Chapter 7: The truth she couldn’t hide.
876 Words
The silence between them stretched thin.
Bryma stood by the door, composed as always, but this time, something beneath that calm surface felt… fragile. Gregory watched her closely, the file still in his hand, his expression no longer confused—but certain.
“Was any of this actually my father’s decision?” he repeated.
His voice was quieter now.
But sharper.
Bryma exhaled slowly, stepping further into the room and closing the door behind her. The soft click echoed louder than it should have.
“You’re looking at this the wrong way,” she said.
Gregory almost laughed—but there was no humor in it.
“Then explain it the right way.”
She walked closer, her movements controlled, deliberate.
“It was an agreement,” she began. “Between two families that have always understood each other.”
Gregory’s jaw tightened slightly.
“That’s not what I asked.”
A brief pause.
Then Bryma met his eyes.
And for the first time…
She didn’t deflect.
“It wasn’t entirely his idea,” she admitted.
The truth landed heavily.
Gregory felt something shift inside him—not shock, not even anger… but confirmation.
He had known.
Somewhere deep down, he had already known.
“How much of it wasn’t?” he asked.
Bryma hesitated.
And that hesitation said everything.
“Enough,” she replied finally.
The room fell quiet again.
Gregory looked down at the documents in his hand, flipping through them slowly, as if seeing them clearly for the first time.
“Company shares,” he muttered. “Transfer clauses… control conditions…”
He looked back at her.
“This isn’t a marriage, Bryma.”
His voice hardened.
“It’s a transaction.”
Bryma didn’t flinch.
“Everything in your world is a transaction, Gregory. You just never wanted to admit it.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is,” she said firmly. “The difference is—I accepted it. You didn’t.”
Gregory shook his head, frustration building.
“So you manipulated a dying man to secure your position?”
Her expression changed slightly—not guilt, not fully.
But something close.
“I didn’t manipulate him,” she said. “I guided a decision that was already possible.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“No,” she replied quietly. “It’s survival.”
The word lingered between them.
Survival.
Gregory studied her, trying to understand—not just what she did, but why.
“You call this survival?” he asked. “Building a future on someone else’s life?”
Bryma’s gaze didn’t waver.
“You think I had choices?” she asked. “You were born into power. I had to secure mine.”
“That doesn’t make it right.”
“It makes it necessary.”
The conviction in her voice was unsettling.
Not because it was loud.
But because it was real.
For her, this wasn’t manipulation.
It was strategy.
And that made it even more dangerous.
Gregory ran a hand through his hair, pacing slightly now, the weight of everything pressing down on him.
“My father trusted you,” he said finally. “He trusted your family.”
Bryma’s expression softened—just slightly.
“And we didn’t betray that trust,” she said. “We gave him what he wanted—certainty.”
“At a cost,” Gregory snapped.
“Yes,” she replied.
No denial.
No hesitation.
Just truth.
And somehow, that honesty made it worse.
Gregory stopped pacing.
He looked at her—really looked at her.
Not as someone he once knew.
But as someone he now understood.
“You knew about Skylar,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
Bryma didn’t answer immediately.
Then—
“Yes.”
The word was quiet.
But it cut deep.
“And you still went through with this.”
Another pause.
Then:
“Yes.”
Gregory let out a slow breath, his chest tightening.
“Why?” he asked.
This time, Bryma’s composure cracked—just a little.
“Because feelings don’t last in our world,” she said. “But position does.”
Gregory shook his head slowly.
“You’re wrong.”
“Am I?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said firmly. “Because if that were true… none of this would feel this empty.”
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
And in that silence, Gregory made a decision.
Not out of anger.
Not out of impulse.
But out of clarity.
“This ends,” he said.
Bryma’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean there is no engagement,” Gregory continued. “No arrangement. No deal.”
“You can’t just walk away from this,” she said.
“Watch me.”
His voice was calm.
Certain.
Final.
“You’ll destroy everything your father built.”
Gregory met her gaze steadily.
“No,” he said quietly. “I’ll stop it from becoming something he never intended.”
Bryma studied him carefully, as if trying to determine whether he truly meant it.
And then she saw it.
He did.
“This isn’t over,” she said softly.
Gregory didn’t respond.
Because for the first time…
He wasn’t afraid of what came next.
- Writer
