Page 181 of New Growth
“Look,” she said, her voice softening, “I’m not asking for too much. Daddy wanted me to have it eventually anyway, so it’s not fraud or anything. It shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“Daddy wanted you to have itafteryou graduate,” I said evenly.
“I can’t go back to school with a kid.”
“Jonathan can’t take care of his kid while his wife goes to class?”
She stiffened at that. “Are you going to do it or not?”
I took a step closer. “Did Jonathan put you up to this?”
So much for him changing.
“No,” she lied quickly. “This was my idea.”
“Ryan,” I said, my voice gentler than I intended. “He’s not a good man. It’s not too late to back out of this.”
Her posture stiffened after that, all the tiredness of before now shoved to the back of her appearance. “I want this, Ellie. I love him. I just need to get this settled so that we can start our life together. Despite how you feel about me, I still deserve happiness.”
“I’m not denying that. But you can’t cut corners to get it.”
She scoffed, “You did. It’s not like you worked hard to get where you are, Elliot. It was handed to you, like everything always is.”
There’s the Ryan I knew. Just as vicious as ever.
It was so fascinating how she could open her mouth and Ma’s voice comes flying out.
I didn’t say another word. I turned and walked, first out of the room, then past all the guests and out of the building, needing space before the heat in my chest rose any higher. The air outside hit cooler than I expected, and my heels crunched softly against gravel as I stopped under an old oak. A part of me hoped I could just disappear into the night, long enough to catch my breath.
But footsteps followed. Of course, they did.
“Ellie, wait.”
I didn’t turn around. “We’re not doing this here.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” she said from behind me. “I’m just trying to figure things out.”
“You’re always figuring things out at someone else’s expense,” I muttered. “First, with Jonathan. Now, Daddy’s house.”
“That’s not fair,” she snapped.
I turned to face her. “Isn’t it? You made your choices, Ryan. You chose that man. You chose this marriage. You chose not to follow Daddy’s instructions, and now you want me to clean it up?”
“I’m not asking you to clean anything. I just need help.”
“Well, I don’t have it to give.”
Before she could answer, another voice cut in.
“What’s going on out here?”
I tensed as he came into view, his tux jacket unbuttoned, tie askew.Was he drunk?He looked between us, then zeroed in on me.
“Is there a problem?” Jonathan asked.
“No,” I said flatly, I needed to find El. “I was just leaving.”
“Ellie,” Ryan started. “Let’s not make this into something dramatic.”
