Chapter 5 - Shattered Glass
I completely froze, terrified by the sheer hatred radiating from Eleanor Blackwood.
Before I could even process her threat, Ryan firmly stepped between his mother and me.
"Do not ever speak to my wife like that again," Ryan warned her, his voice echoing with absolute authority.
Eleanor scoffed loudly, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at her furious son.
"You are throwing away your legacy for a girl who smells like cheap diner grease."
"My legacy is none of your business since you sold your shares to the Sterlings last year," Ryan fired back.
The revelation hit me like a physical blow to the stomach.
His own mother had betrayed him to the rival family trying to destroy his entire life.
Eleanor glared at him with icy fury before turning entirely on her expensive heels and walking away.
Ryan exhaled a long, heavy breath, his broad shoulders instantly dropping an inch.
"I am so sorry you had to hear that, Ellie," he whispered gently.
He guided me away from the crowded ballroom, leading us out onto a secluded, dimly lit stone balcony.
The cool night air felt incredibly refreshing against my dangerously flushed cheeks.
"Does she really want to see you lose everything?" I asked softly, leaning against the marble railing.
Ryan stepped up right beside me, our arms brushing lightly together in the dark.
"She cares about absolute power, and I stopped letting her control me five years ago."
He turned his head to look at me, the moonlight catching the hidden sorrow in his eyes.
"You handled yourself perfectly in there, Ellie, and I am genuinely grateful you are here."
The sincere vulnerability in his voice made my heart flutter in a way I hadn't felt in years.
He slowly reached up, his warm fingers gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
The air between us suddenly grew incredibly thick with undeniable, magnetic tension.
He leaned in closer, his gaze dropping to my lips as my breath completely hitched in my throat.
I closed my eyes, fully prepared to blur the lines of our fake arrangement.
Before our lips could even touch, a deafening crack suddenly echoed through the silent night air.
May you like
The heavy glass door directly behind my head shattered violently into thousands of jagged pieces.
Ryan tackled me aggressively to the hard stone floor just as a second bullet whistled past my ear.
