Chapter 8
Trust did not arrive whole.
It formed in small decisions.
In apologies.
In the truth offered before it became convenient.
“Then I’ll do the same,” I said.
He frowned.
“What have you not told me?”
I looked down at the envelope containing Daniel’s ring.
“When Daniel left, he said one other thing.”
“What?”
“He said someday I would thank him for forcing me to become the person I was supposed to be.”
Ryan’s expression cooled.
“I didn’t tell anyone because it sounded arrogant and ridiculous.”
“It was.”
“But what if he believed it?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if taking the novel was not only about money or ambition? What if he thought he was helping me somehow?”
“By erasing your name?”
“I didn’t say it made sense.”
Ryan looked toward the car.
“People can justify almost anything when they decide they know what is best for someone else.”
The sentence carried history.
Claire again, perhaps.
Or his own life.
The driver took us back to the hotel.
Most of the wedding guests had gone upstairs. The ballroom doors were closed. White flowers stood in the silent corridor, their petals beginning to soften at the edges.
Sophia waited in the lobby wearing Lucas’s suit jacket over her wedding dress.
The moment she saw me, she ran.
I barely had time to brace before she wrapped both arms around me.
“You’re okay.”
“I’m okay.”
“You vanished with a billionaire after announcing a fake marriage and then sent me one text.”
“When you say it like that, it sounds irresponsible.”
“It was extremely irresponsible.”
Lucas stood behind her, smiling with tired relief.
“Welcome back.”
Sophia pulled away and looked at Ryan.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me.”
“I know. I’m doing it anyway.”
Her gaze dropped to the drive in my hand.
“What is that?”
“My story.”
The words came out differently now.
Not fragile.
Not apologetic.
Mine.
Sophia’s eyes filled.
“You found it?”
“I found enough to prove I wrote it.”
She hugged me again.
This time I laughed.
The sound surprised me.
It had been a long time since relief had felt stronger than fear.
Lucas arranged a suite across the hall from theirs. Sophia insisted on staying until I was inside.
At the door, she turned to Ryan.
“Are you leaving?”
“Yes.”
She looked at me, then at him.
“Good.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
“You sound pleased.”
“I am. Ellie needs sleep, and you need to stop creating scandals at my wedding.”
“That seems reasonable.”
Sophia stepped into the suite.
Ryan remained in the hall.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
“Tomorrow,” he said, “my legal team will make copies of the Northstar records available to your attorney.”
“I don’t have one.”
“I can give you names, but you should choose independently.”
“Thank you.”
“And I’ll send the archived Claire emails to an outside investigator.”
“Also independently?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
He started to turn away.
“Ryan.”
He looked back.
“Why did Claire leave you?”
His face closed, but only briefly.
“She said I loved certainty more than I loved people.”
“Was she right?”
He considered it.
“Sometimes.”
“And now?”
His gaze held mine.
“Now I am trying to ask instead of assume.”
The answer settled quietly between us.
“Good night, Ellie.”
“Good night.”
He walked toward the elevators.
I watched until the doors closed.
Inside the suite, Sophia had removed her shoes and curled into an armchair while Lucas ordered tea.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
For the first time all evening, I allowed myself to stop moving.
Sophia looked at the envelope in my hand.
“Is that the ring?”
“Yes.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
“Give it back.”
“Are you ready to see him?”
“No.”
She nodded.
“That is the correct answer.”
I smiled.
Lucas brought the tea and quietly stepped into the adjoining room to call the front desk.
Sophia leaned closer.
“Do you trust Ryan?”
“A little.”
“Do you like him?”
I gave her a look.
“That is not the same question.”
“I know.”
I stared into the tea.
“He makes me feel seen.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It is.”
“Does he make you feel small?”
“No.”
“Then maybe not all danger is bad.”
I looked at her.
“When did you become wise?”
“Approximately three hours after getting married.”
We both laughed.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
Sophia’s smile vanished.
“Don’t answer.”
I stared at the screen.
Something told me to.
I put it on speaker.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then a woman’s voice.
Soft.
Breathless.
“Ellie?”
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“Who is this?”
“I don’t have much time.”
Sophia moved closer.
The woman continued.
“My name is Claire Vale.”
The room went still.
I gripped the phone.
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Did you take my notebook?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
Anger flared through me.
“Why?”
“To keep Daniel from destroying it.”
I stood.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Then tell me why your name is on my manuscript.”
“Because Daniel needed someone the company would believe had written it.”
“And you agreed?”
“At first.”
Sophia’s hand found mine.
“What changed?” I asked.
“I read it.”
The answer was simple.
Human.
Unexpected.
Claire’s voice shook.
“I read the whole story. Then I found your old emails. I realized you were real.”
“You thought I wasn’t?”
“Daniel said Elena Hart was a fictional identity he used while drafting.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course he had.
“What did Charles know?”
“Not everything.”
“What did Ryan know?”
“Nothing about you.”
The relief that moved through me was immediate and unwanted.
Claire heard my silence.
“He knew I was working on a private project. He did not know it belonged to someone else.”
“Why send me the photograph?”
“I didn’t.”
I looked at Sophia.
“Then who did?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why were you at Northstar yesterday?”
“To recover the consent recording.”
My grip tightened.
“There is no consent.”
“I know.”
“Then what is it?”
Claire began to answer.
A sound interrupted her.
A door opening.
Her breathing changed.
“I have to go.”
“No. Wait.”
“Ellie, listen carefully. Do not give Daniel the ring.”
I looked down at the envelope on the bed.
“How do you know about the ring?”
“He hid something inside it.”
My pulse stopped.
“What?”
“I never saw it. But he told Charles it was the only copy.”
“Copy of what?”
Claire’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“The contract that proves who planned all of this.”
A man’s voice sounded faintly in the background.
Claire inhaled sharply.
Then she said one final sentence.
“And Ellie—the name on that contract isn’t Daniel’s.”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Sophia slowly looked toward the envelope.
The engagement ring lay inside.
Silent.
May you like
Ordinary.
Suddenly heavier than anything I had ever held.
