Chapter 4
I woke up in a hospital room.
The sun was coming through the window.
My leg felt heavy and strange.
There was a cast from my knee down to my toes.
Dad was asleep in the chair beside the bed.
His head was tilted back, his mouth slightly open.
He looked tired.
Older than I remembered.
I reached out and touched his hand.
He woke up immediately.
His eyes focused on me.
He smiled.
"Hey, you."
"Hey."
My voice was rough.
"How do you feel?"
"Sore," I said. "But okay."
A nurse came in a few minutes later.
She checked my vitals, gave me more pain medication, and told me the surgery had gone perfectly.
"The doctor will be in soon to talk to you about recovery," she said.
She left.
Dad stood up and stretched.
"There's something I need to tell you," he said.
I tensed.
"What is it?"
"Ryan's here."
My heart skipped a beat.
"He's been here since three o'clock this morning. The nurses wouldn't let him in. I told them not to. But he's still in the waiting room."
I stared at him.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because he's asking to see you," Dad said. "I told him to go to hell. But I thought you should know. It's your choice. If you want to see him, I'll let him come up for five minutes. If you don't, I'll go down there and make sure he leaves."
I thought about it.
Part of me never wanted to see Ryan's face again.
But another part...
Another part needed to hear what he had to say.
Needed to see if there was any part of the man I married still left inside him.
"Five minutes," I said.
Dad nodded.
He left the room.
A few minutes later, the door opened.
Ryan walked in.
He looked terrible.
His clothes were wrinkled.
His eyes were red and puffy.
He had dark circles under his eyes.
He stopped just inside the door, like he was afraid to come closer.
"Emily," he said.
His voice cracked.
I just looked at him.
"I'm so sorry," he said. "I don't even know where to start. What happened last night... it was unforgivable. I should have helped you. I should have called an ambulance. I should have done something. Anything."
He took a step toward the bed.
I didn't flinch.
But I didn't reach for him either.
"My mother is... she's not who I thought she was," he said. "I called her last night after the police took her away. I asked her about Sarah. About the first daughter-in-law your father mentioned."
He paused.
Swallowed hard.
"She denied it at first. Said your father was lying. But then... I kept pushing. And she finally admitted it. She admitted she pushed Sarah down the stairs. She said Sarah was trying to turn me against her. That she had to protect our family."
Tears filled his eyes.
"I had no idea, Emily. I swear to you, I had no idea. Sarah told me what happened and I didn't believe her. I thought she was making it up. I chose my mother over her. And then last night... I did the same thing to you."
He sat down in the chair Dad had been sitting in.
He put his head in his hands.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I failed you. I failed both of you."
I watched him cry.
And I felt... nothing.
No anger.
No sadness.
No love.
Just emptiness.
"What happens now?" I asked.
He looked up.
"What do you mean?"
"With your mother. With us. What happens now, Ryan?"
He wiped his eyes.
"Mom's out on bail. She's staying with my aunt. The police told me she's being charged with assault. But she says she's going to fight it. She says she's going to prove you attacked her first."
I nodded.
I'd expected as much.
"And us?" I asked again.
Ryan reached for my hand.
I let him take it.
But I didn't squeeze back.
"I love you, Emily," he said. "More than anything. I know I messed up. I know I have a lot of work to do to earn back your trust. But I'm willing to do it. Whatever it takes. I'll go to therapy. I'll cut my mother out of our lives completely. I'll do anything. Just... please don't leave me."
I looked at our hands.
His hand in mine.
The same hand that had held mine at our wedding.
The same hand that had signed the mortgage on our house.
The same hand that had taken a rolling pin from his mother after she'd broken my leg.
"I need time," I said.
I pulled my hand away.
"I need to heal. Physically and emotionally. And I can't do that with you around. Not right now."
Ryan's face crumpled.
"So that's it? We're over?"
"I didn't say that," I said. "I said I need time. I need to figure out what I want. What I need. And you need to figure out who you are. Without your mother controlling everything."
I paused.
"And if we're going to have any chance at all, Ryan, you're going to have to testify against her."
He went pale.
"Testify?"
"She broke my leg," I said. "She's going to go on trial. And if you want any chance with me, you're going to have to get on that stand and tell the truth. About what happened that night. About Sarah. About everything."
Ryan stared at me.
I could see the war going on inside him.
His mother.
Me.
The two most important women in his life.
And he had to choose.
"Okay," he said finally.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"I'll do it."
The door opened.
Dad stood there.
His face was like stone.
"Time's up," he said.
Ryan stood up.
He looked at me like he wanted to say something else.
But he didn't.
He just nodded and walked out.
Dad closed the door behind him.
He came and sat beside me.
"You okay?" he asked.
I nodded.
May you like
"I will be."
And for the first time since Diane walked into my kitchen, I actually believed it.
