“Oh my God, Ryan, you killed her mother.” She pauses for a second shaking her head. “You killed her mother and built this giant lie. You made her believe….you made us all believe….she was some drug dealer. She will never come around.”
“Kate if you talk to her she’ll––”
Kate looks at Ryan like he must be out of his mind. “If I talk to who? You killed their Mother, and now you expect me to fix it?”
“Kate, all I’m saying is you can–“
Kate cuts him off with the most puzzling look. “Ryan, who are you? I don't even know you. I can’t stand to look at you.”
“I love you, Kate. We’ll go to counseling. We’ll work through it.”
Kate has heard enough. “Get out Ryan,” she yells pointing at the side gate.
“Kate––”
“No Ryan, you’ve got to go. I can’t be around you right now. When I look at you, I see something so evil.”
Trying to keep the conversation going, Ryan takes a step forward and says, “Kate, you don’t mean what you’re saying. You’re just upset right now.”
Kate steps back, raises her hand, and shouts, “Ryan, if you don’t leave I’m going to call the police. I swear to God, I’ll call the police and tell them everything.”
Ryan slowly gets up and puts the chair back against the fence. He somehow hopes that Kate will be reasonable, have a change of heart, and talk things through. Instead, she walks back inside. Ryan walks out the side gate without going through the house.
.
– CHAPTER 37 –
H ope needs time to calm down. Ryan waits a week before calling her. The call rings several times and goes to her voicemail. Over the next couple of weeks Ryan calls again and again, but the call always goes to voicemail. Eventually, he builds up the courage to text:
Hope Brunick
-----------------------------------------------------------
Today, 6:17 p.m.
Hope, I love you. We need to talk. I want to come visit you.
Immediately he receives a text back:
Hope Brunick
-----------------------------------------------------------
Today, 6:19 p.m.
I have nothing to say to you. If you come I’ll be gone.
Ryan hasn’t spoken to Grace since the day she left his house. He calls her cell phone, and he’s relieved when she answers the call on the first ring.
“Hello,” she says.
“Hello Grace….it’s your dad.”
“I know,” she answers with complete indifference.
“I’m sure you know about everything,” Ryan begins.
“So it’s all true?”
“I’m sorry Grace. I’m sorry for everything.”
Grace always has a way of cutting right through the bull, and this is no different. “I need to hear it from you. Is it all true?”
It does Ryan no good to deny it all. “Yes,” he admits.
“Dad, I’ve spent my whole life thinking she left us. When she missed my graduation from high school, missed my graduation from college – I was so hurt.”
“I know,” Ryan says.
“Remember when Colt died, and I looked her up? You told me this long story about how she was making bad decisions….about her getting caught selling drugs.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Ryan says.
“I actually thought she was a drug dealer. She missed the birth of Bonnie!” Grace yells into the phone.
“Grace, you were older. Don’t you remember how things were back then? How she’d always leave you alone? How she’d always leave you to babysit so she could go out? Remember how many times Colt ran away to come to my house? Remember the––”
“Stop it Dad,” Grace screams. “Don’t tell me this shit about how you did it for us. She was our mother.”
“Grace, I’m not trying to make excuses. What I did was wrong, but you have to remember how bad things were.”
Grace scolds him. “For someone who’s not trying to make excuses, you’re doing a damn good job of it.”
“Grace, I can’t undo what I’ve already done. I tried. Trust me…I tried. If I could go back––”
“What the hell do you mean you tried? You were the one who put her there. All you had to do was turn yourself in. Go to that Thai judge, and tell him the truth. Don’t give me this crap about how you tried.”
There’s no use trying to argue with Grace. Instead, Ryan says, “What can I do to make it right, Grace? Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”
“You can’t do anything – she’s dead!”
“I never wanted that. All I wanted was to ––“
Grace has never so much as raised her voice to her dad, but it all keeps coming. “Who are you? You taught us to be honest. Remember? You taught us to always tell the truth. The truth….do you remember the importance of the truth? Now I find out my whole life has been a lie.”
“Your life hasn’t been a lie,” Ryan says.
“You’re right! Your life has been a lie,” Grace yells.
“It all got out of hand,” Ryan tries to explain.
“Stop it Dad. It wasn’t some mistake. You did it. You planned it. Hope is right, you killed our mom.”
“Can you forgive me?” Ryan asks.
“Some things you can’t forgive,” Grace says.
“Okay, don’t forgive…but we’re a family. Bonnie needs her grandfather.”
“Bonnie needed her grandmother too, but you took that from her, didn’t you? Now she’ll never know her real grandma.”
Nothing Ryan can say makes any difference. If anything, it’s only making things worse. The best thing he can do now is let everything sit for a while. Maybe she just needs more time
“I’ll talk to you later,” Ryan says.
“Goodbye,” Grace responds with such indignance.
