Pretty Amazing Grace {Ryan Blaney || Sequel to Sweet Caroline} ✔️

twenty-seven

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Ryan spun the sleeve of his coffee, kicking himself
for not listening to Lydia.

He should have just gone to the police, he could have handled the PR — it wouldn't have been that bad, manageable.

Maybe there was a part of him that clung to the hope that Stacy would do the right thing, that there was still a shred of decency in her.

At some point, Ryan loved her and she had loved him. It hadn't all been verbal abuse and manipulation. She had been there through the highs of his career, they had traveled the world together.

Maybe that woman was still in there somewhere, the one that loved him. Ryan knew that it was wrong to hold onto that hope, that he shouldn't have even called her but it was too late.

"Ryan."' Stacy chirped happily as she pulled the seat out from across the table. "I'm so glad you called."

Ryan chuckled under his breath. He had been vague when he invited her for coffee. Maybe it was wrong to get her hopes up but he knew that if he had tipped her off about why he wanted to see her, she would've had time to cover her tracks, come up with a story.

Stacy reached forward to grab his hands but Ryan recoiled.

His heart was pounding, he knew this was a mistake. He didn't have to do this, he didn't have to face her. But he couldn't walk away, he needed to confront her — if not about the abuse, then about the money she embezzled.

"I know you took the foundation's money." Ryan kept his voice even. "I want you to give it back."

"I didn't take anything." Stacy leaned back in her chair. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ryan rolled his eyes at her attempt to gaslight him. A few months ago, it would've sent him reeling — second guessing himself but not now. He was prepared.

Pulling the folder from his lap, he opened it up and pulled out a bank statement that had the transaction history. He slid the paper over to Stacy, watching as her brows furrow.

"Yes, you did," Ryan swore he could see a flash of panic in her eyes before familiar defiance settled in her blue eyes — the look soured Ryan's stomach. "Look, if you transfer the money back, we'll call it even. No harm, no foul."

"And if I don't?" A smirk twisted her lips, she thought if she challenged him, he would shrink. But he was past that.

"I'll go to the police, Stacy. You embezzled a lot of money from the foundation." Ryan shrugged. "It's your choice."

Stacy leaned forward. "That money is mine. I earned it, I was the one who fundraised it."

"You fundraised for the foundation. And then you took the money." Ryan reminded her.

"You drained our joint account." Stacy pointed out. "I think this makes us even." A triumphant smile crossed over her face but Ryan was undeterred.

"That money was mine. We aren't even. Are you going to give it back or not?"

"You left me without warning. You just walked out on me and left me with nothing. Do you know how embarrassing that is? Do you know how humiliating it is to see you parading your secret child and her whore mother —"

White hot anger surged through his veins. "Enough." He tried to keep his voice steady but the anger seeped through anyways. "You don't get to talk about Lydia like that, Stacy. She didn't do anything wrong but you did. My therapist tells me what you did to me was abuse and he was right." Ryan snatched the paper from the table, tucking it back into the folder before he stood up — the metal of the chair screeching against the floor.

He had been so stupid to believe that this would go well. He was so naive to think that she would've been understanding, remorseful even.

"Wait." Stacy grabbed his arm. "We spent six years together. I gave you the best years of my life, I made you into a superstar. And this is how you repay me? I didn't abuse you. You're just a coward who can't admit that he cheated on his devoted girlfriend. You're going to do it to Lydia, too. You'll get tired of her."

Ryan froze for a moment. He wanted to spin around and defend himself. He had never cheated, he would never cheat — he was not that type of man, no matter how miserable she had made his life. And he wanted her to know that Lydia loved him and she treated him the way he should've been loved all along. Mostly, Ryan wanted Stacy to know that he was going to marry Lydia because he could never get tired of her, tired of the life that they were building together.

Stacy had made her mind up about him a long time ago, she had constructed this version of him where he was the aggressor, justification for her abuse. Trying to argue wouldn't change her mind, it would be wasted time — time he could be spending with the people who love him.

Ryan wriggled from her grasp — finally free — as he stepped out of the coffee shop, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

He crossed the street to the police station. Gripping the folder tightly, he opened the door.

Ignoring the shaking in his hands, he searched for a friendly face — somebody who could point him in the direction of the right person.

"What can we do for you?" A balding man with a wide smile approached him.

"I need to report a crime?" Ryan offered.

"What kind of crime?" The man was intrigued, leaning forward as he waited for Ryan's answer.

"Embezzlement." Ryan motioned to his folder. "My ex-girlfriend stole over $125,000 from my foundation. I have all of the bank statements here."

The man nodded, grabbing a notepad from his suit coat. He asked Ryan a few basic questions like his name and contact information as well as Stacy's name.

"I will get this to the appropriate department." The man offered a reassuring smile. "They'll need to investigate but it looks like you have a good paper trail. They'll be in touch."

"Thank you." Ryan handed the man the folder before turning back towards the door.

Pride washed over him — a feeling he hadn't known in a long time. He had faced Stacy and hadn't given in to her manipulation.

He stood up to her and he had gone through with reporting the stolen money to the police.

Often times, he wondered if he was ever going to heal from the abuse that had been inflicted on him. The process was slow, too slow for him to be able to notice that he had been healing.

He wasn't completely healed, he didn't know if he ever would be. But a feeling of happiness settled in his stomach where misery once lived and Ryan knew it would only get better from here.

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