Chapter 93

* Elena *

I should’ve taken the ring off before leaving the apartment this morning, but I was in such a rush after staying up all night with Ryder and not getting much sleep that it just completely slipped my mind. By the time I realized that it was still on my finger, there was nothing to be done. I couldn’t bear the thought of taking it off and leaving it in my purse all day, where it could possibly go missing, so in the end, I left it as is and hoped against hope that no one would notice.

Silly, I know, because the thing is roughly the size of a knuckle and shone like the sun at high noon. So, unless I walked around with my hand hidden behind my back or stuffed into my pocket all day, there’s no way it won’t be noticed within two minutes flat.

I looked at it now, and that silly smile flashed across my face again while my heart picked up its beat and my tummy got warm. It’s so dumb, my reaction to the piece of metal. It’s not like I don’t have a vault full of such things, but none are as precious as this. No matter the cost or the beauty of the ring, it’s the sentiment that far outshines my other collections. And yet, my wearing it could cause a backlash, the likes of which I’ve never faced before if not handled correctly.

A part of me was feeling quite rebellious and saw no need to hide it. It’s not like we were doing anything wrong after all. It was long overdue if you asked me, and the only people who would be offended by it were the very ones who’d interrupted our lives in the first place, so why should I care?

Brave words, I know, and they filled me with righteous indignation for the rest of the ride to work, but that bravado didn’t last long as I realized that I was in no way ready or prepared for the questions that were sure to come once someone noticed it.

The nerves in my stomach made me sick the closer I got to the building, and I almost asked them to turn back as all of my confidence left me in a second as soon as I imagined the circus that was bound to follow.

I knew all it would take was for some enterprising paparazzi to get a look at the rock on my hand, and the news would be all over the world before lunch before I’d had the chance to tell Mom and Sydney, which would not be good.

But still, I couldn’t bring myself to take it off. I kept seeing his face and remembering how excited he’d been when I accepted his ring. The way he couldn’t stop looking at it, on my finger, or the way he’d taken my finger into his mouth while we made love.

That right there is probably the biggest reason why I find it hard to take the thing off. That moment has been burnt into my brain for all eternity because it’s one of the sexiest things I’ve ever experienced in my life. I can still feel the butterflies in my tummy as I did then.

The way my heart had fluttered as if it had wings as he slid into me, his eyes on mine, as he suckled my finger with the ring into his mouth. I get the shivers even now and couldn’t keep the grin from spreading over my face.

I cleared my throat and tried to look professional when I remembered the two men in the car with me. I missed Ryder already and wished I was back at home in bed with him, but the poor thing had a full day ahead with his new PR team after the ruckus he’d caused the day before.

He didn’t care, of course, and didn’t think he needed to explain himself, but I reminded him that it was for the best for both of us and unlike in the past, where he’d brushed off my words, they seemed to work this time.

He still insists, though, that this time around, with the new team the Sanders group had hired, he’s going to live his life on his terms and keep them strictly for his professional image, leaving them out of his private business, unlike the other which had played a part in our demise thanks to Mary and Scott’s influence.

Even though we hadn’t discussed the timing or what we planned to do about telling everyone about the engagement, I knew he would be hurt if I took the ring off, especially without explaining things to him first. I’m sure he already knows what will happen once it’s discovered and doesn’t seem too bothered. That means he’s ready that his mind is made up, and I also know what that means.

It’s a given that one of the things that had not changed was his stubbornness, and I was in no more of a hurry to deal with that now than I was in the past. Who knows what he’d do if… No, I shouldn’t think that way. Neither of us is the same as we once were. Life and circumstances had seen to that.

It was obvious that he’d gone to great lengths to grow out of his shitty behavior from the past, and I should give him props for that, but the Ryder I knew would certainly do something nutty if he felt thwarted in any way and the fact that he hadn’t reminded me to take it off meant he wanted it to remain for all the world to see.

Still, I should’ve waited, seeing as how the ink on his divorce was barely dry and that whole situation was still a mess. It’s a toss-up between which one of the two of us was going to face the most backlash from this, but even the thought of that couldn’t bring me to take it off because, apart from everything else, it felt right having it there.