“I love you, Grace,” Ryan says.
Grace hangs up the phone without responding.
.
– CHAPTER 38 –
T wo weeks after staying at the Hilton, Ryan moves to an Extended Stay America. Kate has all his clothes, his books, and all his personal belongings delivered to his new address. Ryan considers renting an apartment, but getting his own apartment is so permanent – and this isn’t permanent.
As the weeks go by, Kate wants to talk less and less. Now they barely talk at all. She finally agrees to meet with Ryan to talk about everything but not at the house. It has to be in a public place. Ryan invites her to come to his office, but that was a nonstarter. They agree to meet at the Hilton restaurant and bar.
Ryan arrives ten minutes early, and Kate isn’t there yet. He’s been at this place hundreds of times, but now it seems so cold. He picks a table out of the way so they can talk freely. It’s Ryan’s hope that he can put everything back together again and come back home. This may be his last chance.
After thirty minutes, Ryan starts to wonder if she decided not to come. He sends her a text to make sure she’s on her way right as she walks up to the table.
Ryan, like a gentleman, stands up from the table and pulls out her chair. “How you been Kate? You look beautiful.” he starts.
“Things haven’t been easy for me,” Kate says. “I haven’t lived alone since I was in college.”
This is exactly what Ryan wants to hear. He waits until Kate is seated and reaches across the table for her hand. “Things have been hard for me too. I miss you, Kate.”
Kate maintains the distance between them. Any warmth Ryan was feeling freezes almost immediately. “Ryan, I agreed to meet with you so we can talk. We need to sort things out.”
“What do you mean?” Ryan asks.
“I went to a lawyer.”
These are the words Ryan feared the most. “Who?” he asks.
“It doesn’t matter who.”
“Who did you see?” Ryan repeats.
Ignoring his question, Kate says, “I’m going to file for divorce.”
Ryan reaches out and takes her hand. “Don’t do this Kate. I know we can work through this.”
Kate shakes her head and firmly says, “There’s no working through this.”
“Kate, we have a great marriage. We don’t need to divorce.”
“Ryan I can’t. I can’t even stand to look at you.”
“I’ve always treated you right.”
“Ryan, you’re not the man I thought you were. I’m scared of you.
“Kate….please…..I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
“Now!” Kate yells and then looks around the restaurant in embarrassment. A couple two tables away looks over before returning to their meal. In a much quieter tone she says, “What happens when you don’t love me anymore? Will I find myself locked up in some prison somewhere?”
“God no,” Ryan says trying to ease her concern.
“I don't trust you, Ryan. I’ll never trust you again.”
“It’ll come back. Just give it some time, and it will come back.”
“You really don’t know what you’ve done, do you? You act like everything will magically go away somehow. What you did is evil – you’re evil.”
“I’m not evil Kate. I just lost my mind. I was going crazy. I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“I don’t believe it. There has to be something inside you – something deep inside you that is pure evil. How else can you do this to another person?”
“You don’t know Kate. I see it all the time. People go through a divorce and lose their wife, their children, their home––everything. Then they have to pay this person every month? After it’s all over they find out it was true all along – she was screwing another man? It’s just too much. It can cause a good person to do a terrible thing.”
Kate looks away while he’s talking. When he’s finished saying his little spiel, she turns back and says, “I don’t know what to tell you, Ryan. Men go through it all the time. They don’t lock their wife up in some hellhole. I looked into those Thai prisons. They’re a hellhole. Just reading what you did to your wife made me sick.”
“Please, Kate….I beg you,” Ryan pleads.
“Ryan stop! My lawyer has a proposal for you to sign. I get everything – the house, my car, all the money in our accounts, the stocks and bonds, our rental homes, our home in Florida – everything.”
This is ludicrous. Ryan takes a deep breath and says, “I’ll never sign that.”
“Let me finish,” Kate demands. “You give me everything, and I go away forever. No one will ever know what you’ve done.”
“You can’t do this,” Ryan says raising his voice for the first time.
“Ryan, I will destroy you,” Kate says with a face that makes clear she means exactly what she’s saying. “My lawyer says you’ll lose your law license. You’ll be lucky if you don’t go to prison for the rest of your life.”
“You can’t do this to me. The house is mine. I bought it when I sold the house I had before we met. You can’t take that. It’s legally mine.”
“Fine,” Kate says gathering her purse before getting up to leave. She stands up, points at his chest and says, “You want to talk legal, we can talk legal. I’ll file for divorce and sign an affidavit saying exactly what you did. How’s that for legal?”
Ryan holds her in place. “Please Kate…sit back down. I beg you.”
Kate sits back down in her chair and leans a little closer. “Ryan, you have a choice. You can sign the papers and go on with your life. Go to church every Sunday like the saint everyone thinks you are. Teach your fucking marriage class.”
