Twenty-one and ready to take on the world, orphan Lizzie Gold didn't expect her chance encounter with a stranger to lead to a damnable task - to take down a rising business tycoon.
Ryan Pierce - her viciously handsome target and her new boss - might...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
R Y A N
five months later:
The aged photograph is clean of the dust it had carried when I first discovered it in the attic five months ago. The pleased expressions of Silas, Caitlin, and their little daughter, Josephine stare back at me as I hang it on the wall above Lizzie's desk in her study. I have had it cleaned up, restored, and framed with layers so that it won't be destroyed again. It complements the minimalist aesthetic of her study, adding to it a homely touch. I hope she likes it.
On cue, the light patter of her footsteps enters the room. I recognize it is her without having to look as the very sound of her footsteps has become a familiar rhythm to my ears.
"Ryan? What are you doing?" she asks, coming to a stop behind me.
I face her just in time to see her big brown eyes spotting the picture. Her pink face bursts into a color of fiery red as she recognizes the people in the photo frame. Her one hand cradles her round belly where our baby has recently started kicking her while she has the other resting on her waist. Dressed in a lovely satin nightgown, she looks nothing but stunning with the pregnancy glow on her.
"I found this in the attic. Thought you'd like to have it in your study," I express, stepping around her to support her figure.
"Oh my God! Where was it?"
Her glassy eyes soak in the photo, tears swelling up in them as she covers her mouth with her fingers, on one of which our wedding ring glows when it meets the light.
"In a box marked as worthless stuff." My cheeks flame hot at my own reply.
"Oh... " She moves to face me, grasping my hand as I help her to her chair. Once she is settled, I crouch before her while she lets her hand cradle her belly again. "Thank you, Ryan."
"No need to thank me. Nothing I ever do will make it all okay. My father made sure of that," I confess, the guilt still fresh as the fateful day seven months ago when I first found out about my father's crimes.
I observe Lizzie while she has her bottom lip pulled between her teeth as she stares at her lap. I can find her brain cooking something up and am curious to follow up with her thoughts.
"What are you thinking?" I ask her, squeezing her hands with my own.
"I was wondering what happened between your father and Silas that they became such enemies," she replies. "It's so strange."
"I know what happened."
"What?"
I release her hands, rising to lean against a hip against the mahogany desk as I worry my lip too, vacillating between wanting to tell her the truth or not. I decide to go with the former and pick up the old diary I kept on the desk from when I entered with the photo frame. It is made of faded leather, the cover having lost its magnificence throughout the years.