To me, it was a symbol of how far we’d come, a testament to all we’d endured to get here. And besides, it made me feel pretty. My heart hasn’t stopped racing since the second he placed it on my finger, but more than the beauty of the ring or its value, it’s what it represents to us, to me.

The very history of it, the fact that we’d been together the first time I ever saw it and fell in love with it. The fact that he remembered, even though I’m sure he was high that day like he always was back then.

To my girlish heart, it was proof that even when we were apart, he’d still been thinking of me. That in the midst of that hell, I’d been on his mind. It can never erase all that had happened, of course, but a little piece of my broken heart was healed by his thoughtfulness.

It also goes to prove that he hadn’t been lying to me when he said he’d never stopped loving me and had just been caught up in the lies and schemes planned by others.

To some, it might not seem like enough after everything that had happened, but those people don’t know us; they have no idea who we are or were before all of this happened. Or that even when I hated him, I loved him to the very depths of my soul.

This ring, more than words, was like a balm to my soul because it showed me, at least, that Ryder had always had me on his mind and in his thoughts. Why else would he have bought it after seeing how much I liked it?

I told myself all those things to make myself feel better about keeping it on, even though I felt a bit mean-girlish, knowing that she was in no way ready to handle this turn of events, given what I had seen the day before.

Still, the thought of taking it off felt like too much of a blight on my happiness and the start of our new beginning. That was a sacrifice I wasn’t willing to make, especially for someone who’d gone out of her way to destroy me.

That feeling lasted until my first break. Out of necessity, I’d removed the ring during shooting, but once the cameras were off, I’d stupidly removed the ring from my pocket, which was the only place I’d felt comfortable leaving it, and put it back on, thinking I’d be safe behind closed doors in my dressing room. No one ever came in there unannounced.

The assistant who came to offer me a snack couldn’t have known that I’d be sitting there staring at my finger with a stupid smile on my face when she walked in, and by the time I realized I’d been caught, there was no way to hide it.

In her excitement, she grabbed my hand and started jumping up and down like she was the one wearing it. “Is this what I think it is?” She squealed loud enough to alert the whole building.”Shh!” I pulled my hand out of hers and tried hiding it behind my back, but of course, it was too late.

I thought of lying, but what was the point? It was most obviously an engagement ring, and after yesterday, when he came to pick me up, the word had already spread all over the internet that we were back together. And though no one here had been crass enough to question me about the change in our relationship as yet, I had no doubt that tongues had been wagging.

I knew it was because of the respect my costars and I have for each other that it wasn’t brought up, and since everyone else on set tends to follow their lead, no one was brave enough to mention it, but now there was no way short of a bribe to keep things hushed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to.” I wish I could believe that, but I know from experience just how these things go, so instead of pleading with her not to utter a word, I just smiled, took a deep breath, and told her that it didn’t matter.

She forgot all about the snack she’d come to offer as she rushed from the room, and I spent the next few minutes waiting for the other shoe to drop. When no one said anything when I made my way back to the set, I was torn between relief and anxiety.

I’d all but given her the go-ahead after all, but it didn’t look like she’d told any of the others as yet. It’s a wonder I remembered my lines and made it through without throwing up all over myself, and by the time I made it back on set, I was strung tight as a bow from nerves.

At least it was just us, the people I’d known and worked with for the last year or so, people I’d come to see as, if not family, then a very tight-knit group of friends.

It was a slipup, but no one would believe it. In my rush to get to my favorite Kabob food truck around the corner from the set, I forgot to take the ring off again. I’d already grown into the habit of slipping it back on as soon as filming was over and didn’t think twice about it this time.

The assistant hadn’t said anything as far as I knew, and that, too, had boosted my confidence in thinking that I had gotten away clear. Hah, I’d forgotten about the fans who liked to hang around all day waiting for a glimpse of me or one of the others as we came and went.

I don’t leave set every day, but today, I had a taste for something spicy, and since most of the food on set is heavy on sweet, there was nothing there to quench my sudden hunger for the savory delight.

