A Season Without Her

Chapter 7 A Love She Never Had

Ryan walked over to Chloe and gently wiped the tears from her face.

"Why didn't you call me?"

Chloe shoved him away, her eyes red from crying.

"How many times have I told you? I don't need you taking care of me."

Ryan did not argue. Instead, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, refusing to let her go.

She struggled in his embrace.

"What right do you have to control me? Even if I died out there, it would have nothing to do with you."

"You're my junior."

"I don't want to be your junior."

Before she could say anything more, Ryan lowered his head and kissed her, silencing the rest of her protest.

Watching them cling to each other, Cynthia felt the alcohol burn down her throat like shards of glass scraping her insides.

That night, Ryan brought Chloe home again.

"Chloe ran into some trouble today. I didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone, so I brought her back."

"You don't have to explain."

Cynthia did not even spare him a glance before heading upstairs.

Ryan frowned slightly.

'She is too quiet. Too compliant.'

Chloe, however, stopped halfway up the stairs and turned back. A crystal trophy spun lazily between her fingers.

"So, you've liked Ryan for nine years?"

She let out a soft laugh. "That kind of loyalty is almost admirable."

She tilted her head, studying Cynthia.

"Do you really think marrying him will keep him by your side?"

Cynthia ignored her and tried to walk past.

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Chloe's face. Her fingers loosened deliberately.

The trophy slipped from her hand and crashed onto the floor, shattering into pieces.

Chloe lowered her voice.

"Let's see who Ryan believes. You or me."

Hearing the noise, Ryan rushed upstairs.

"What happened to my trophy?"

His voice was icy.

"Ry… it's my fault," Chloe said weakly, her eyes brimming with tears. "I took it out of the study because I wanted to look at it. If I hadn't done that, Cynthia wouldn't have tried to grab it. She said she wanted to smash it. I wouldn't give it to her."

"Cynthia, I know you contributed to many of Ryan's awards. But this trophy means a lot to him. You can't vent your anger on it," she added.

"That's not true!" Cynthia trembled with rage. She looked at Ryan, still clinging to a fragile hope. "Do you really think I broke it?"

The chill in his eyes was answer enough.

Without another word, he strode into her room. Ignoring her desperate protests, he rummaged through her belongings until he found a jade pendant.

It was the only thing her mother had left her.

"Ryan, I didn't break your trophy. There's a camera in the hallway. You can check the footage."

"Are you scared now?" he replied coldly.

Before she could react, he threw the pendant to the floor.

It shattered instantly.

In that moment, something inside Cynthia shattered as well.

Fragments scattered across the tiles, and one sharp piece sliced into her foot. Blood slowly seeped out, staining the floor.

"Next time you think about destroying something important to someone," Ryan said in an icy tone, "consider the consequences."

He turned and walked away.

He did not notice that her breathing had begun to grow uneven, nor did he see the color draining from her face.

Cynthia crouched down, trying to gather the broken pieces of the pendant, but the air seemed to thin around her. No matter how hard she tried, she could not draw a full breath.

Her asthma was flaring up.

She struggled toward her bag, reaching for her inhaler as the suffocating pressure tightened around her chest and throat.

"Ry… Ryan…"

She tried to call his name, but the lack of oxygen stole her voice before it could form.

Ryan was still standing there, staring at the shattered trophy, when Chloe suddenly cried out.

"Ryan, look at Cynthia!"

The last thing Cynthia saw before darkness swallowed her was Ryan turning back, panic finally breaking through his expression.