Mel's eyes glossed over. Spencer didn't speak, just nodded slowly.
"I told myself I'd get out," I added. "That if I could just hold on a little longer, I could get Mira out of my life and then I'd tell December. I thought maybe I could fix it and come back to herwith clean hands. Like—'Look, I fought the monster, now I'm worthy of you.' I just wanted to be her hero. But I waited too long and I ended up being the monster instead."
My throat burned.
"There was this sick part of me," I admitted, "that needed her more than I needed help. I know how selfish that sounds but she was my only oxygen. Just being around her made everything quieter, softer. I'd walk into a room she was in and suddenly, I didn't feel hunted. I didn't feel like prey and I clung to that. Like an addict."
Mel finally spoke again. Her voice had lost the softness. It was firm.
" Ryder—you can't survive off someone else's light without burning them out. You know that now. Youknowyou were wrong."
"I do." My voice broke. "God, I do."
Mel put her hand on my knee. "love makes people do irrational, brave, selfish things. That doesn't make you the villain." She added, "But now it's time to stop surviving and start fighting."
"I'm scared," I whispered. "Her dad's not just rich—he's strategic. He buried what Mira did. Sent me away. Spent money to make it all disappear."
"That's exactly why he's scared ofyou," Mel said sharply. "Why do you think he worked so hard to cover everything? He doesn't care about you. Or her. He just didn't want a scandal to mess up his precious campaign. He saw you as a risk and swept you under a rug. He just gave the election as a deadline," Mel said carefully, her voice laced with quiet disgust. "But let's be honest,Ryder... even if the election came and went, do you really think anything would've changed? I don't. I think he was stringing you along. Feeding you just enough hope to keep you quiet, compliant. I think he's been messing with you from the start."
The words hit like a slap, not because they were harsh—but because they were true.
I lowered my gaze to the floor, heat rising to my face. Shame crawled under my skin like it was stitched there. Not just because Mira had played me like a puppet, but because even her father, a man who had barely looked me in the eye, had seen how easy I was to bend. He dangled a fake promise in front of me—"after the election"—and I clung to it like a fool, desperate and naive. I wanted so badly to believe there was a way out that didn't require confrontation. That if I just behaved, if I kept my head down, the storm would pass and I could finally breathe.
But that storm was never going to pass. It was never meant to.
"I let him play me," I muttered, the words bitter on my tongue. "I letbothof them play me."
Mel leaned in slightly, her eyes full of sympathy. "That wasn't your fault. Abusers are calculated. Manipulative. They find the cracks and slip right through them. And someone like her father? He's not helping her, Ryder. He's protectinghimself.His image. His power. You were just... collateral."
I swallowed hard. Collateral. That word sank deep. What hurt even more was knowing December had been collateral too, collateral for my silence, my shame, my hope that pretending everything was fine would somehow make it true.
"You've been alone so long you forgot one thing," Spence added. "They're only invinciblein your head. You've been fighting ghosts."
"Butyouhave the truth. The evidence. You have power, Ryder. You're not weak. You're the victim. Youcantake this public," Mel added.
"I can't," I choked. "I'm not ready to show my face, to stand in front of cameras and say I let her hit me, manipulate me, control me—"
"You don't have to," Mel said gently. "We're just telling you what's possible and she should be scared. Her daddy too."
She pulled out her Mel grabbed her phone and made a call, her tone all business. "I'm not a family or criminal lawyer, I specialize in contracts and construction law. But I know someone who's damn good at this. You've got a meeting with them tomorrow."
While she dialed, Mira called. Again. Then again. My phone buzzed like a hornet in my pocket.
I typed a message:Spending the night at a friend's. Please stop calling.
Her response came in seconds:You cheating liar. I KNEW it. You always lie. You'll regret this.
I showed the texts to Mel.
"Good," she said calmly. "Keep everything. Screenshots. Backups. You already have anything else?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Photos. Screenshots. A whole file."
They both sat up straighter.
"Then we'll take her down," Spence said. "She's just become this monster in your mind. But she's not as untouchable as you think."
"But December..." Mel's voice softened. "You have to leave her alone for now. Let her heal. Letyouheal."
