Chapter 21
Ryan was furious, “Sophia, are you crazy?”
“I’m firing you.” As I spat the words, “I know you’ve always thought I was stupid, so forget it. You move out of my house, and I’ll find someone else to teach me,” there was a bitterness clinging to every syllable.
I knew Ryan had never respected me–not as a student, not as a person, and certainly not as a partner.
He had used me, disguised under the pretense of being my tutor, while I had willingly handed him. more money than his fake lessons ever deserved.
Deep down, I’d known all along.
I knew that the so–called “study sessions” were just excuses for us to be in my room, engaging in meaningless sex. Meanwhile, my grades slipped lower and lower, making
me a joke in school
People whispered behind my back, laughed at me, but what hurt most wasn’t their words–it was Ryan’s silence. He never defended me.
Not once. He let Linda and her vicious friends mock me, bully me, tear me apart.
He’d stand there, indifferent, or worse, watching with a smirk, as if he found my humiliation entertaining.
It wasn’t until my spirit had been so battered by the bullying, leaving me empty inside, that Ryan pretended to care. One night, he put on this performance–his arms around me, murmuring promises of protection.
He told me to drop out, marry him, and let him take care of me.
He swore that he’d make everything better, that I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. But that was the greatest lie of all.
Ryan wasn’t a savior. He was the one dragging me into the real hell.
When I told him to leave, Ryan’s face twisted into a smug, disgusting grin. He thought I was bluffing. as if I could never truly want him gone.
I don’t fill you up,” he sneered, stepping closer, “who’s going to feed you?” His hand reached out to
touch me, grazing my skin like a poison.
wave of nausea rolled through me, and I jerked his hand away.
The mere thought of him touching me made my skin crawl.
I’d been blind before, but now all I felt was disgust–pure and absolute.
Ryan’s face darkened at my rejection, the twisted smile dropping as anger took over.
He grabbed me roughly, yanking me toward him with a sickening force.
You think you can just toss me aside?” he growled, his voice thick with entitlement.
His hands clamped down on me, dragging me to the ground in the garden.
My gaze was icy cold, and instead of screaming and struggling in panic, I clenched my fist with precision and punched him in the left ribcage.
Ryan’s face changed in an instant, his face became twisted from the pain, and he had no choice but to let go of me, clutching his stomach and rolling on the ground.
In his previous life, because he was involved in an off–campus brawl, his left rib cage was broken “several times, and he was left with a very serious wound.
Ryan, in this life for a change I know where your weaknesses lie.
“What happened?”
Ethan heard the voice and quickly came inside the garden.
I gathered my clothes and pretended to look alarmed.
“Ryan, he, he just tried to force himself on me
Ethan, my protector, the one I’d known would come. He didn’t waste a second. Without hesitation, he pummeled Ryan, his fists landing with brutal precision.
I watched as Ethan, usually so composed, unleashed his fury.
“No, no, it was Sophia she hit me…..!”
“Ryan cried out, but it was as if Ethan didn’t hear him. His fists kept flying, each one more vicious
than the last
20.6%
Ryan’s face, once so smug, was now twisted in pain. I could see the fear in his eyes as blood began to drip down his cheek.
And yet, despite everything, it wasn’t enough for me.
Watching Ryan writhing on the ground, knowing that he was getting what he deserved, wasn’t enough.
I needed him to suffer more. This was only the beginning.
But as Ethan’s punches grew harder, more relentless, I realized that he might kill Ryan right there.
I couldn’t let that happen.
Not yet. I needed Ryan alive–alive so I could drag him through the same misery he’d put me through.
“Ethan.” I whispered, reaching out, my hands shaking as I tugged at his arm. “Stop. Please. Not yet.”
Ethan paused, breathing hard, his knuckles bloodied. His eyes met mine, and he understood. He stopped, his rage simmering down, and instead of Ryan, he turned to me.
Gently, he draped his jacket over my shoulders, pulling me into his arms. His embrace was solid, warm–everything Ryan’s had never been.
As I leaned into Ethan’s chest, my eyes drifted back to Ryan. He lay on the ground, barely conscious, groaning like a wounded animal.
But this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. Ryan’s misery had only just begun.
That night, everything Ryan owned–every piece of his pathetic existence–was tossed out. His and Clara’s belongings were thrown into the street, his reputation in tatters. He was taken to the hospital beaten and bruised, where he would remain for several days.
I didn’t see him at school, and Linda, his loyal little sidekick, disappeared too.
No doubt she was plotting, trying to find a way to twist the situation in her favor. She probably wanted Ryan to hate me more, to feel sympathy for her, but I knew her game.
I was prepared to wait. Let her try.
I had patience, and this time, I was playing for keeps.
A few days later, as I sat In my car on the way to school, I found myself waiting at a red light.
T
mind wandered, plotting my next move when a sudden knock on the window startled me.
lowered the window, my heart skipping a beat when I saw who it was–Ryan.
