Page 112 of New Growth
I arched a brow. “Okay. So why should I come to your wedding? Because it’s what Daddy would’ve wanted?”
Ryan hesitated before she stuttered to find words. I shut her down instantly with a scoff.
“Exactly.”
Ma exhaled, her voice softer now. “You know you girls were the most important thing to him.”
“I said,” I repeated, “no need to use him as an excuse.”
Ma pressed her lips into a thin line.
I grabbed my glass, swirling the water before taking a slow sip.God, I wished I packed my flask.
“How did he propose?” My voice was light, almost playful. “Did he set up a dinner on the beach like he did with me? Were his parents there like last time? Did he give you my ring?”
Ryan didn’t flinch. “He proposed at his place. It was just me and him.”
I hummed mockingly. “Intimate.”
Her glare was sharp, but she didn’t bite.
“And the ring?” I pushed.
“It’s new.”
I smirked. “I’m guessing he had to pawn mine to afford yours?”
“Elliot,” Ma tried.
Ryan inhaled deeply. “Yes. He did.”
I didn’t say anything else because the implications would get to her, I could tell. So, I just sat there, watching as the weight of my words settled over her, and she did the mental gymnastics.
And it hit. I saw it in the way her face twisted, the way she clenched her jaw so tight I thought her teeth might crack. She looked seconds away from snapping, but she didn’t.
Because she already knew.She had to.
All the evidence was there for her to see. She had to know she was living off the scraps of a man I’d picked over years ago. She had to know that no matter how much she tried to rewrite the story, she was the second choice.
Our proposal had dwarfed theirs.
My ring—an antique cushion-cut diamond in a delicate platinum setting—had been his grandmother’s. It had been in his family for generations, resized just for me. He hadn’t been wealthy enough to buy a new one then, and I had no doubt in my mind that Ryan would hate knowing she’d have to wear the very ring I’d tossed aside without a second thought.
And him? I got some satisfaction in knowing he was the idiot who managed to pawn off decades of his family history to satisfy his new fiancée.
Pathetic.
I wondered what else of mine did they need to repurpose.
My dress?
My heels?
Ryan and I had always worn the same size. We’d grown up sharing everything.
Why stop now?
Ma exhaled sharply. “You satisfied now? All your questions been answered?”
