Chapter 143

RYAN

By the time I got home, my face hurt, my knuckles were swollen, and I was pretty sure tomorrow was going to be miserable.

The day had started with good intentions.

I’d gone to Emily’s bakery to check on the repairs and see how everything was progressing.

The contractors had been making decent progress, and for a while I’d just sat there watching people work while trying not to think about everything else falling apart around me.

That plan had lasted until Frederick showed up.

I hadn’t seen him in months.

Honestly, I hadn’t thought about him in months either.

With everything that had happened recently, Emily’s former boss had dropped pretty far down the list of people ruining my life.

Apparently, he felt differently.

The second he walked onto the property and spotted me sitting outside, he changed direction and headed straight toward me.

I knew that look.

People got that look right before they said something stupid.

“Ryan.”

I looked up.

“Frederick.”

He smiled.

I immediately hated it.

“Checking on the bakery?”

“No,” I said. “I’m actually here to learn pottery.”

His smile twitched.

“Still funny.”

“Still annoying.”

For a second I thought that would be enough.

I thought maybe he’d get the message and leave.

Instead he sat down across from me.

“How’s Emily?”

There it was.

The stupid thing.

I stared at him.

“What?”

“Emily.”

He shrugged.

“I was just wondering how she’s doing.”

I laughed.

Not because anything was funny.

Because the audacity was unbelievable.

“You came all the way over here to ask me about my ex-wife?”

Frederick leaned back.

“We’re still friends.”

“No. You’re not.”

His smile disappeared slightly.

“I care about her.”

“You should’ve thought about that before helping destroy my marriage.”

His jaw tightened.

The conversation should have ended there.

Instead he kept going.

“I heard she’s with someone else now.”

I stood up.

Slowly.

The workers nearby immediately looked over.

Frederick looked up at me.

“Ryan—”

“You should leave.”

“I’m just talking.”

“No,” I said. “You’re not.”

He stood too.

The smile was completely gone now.

“I think you’re angry at the wrong person.”

That did it.

My fist connected with his jaw before he could finish the sentence.

The sound echoed across the construction site.

Frederick stumbled backward.

Someone shouted.

Another worker dropped whatever he was carrying.

Then Frederick swung at me.

After that, everything got messy.

A lot of yelling.

A lot of punching.

A lot of people trying to pull us apart.

At one point I vaguely remembered someone threatening to call the police.

By the time six different people finally separated us, Frederick looked terrible.

Unfortunately, so did I.

Now I was standing in my kitchen with an ice pack pressed against my cheek while staring at my reflection in the microwave door.

“Good job, idiot.”

The cut above my eyebrow disagreed.

I tossed the ice pack onto the counter and grabbed a clean towel.

The house felt unusually quiet.

Too quiet.

I wet the towel and carefully dabbed at the dried blood near my lip.

The sting made me wince.

Then, from somewhere outside, a car horn sounded.

Once.

Then again.

I frowned.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.

My mother usually called before visiting.

My father definitely called before visiting.

And Miranda…

I wasn’t even going to think about Miranda.

The horn sounded again.

I tossed the towel into the sink and headed for the front door.

The evening air hit me immediately as I stepped outside.

A black SUV sat near the front of the house.

I didn’t recognize it at first.

Then the driver’s door opened.

And Aaron stepped out.

I froze.

“What the hell?”

Aaron rounded the front of the vehicle.

Before I could ask what he was doing there, the rear passenger door flew open.

A tiny figure exploded out of the car.

“Daddy!”

My heart nearly stopped.

“Zara?”

She sprinted across the driveway at full speed.

I barely had time to react before she launched herself at me.

I caught her automatically.

“Daddy!”

I lifted her into my arms.

“What are you doing here?”

She wrapped both arms around my neck immediately.

“I missed you.”

I laughed despite myself.

The sound surprised me.

I hadn’t laughed like that in days.

Maybe weeks.

I held her tighter.

“I missed you too, peanut.”

Zara pulled back enough to examine my face.

Her eyes widened.

“Daddy.”

Uh oh.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

She pointed directly at the bruise.

“That’s not nothing.”

I sighed.

Aaron laughed from nearby.

“She’s got a point.”

I looked up at him.

Only then did the confusion return.

Because none of this made sense.

Why was Aaron here?

Why was Zara here?

And most importantly—

Where was Emily?

My eyes moved toward the SUV.

Waiting.

Expecting.

Hoping.

Maybe she’d step out.

Maybe she was sitting in the back.

Maybe she was—

Nothing.

Nobody moved.

The car remained exactly as it was.

Empty.

The disappointment must have shown on my face because Aaron’s expression softened immediately.

He glanced toward Zara before looking back at me.

Then he reached into his jacket pocket.

“She’s not here,” he said.

My grip tightened slightly around Zara.

Aaron pulled out a phone.

“But she wants to speak with you.”