My security detail did their best to shield me, and I did have my hand in my pocket most of the time, but I had to remove it to pay. That’s when it started. There were shouts and yells as cameras clicked away like crazy, and too late, I remembered the ring.

It was just as much of a circus as I imagined it would be, and it took me twice as long to get back to the set as it should have. My head was too fuzzy to grasp the gist of the questions being hurled at me, but I did make out one person asking if Ryder had given me the rock on my finger.

Twenty-twenty, as they say, is hindsight, and mine was kicking me in the ass. I should’ve handled this a whole lot better. There was no way to stem the flow, and Ryder wasn’t answering his phone.

When my phone started going crazy, I didn’t have to look to see what it was about; by then, the whole crew seemed to know, though no one said a word. My costars were the only ones to pull me aside and ask for an explanation, which I sheepishly gave. As expected, they were very supportive, and their salient advice is what helped me make it through the next set.

Simply put, they told me to talk less, say no more than I wanted to and only answer questions I felt comfortable with; they would do the rest. Although we’d grown pretty close rather quickly, their support and comforting words brought tears to my eyes.

It also gave me the confidence to look at my phone to see what was being said. There was a lot of wild speculation once the story broke, and by the early afternoon, there was a race to see who could figure out how much my ring was worth, how many carats, and what designer. By three, the store where it was bought had been leaked, and their sales were off the roof.

I expected some backlash for the way in which Ryder and I had gone about things, and there was some of that, but surprisingly, amidst the wildest of the stories going around, there was one that seemed too close to a mix of truth and fable not to have come from someone in the know.

According to this byline, whatever sorcery Janie and her power-hungry father had worked against Ryder and I had backfired spectacularly, and karma had bit them in the ass. This was the story that most people seemed to run with, and it only gained more traction when news of Mr. Andrews’ arrest spread like wildfire.

Conjecture ran rampant, and everyone had something to say, including the crew on the set, who all seemed to be in a celebratory mood throughout the rest of the day. I dreaded what things would be like when it was time to leave, and that feeling only intensified when I got a heads-up that I should check my phone an hour before it was time to call it quits.

***

*Janie

My father’s in jail, and I haven’t the first clue who to call. I was afraid to call Mom because of the threat from the little bitch so instead of focusing on what I couldn’t change, I kept my mind on the here and now. I got the feeling that if I didn’t take control of the situation now rather than later, I would have a hard time coming back from all this.

There’s no way in hell that I’m about to let this person run all over me, no matter who was pulling her strings. She couldn’t have changed that much, even though she was putting on ears in front of me. No doubt she was just like everyone else who thought I was down and out, but I’m not about to give up just because I’ve had a bad week.

Things may look dire now, but once I get my head on straight, I’m sure I can turn this thing around. I’d convinced the world that I was the love of Ryder’s life for five whole damn years on a pack of lies, after all. Had snatched him right out from under that bitch’s nose with the whole world watching and, for a time, had made him believe that she was the worst thing to ever happen to him.

That fear that was never too far from me these days threatened to sideline me again, but I pushed it back down and away. True, I’d like nothing better than to run back upstairs, jump into bed, and pull the covers over my ears, but I have to keep going, putting one foot in front of the other.

There was no one here to give me direction, no one to stand between me and what was going on. Mary was gone, and so was Scott, and no one had heard from Matt in damn near forever. Dad was never much help, now that I think about it, not since my wedding day when all he did was beg and threaten.

Mom had gone into hiding it looked like since that hack she’d hired had spilled her guts all over social media, so even if I could contact her, there was no way for me to. So this is it, just me on my own for the first time since I can remember, and I don’t know where to start.

The slamming of the refrigerator door brought me back to the present, and I watched this annoyance walk around the kitchen I’d grown up in as if she were queen of the roost. Something about her attitude just burned me up inside; it was like she was just adding insult to injury by being in my face now after all this time.

“What’re you doing here anyway? Why you, of all people?”“I told you, I live here now. You saw the contract; why do you keep asking?”“Because this makes no sense, why would she give you, of all people, my house?”

“That’s not important; what matters is that it’s no longer your house, and the owner has given me this place, so there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“What owner? That kid?”“Kid? Are you high right now? I bet you are. Kids don’t own houses, you nut.”

