My steps faltered, my already shattered heart breaking into pieces once again.
I had known the truth for a long time.
But hearing him say it outright was still agony—like being cut alive.
“Ryan.”
I suddenly spoke up as I stepped toward the balcony.
Ryan froze, clearly not expecting me to appear out of nowhere. Instinctively, he asked,
“You… you heard everything?”
I didn’t respond. The silence turned so awkward that the guy next to him quickly made an excuse and left.
Eventually, Ryan broke it himself. He smirked, snuffing out his cigarette, and walked toward me.
“What, are you mad?”
“Come on, Sophia Hayes, there’s no need. Everything I just said was the truth. What happens in bed is mutual consent—you never disagreed, and it’s not like I could’ve forced you.”
“Don’t pout like that. You’re making me look like the bad guy here.”
He grabbed my chin, leaning in as if to kiss me.
I shoved him away as if I’d been burned, then slapped him hard across the face.
“Don’t touch me! You disgust me!”
Ryan started to get angry, but when he saw my tear-filled eyes, he froze.
“Yes, Ryan,” I admitted, my voice trembling. “I like you.”
“But that doesn’t give you the right to trample on my feelings! I am not some toy for you to use whenever you want!”
“If you don’t like me, you could’ve just said it. I’m not the kind of woman who clings.”
“From now on, I wish you and Emily Scott a lifetime of happiness. But stay out of my life!”
I turned and left without looking back.
In the living room, Emily’s soft laughter floated amid the crowd’s attention.
But Ryan just stood frozen, staring after me, a strange panic rising in him—
As though he had just lost something irreplaceable.
Still, he shrugged it off, gave a cold laugh, and went back toward Emily.
After all, he knew me well. In a few days, I’d come crawling back to beg his forgiveness.
…
When the welcome party ended, I called a cleaning service to take care of the mess.
That night, exhausted, I sank into the sofa. Then Emily suddenly sent me a message and a video.
[Sophia, Ryan seems drunk…]
I opened the video. Ryan was shirtless, slurring Emily’s name over and over, begging her not to leave him.
My grip tightened on my phone. Moments later, I deleted Emily from my contacts.
She was irrelevant now.
But I never expected—
The next morning, when I woke up, my private photos had been posted online!