Chapter 6 - RYAN'S EXPLANATION
Ryan asked to see Emma.
She refused.
He asked again through lawyers.
Eventually, Emma agreed to a mediated meeting.
No baby.
No private room.
Mara Sloan present.
Ryan looked destroyed.
Unshaven.
Gray.
Much thinner.
Emma hated that part of her still noticed.
He sat across from her.
“I’m sorry.”
Emma did not answer.
“I thought you were scared. I didn’t understand it was serious.”
“You told me I was dramatic.”
“I know.”
“You left.”
“I know.”
“You answered when I called.”
Ryan cried.
“I was drunk.”
“That made you crueler, not deaf.”
He lowered his head.
Emma asked:
“Why Sophie?”
Ryan looked up.
Silence.
“Why was she in Aspen?”
“She came with friends.”
“Did you invite her?”
“Yes.”
“Were you sleeping with her?”
His face answered before his mouth.
“Yes.”
Emma swallowed.
“How long?”
“Two months.”
Claire had warned Emma this answer was possible.
It still hurt like surprise.
Then Emma asked about the life insurance.
Ryan’s head snapped up.
“That wasn’t what you think.”
“What do I think?”
“I didn’t want you dead.”
“I didn’t say that.”
He looked terrified.
Again, relief before accountability.
Emma noticed.
Ryan explained that his financial adviser recommended additional coverage after the pregnancy because Emma had temporarily stopped working and they had a new child.
Plausible.
The adviser later confirmed the recommendation.
But the signature issue remained.
Ryan admitted he clicked through the online acknowledgment from Emma’s tablet while she was exhausted.
“She told me to handle paperwork.”
Emma stared.
“That does not mean sign my name.”
“No.”
“Did you think I’d notice?”
May you like
Ryan did not answer.
That silence mattered too.
