchell’s voice broke. Just thinking about how the bright, optimistic Thea had been driven to suicide made her heart ache.
“Ryan, what did she ever do to you?”
“She never wronged me. I’m the one who wronged her. Always.” Ryan’s voice was hoarse.
Silence fell. After a long moment, Mrs. Mitchell spoke again.
“Ryan, you need to handle Thea’s death certificate.”
“No…”
“You killed her mother and drove her to suicide…”
Ryan shook his head frantically, like a child who’d been caught doing something terrible.
His voice trembled. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t kill her mother. The hospital had already decided to take her off life support. I just… I hid it from her and made the decision myself.”
“I cared about her. I could never hurt her like that.”
Tears streamed down Mrs. Mitchell’s face. “But Thea should have been able to say goodbye properly. To be with her mother at the end.”
Ryan went pale, unable to say a word.
“Listen to me, son. The only thing you can do for Thea now is let her rest in peace.”
Ryan’s throat went dry, his eyes bloodshot.
He knew the dead couldn’t come back to life. But pretending she was just sleeping-sleeping a little longer than usual-was the only thing keeping him going.
But his mother was right. Letting her rest in peace was the last thing he could do for Thea.
“…Okay.”
When the death certificate was placed in front of him, Ryan’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
16.3%
“Ryan. Let her go.” His mother’s voice was gentle but firm.
Blood filled Ryan’s throat as he picked up the pen with trembling fingers, writing his name stroke by stroke.
Tears fell onto the paper. When he finished the last letter, it felt like his heart had been carved out-raw and bleeding.
He’d lost Thea.
No one would ever love him the way she had.
Ryan stood up and immediately collapsed unconscious to the floor.
Thea was buried next to her mother.
Ryan kept vigil at the cemetery for seven days and nights. When Lyra found him, he was walking out, clutching Thea’s photo.
“Ryan!”
Lyra ran after him, grabbing his arm. “For the sake of the child we almost had, please help me. Just give me some money and I swear I’ll never bother you again!”
Ryan expressionlessly pried her fingers away, saying only:
“Call her parents to come get her.”
He didn’t even look at her, holding the light photograph like it was precious treasure.
Lyra tried to follow but was blocked. Soon her father arrived in a rage, slapping her so hard she hit the ground, then beating her mercilessly.
Lyra curled up in a ball, completely hopeless.
With her reputation destroyed and Ryan refusing to help, she had no way to survive.
After what felt like forever, her father stopped and dragged her toward the exit, passing two people walking in.
Lyra’s heart nearly stopped. One of them…
Was Thea!
