Page 165 of Say Yes to the Nemesis

Finally, I stand up on shaky legs.

I walk toward him. With each step, I feel more certain. More sure of what I want and who I want to be.

When I’m close enough to touch him, I stop.

“You complete disaster of a human being,” I say, and my voice cracks on the words.

Then I kiss him.

I kiss him like my life depends on it, like he’s the air I need to breathe. I bury my hands in his hair and pour everything I’vebeen feeling into that kiss. All the love and pain and hope and fear and desperate, overwhelming relief.

The audience erupts. People are screaming and cheering and crying. Even Rich looks like he’s tearing up.

When we finally break apart, Ryan cups my face in his hands.

“I love you, too,” I whisper, just loud enough for him to hear. “I’ve always loved you.”

He grins, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. “Let’s get out of here.”

I nod, still crying, still smiling, still not quite able to believe this is real.

As we walk toward the exit hand in hand, I can hear the chaos behind us. Producers rushing to figure out how to salvage the show. Cameras trying to follow us. Rich attempting to wrap up the taping.

But none of it matters anymore.

Because Ryan chose me. Really chose me. Not because he was supposed to, not because it made good television, but because he loves me.

And I finally believe it.

It was never fake. None of it was fake.

We don’t need the show. We just need each other.

forty-six

WREN

The door clicks shutbehind us.

I think about the first day I walked into work. Oversized tee. Scuffed Chucks. Shy, uncertain voice. Invisible.

Now I’m center stage, and I’m not shrinking from the spotlight.

And the reason is this man standing in front of me.

Ryan turns the lock, not because we need security but because I think he wants to keep the outside world out for just a little while longer. The silence hits me immediately, loud in its own way after all the chaos of the finale. I can still hear the buzz of voices and cameras through the walls, producers probably scrambling to figure out what the hell just happened, but it feels far away now.

We just stand there for a moment, breathing. Both of us coming down from whatever that was. My heart is still racing from the kiss, from his declaration, from the way the entire audience erupted when I walked into his arms.

Ryan finally breaks the silence.

“Well, that was dramatic.” He rubs a hand down his face. I can see him trying to process everything that just happened. The adrenaline is still coursing through both of us.

I cross my arms and smirk at him, even though I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of this. “What, you didn’t love making TV history?”

He grins back. “I think I just earned myself the ultimate villain-to-lover redemption arc.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to see what Reddit has to say about all of this.”