Page 19 of Love’s Patient Journey (The Relinquished #2)

Jenna needed to control her emotions enough to get through this conversation with Ryan. She took a deep breath. “What did you agree to do for him, Ryan?” Ryan looked at her, confused, and then she could see his understanding. Ryan just looked down at his feet, not answering her question.

“Come on, Ryan. We both know Jake well enough to know that he would never do anything out of the kindness of his heart. At this point, I doubt he even has a heart left.” Jenna waited Ryan out for her answer.

Ryan’s steely gaze met hers, and he looked more determined than she had ever seen him. “I agreed to pay his fucking lawyers.” Jenna gasped and covered her mouth with her shaking hands. How could he do that to her?

“You agreed to pay the people who are trying to free him? The people who called me, my sister, and your brother liars. You are giving them money?” Ryan looked down at his feet again and nodded.

“There’s more. The papers that he signed had a clause in them, saying that he would never contact you or Zac again. He’s out of our lives, Jenna—for good.” He stood in front of her, looking into her eyes, and all Jenna could see was his betrayal.

“And how much did you pay him for that, Ryan?” Tears were now freely falling down her face.

“Fifty thousand.” Ryan didn’t look down this time.

He boldly stared her down. “And I’d give him fifty million fucking dollars if it meant that you and Zac would never have to worry about that asshole again.

” Jenna couldn’t do anything but shake her head.

How had everything gotten so messed up? She was going to tell him how much she loved him today.

Now, she couldn’t even imagine having a tomorrow with him.

Jenna shook off his hands from her shoulders, needing to distance herself from Ryan. “Jenna, you need to understand that—”

Jenna whirled around; her expression felt murderous.

“No, Ryan—you need to fucking understand this,” her finger in his chest, “you don’t get to make decisions for me and Zac.

We don’t need you to decide what is best for us.

We did just fine before you came back, and we are going to be just fine when you go. ”

“I told you I’m not going anywhere, Jenna, and I meant that.” Ryan pulled her hand, with the accusing finger, into his own. “I love you, princess, and I want to be a family with you and Zac. We can be that now, I can adopt him, and we can truly be a family.”

“It wasn’t your decision to make, Ryan. We should have discussed this and—”

“And what, princess, you would have kept on getting threatening letters from lawyers and the Ashbrook’s?

You would have let your asshole ex decide for you whether he was going to be in Zac’s life after he got out of prison?

What was the plan, Jenna, because obviously what you were doing wasn’t working out too well for you, was it?

” Jenna huffed out a breath, not sure how to answer Ryan.

He did make a valid point. She seemed to just let these things happen to her, without really taking charge of the situation.

Jenna covered her face with her hands, confused and already feeling alone.

She knew that she needed to back away from the situation and take the time to think about what to do next.

She needed to be alone and have a good cry to clear her head.

Jenna needed time to decide what her next move was going to be and if she and Ryan even had a future together.

“You need to leave Ryan. I need to be alone. Zac will be back soon, and he doesn’t need to see us fighting. He doesn’t need to see us breaking up, and you leaving.”

Ryan invaded her space, wrapping her in his arms, and she wanted to take her words back.

She knew that she could let him try to make everything okay.

It would be so easy to melt into him and have him tell her that everything was going to be okay, but she couldn’t.

She needed to make it on her own. She couldn’t let a man take care of her or take over her life ever again.

She pushed Ryan away, knowing what she was asking him to do: “Leave!” She was happy that her voice didn’t crack or show how destroyed she felt.

She wanted to hit her knees and sob, but she needed to hold it together until tonight, after Zac was in bed, then she could fall apart and mourn her and Ryan’s relationship.

Ryan shook his head, looking somewhat defeated.

He held up his hands in surrender, “I’ll go, princess, but I’ll be back.

I am not leaving you and Zac, Jenna. I told you from the start that I am not going anywhere, and I’m not.

I’ll give you tonight, but I will be back in the morning to make you breakfast and to take Zac to school.

I love you both, and I’m not letting you go.

” He bent and kissed her lips gently, and God, she wanted to stop him from leaving.

She needed to keep her distance if she was going to get through this.

Ryan had his duffel bag packed within minutes and was heading down past her on the steps.

She seemed to be frozen to that spot, unable to even think of her next move.

Ryan paused at her front door, “I love you, baby.

I will be at my parents' if you need me. Tell Zac that I will be here in the morning to make him pancakes.”

When Jenna heard his pick-up truck pull out of her driveway, she hit her knees, sobbing.

She fought every instinct that she had to run down the steps and out of her door to stop him.

But what would that accomplish? He would still be doing things he felt were right, behind her back.

He would never involve her in decisions that he would make in her and Zac’s best interest. How could she have been so stupid?

She had already fallen in love with another man who wanted to take away her choices, wanted her to live by his rules.

The truth of the matter was that she loved Ryan so much more than she ever loved Jake.

The two men were so different, and yet they both made her feel the same in the end—used and foolish.

She knew that she would never find love like she had with Ryan but wondered how they’d be able to salvage something so broken.