Chapter 4 - The First Blow
Back in the breakfast room, Ryan moved closer to Leah.
“You embarrassed me in front of my mother.”
“I corrected a lie.”
“You’re my wife now.”
“We got married yesterday, Ryan. I did not become your employee.”
Elaine folded her arms.
“This attitude is exactly what I warned him about.”
Leah turned toward her.
“What attitude?”
“The belief that money makes you more important than family.”
Leah nearly smiled.
Elaine did not know how many times Leah had saved the Hartwells.
She had paid their overdue property taxes.
She had prevented the bank from seizing their coastal estate.
She had quietly purchased Hartwell Global’s emergency debt through one of her investment companies, giving Ryan another year to repair the business.
She had done it because Ryan insisted the company was his father’s legacy.
Now Elaine was accusing her of valuing money over family while sitting inside a house Leah had already prevented from being lost.
Ryan stepped close enough for Leah to smell coffee on his breath.
“You knew what being my wife meant.”
“No,” Leah replied. “Apparently, I didn’t.”
His hand moved before anyone spoke.
The strike was quick.
Leah stumbled against the table. A coffee cup overturned, spilling across the white cloth.
Chloe gasped.
Elaine did not move.
Ryan looked at his own hand, surprised by what he had done. Then his expression hardened, as though the easiest way to escape shame was to blame Leah.
“Look what you made me do.”
Leah touched her cheek.
Something inside her became perfectly still.
May you like
She had spent three years protecting Ryan from consequences.
That protection ended at the breakfast table.
