After I Met Him

Chapter 9-Maybe this once

Ryan's POV.

“Ahhhh…” I breathed out after falling onto my bed.

Today was long and stressful. I had only been back at the office for a week after the vacation Vanessa and I went on, yet it already felt exhausting.

I stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking about absolutely nothing.

Everything was peaceful. Calm. Quiet.

For once, there was no noise, no arguments, no stress.

I slowly closed my eyes, ready to sleep and finally enjoy the silence.

“Ryan… Ryan… Ryan…”

A voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

My vision was blurry at first until I blinked properly and saw my mother leaning over me.

“Oh… Mom, it’s you,” I muttered lazily.

“How are you?” she asked warmly.

“Iiiii am finnnneee…” I groaned dramatically as I slowly sat up on the bed.

“I’m tired too,” I added with a sigh.

“How’s the business?” she asked while gently massaging my shoulders.

“It’s okay. The staff and manager handled things well while I was away,” I replied.

“That’s nice.”

A brief silence followed.

“So… have you apologized to Vanessa?” she finally asked.

“Nope,” I answered immediately as I stood up and removed my suit jacket.

“Why, Ryan? Vanessa can be stressful but—”

“But Mom, I am tired of her,” I cut in. “I’m exhausted.”

“So you’re not even going to try fixing things?” she asked.

“Must I always fix things because I’m the man?” I asked, frustrated. “Would it kill her to apologize for once?”

I looked at my mother, waiting for an answer.

“You see,” I said, pointing lightly at her. “Even you know the truth.”

I had this habit of pacing around whenever I was taking off my shirt or stressed out.

“What are you saying now?” she asked carefully. “You want to end things?”

“Yes, Mom,” I replied honestly. “I’m too young for Vanessa’s stress.”

She swallowed quietly.

I could tell she was hurt by my words, but even she knew Vanessa had drained me emotionally for too long.

Slowly, she stood from the bed.

“Okay then,” she said softly.

Then she walked out of my room.

I exhaled deeply and shook my head.

Women can be very funny sometimes. Vanessa and my mom had almost the same personality, except Vanessa was worse.

How could she be upset just because I chose peace?

I already knew my mother wasn’t going to let this go easily. Sooner or later, she would try convincing me to get back with Vanessa again.

But this time, my mind was made up.

Vanessa's POV.

As I walked into the house, my steps slowly came to a halt.

Mrs. Mercer sat quietly on the chair across the room, one finger resting against her lips as she stared into space. But there was nothing calm about her expression. Her eyes were sharp, and the tension on her face was enough to make my stomach tighten nervously.

She looked angry.

Very angry.

I was sure she had already noticed me the moment I entered.

“Mom?” I called softly.

No response.

Instead, she slowly turned toward me, her cold gaze locking onto mine.

“Why are you here?” she asked sternly.

“I—I umm…” I stammered, struggling to find words.

“You what?!” she snapped loudly as she stood up from the chair.

I instinctively took a step back.

“Vanessa, what is wrong with you?” she demanded. “I warned you not to keep stressing Ryan out. How many times do I need to explain that both our family businesses depend on this relationship working?”

“N-no, it’s not—it’s…”

Whenever Ryan’s mother got angry, words always disappeared from my mouth. Honestly, she was the main reason Ryan and I were still together.

“What is wrong with you?” she continued, moving closer. “Why are you always making my son miserable?”

She stopped directly in front of me.

“Answer me!”

“It’s not my fault,” I defended quickly. “He’s cheating on me!”

“With you?” she asked angrily.

“T-the… the lady I told you about,” I replied nervously.

“Hannah or whatever her name is?”

“I can’t remember her name,” I muttered.

Mrs. Mercer placed both hands on her waist, narrowing her eyes at me before letting out a frustrated sigh. She clasped her hands together briefly, pointing them toward me as she spoke.

“If you were a better person, then my son wouldn’t be looking at another woman.”

My lips parted slightly in shock, but no words came out.

I remained silent with my head lowered while she walked past me.

“You better fix this,” she warned before continuing down the hallway.

Once she disappeared from sight, I finally released the breath I had been holding and leaned my head back tiredly.

How exactly was I supposed to fix any of this?

Maybe she should tell her son to fix his attitude too.

But then again, she did have a point.

My dad needed the Mercer family's connection to keep our company stable.

Normally, Ryan would have apologized by now, but this time… it felt different.

Like he was genuinely tired of me.

I hated admitting it, but maybe I had pushed him too far this time.

Maybe… just this once, I should be the one to fix things.