It had been a week since the festive cheer of Christmas had faded, and the excitement of New Year's had come and gone, yet the state of my relationship with Ryan remained as murky as ever.
Surprisingly, we had spent New Year's Eve together, along with my family. It was a rather unexpected turn of events when Ryan showed up at my doorstep bearing chocolates, a gesture that seemed to win my mother over instantly. Despite my surprise, I couldn't deny the warmth I felt seeing him there with us. When asked about his own family, he simply mentioned they couldn't make it and he couldn't leave due to business—a vague explanation that left me with more questions than answers.
With Ryan by my side, we checked off another item from my bucket list: attending the New Year's Eve Ball Drop. As the clo