“So, who’s the owner then?” Maybe she didn’t know as much as she thought she did after all because the piece of paper she waved in my face before had that kid’s name on it. Or maybe I’m getting things mixed up in my head again. That reminds me, it’s been hours since I’ve had anything to take the edge off.

“I’m not sure; we never met. I got an email a few days ago with an offer that I thought was a joke when I saw that it was this place being offered, but then the contract came through to my lawyer, and well, here we are.”

“What does that thing say anyway? I didn’t read it.”“Nothing much, just that for the next year, I can live here, free of charge, with the option to buy when the year is up.”“Get real, you couldn’t afford this house if you lived three lifetimes.”

“If you say so.” I didn’t trust her smirk or the confident way she stared me down.”What you’re saying makes no sense at all. Who in their right mind would let a stranger stay in their house with a deal like that?”

“Honestly, I didn’t ask. I guess the new owner didn’t want undesirables taking up residence in their place while it sits empty.”

“Undesirables, who do you mean?” Between withdrawals and her attitude, I was about to lose my shit. It’s bad enough my life was going to hell, but to have the likes of her, someone I used to trample under my foot rubbing it in, was the last damn straw. She could deny it all she wants; I know that kid is behind this.

My mind was clearing enough to the point that I could vaguely remember all the things I’d done to this bitch. The little nobody that the city had taken pity on and saddled the rest of us with. She and her ilk had been easy pickings at the elite high school I’d attended, but that was years ago; I was a kid then, so if she thinks she’s going to make me pay for any of it, she could think again.

I might be down, but I’m in no way out of the game, and once I get back on my feet, I’ll be sure to make them all pay. “Oh? How do you plan on doing that?” I hadn’t realized I’d said that all out loud, but I’d be damned if I was going to go backtrack or show any weakness in front of her.

Fear tickled my insides, but I did my best to keep up the brave front. There can only be one reason for her being here. To put me down, rub salt into my wounds. “Don’t you have a home?”

“I do, yes, but the offer was one I couldn’t refuse. Where else am I going to make money just by living in a place like this for the next year? I’ve already sublet my place in the city, and with the money I’m making for staying here, I’ll be able to buy that beach house in Bermuda much sooner than I’d planned.”

“What beach house? Who are you trying to kid with your fake Hermes?” I looked her up and down, from the expensive silk twilly scarf she had tied around her neck to the sky-high red bottom shoes I wanted so badly to be knockoffs.

“Fake? You mean like what you’ll have to rock from now on since your gravy boat has left the dock?” I should smash this bitch’s face in, but from what I remember, she likes to fight back. Yeah, she’s one of the only ones out of the bunch who’d ever fought back in those days. The one who thought she was above her means.

Looking at her now, she’d made good on her promise to make something of herself. Maybe that’s why the kid had chosen her to torment me.”How did she find you anyway?”“Oh, that was easy. Didn’t you ever see the interview I did about what a bitch you were in high school? I’m sure that’s where she found me. She didn’t have to sell me too hard once I realized where this place was. Who exactly did you piss off anyway? Aside from the obvious, of course.”

“What obvious? What do you mean?”“I mean apart from the woman whose man you stole with lies.” My eyes widened at her retort.”What’re you talking about?”“Oh, come on, you had to know the world was going to learn about your schemes. Didn’t you know?”

She lifted her phone and scrolled until she found what she was looking for. “Here, have a look.” I snatched the phone from her hand, but my heart was racing too fast, and I was blinded by fear and something else, something that felt heavy in my gut and left a sour taste in my mouth.

There on the screen was an image of Ryder and that bitch on a sidewalk surrounded by cameras. Worse than the pictures were the words beneath them. How could he do this? How could he flaunt their relationship when my life was in shambles?

Jessica was done with her diatribe as she took the phone back and went back to her purse. “By the way, here are the rules.”

“What rules?”

“The ones that you must follow if you want to continue living here.” She turned to me with a smirk. I’ve heard of people seeing red, but this was the first time I’d experienced that phenomenon myself.