Ryan has never heard her use that word in all the years he’s known her. “Kate please,” he begs again.
“No one will ever know. I’ll sign whatever you want. You get your car and your law office – that's it. This is all just money. You’re the great Ryan Brunick. You’ll have it all back in no time.”
“What about my kids?”
“That’s the only reason I’m doing this. They’re good kids. They’re innocent. I don’t want to hurt them. They don't deserve to lose both their parents. They don't deserve to have their name drug through the mud.”
“Then don’t do this,” Ryan says with the most sympathetic face he can muster.
“All you think about is yourself. Look at what you did to me. I had a life. I loved you. I love your children as much as I love Ben. Bonnie was my grandbaby. I lose it all.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way. We can––“
“Stop Ryan. Your kids love you. With time I’m sure you’ll find a way to make them forget. You’ll probably find some way to convince them it was all Faith’s fault, and you’re actually the victim. Isn’t that what you do?”
“Kate this is their inheritance. Hope is in school.”
Kate thinks about it for a second and says, “Grace will be fine. I’ll tell the lawyer to create a trust for Hope. I’ll put $100,000 in the trust to pay for Hope’s school and give her some money to start her life. By that time you’ll be back on your feet.”
Ryan turns away, and tries to process this bombshell she just dropped on him. This is lower than he ever thought Kate would stoop. Even Faith didn’t take everything, but Faith didn't have the leverage Kate now has. Ryan stares away without saying a word. Kate can’t help but wonder what is running through his mind. Finally he turns back and, sounding completely broken, he offers her everything – well almost everything.
“Kate, if you want out…..if you really want out then I’ll let you go. I’ll give you everything. You can have it all, but you can’t take my house. The house is mine. I bought it for my family.”
Ryan thought Kate would jump on his offer so fast it’d make your head spin. She didn't come from money and this is more than she’ll ever see in her lifetime. Instead, she doesn’t jump at all. She doesn't even flinch. She looks right at him and says, “Ryan, while you were at the courthouse I was busy making our house a home. All the furniture, the decorations, the kitchen, the yard, the garden….it was all me. The house means––“
There was once a time when Ryan argued with Faith about things like furnishing and decorating their house. He didn't want to make the same mistake twice so he left it all to Kate. Now it gets thrown back in my face? Ryan’s heard enough. He cuts her off and says, “Kate, you should know me by now. Take my offer and walk away a rich woman. All I want is my house.”
“Ryan, don’t try to scare––“
“Do you understand?” Ryan interrupts. “No matter what it takes or what it costs me, I’m keeping my house. Take my offer. I’ll never offer it again.”
Kate knows she’s holding four aces and Ryan is simply bluffing. Her lawyer told her not to argue or negotiate. Above all, don’t be bullied. She reaches in her handbag and pulls out a brown envelope with nothing written on the front. Showing none of the fear that’s raging inside of her, she slowly slides the envelope across the table and says, “Ryan. I need an answer. If you don’t sign these papers within thirty days, my lawyer’s going to file them.”
She gets up and walks away. Ryan opens the envelope, takes out the four-page agreement, and reads every word. It’s exactly what she said, and it’s marked “non-negotiable.”
He sits in his chair for several minutes, watching as people walk all around him going about their normal lives. No, it’s business as usual for the rest of the world. The waitress returns and asks, “Can I get you anything else, Mr. Brunick?”
“What?” he asks politely.
“Do you need anything else?” she repeats.
“Just the check,” he says. “I’ve got to get out of here.”
– CHAPTER 39 –
O ver the next two weeks Ryan calls Hope again and again, but each time he calls it goes to voicemail. Ryan leaves several messages telling Hope how much he loves her and needs to talk to her. Hope never returns his calls.
.
– CHAPTER 40 –
O ver the next two weeks Ryan calls Grace
again and again, but each time he calls it goes to voicemail. Ryan leaves several messages telling Grace how much he loves her and loves Bonnie and needs to talk to them. Grace never returns his calls.
. .
– CHAPTER 41 –
O ver the next two weeks Ryan calls Kate again and again, but each time he calls it goes to voicemail. Ryan leaves several messages telling Kate how much he loves her and needs to talk to her. Almost two weeks later Ryan is surprised when Kate returns his call.
“Kate!” Ryan says surprised by her call.
“Hello Ryan,” she says. It’s hard to be sure, but it sounds like she’s calmed down quite a bit. Maybe she thought things through and she’s having second thoughts about all this divorce business.
“Kate, I’ve thought about everything you said the other day. You’re right. You have every reason to be upset. I don’t blame you for hating me right now. I just wish you could remember all the good times we’ve had together. I know you love my kids, and love Bonnie. I love Ben just as much. He needs a father. I want you to know I’ll do anything to win your trust back again. We don’t need to do anything right now. Please give it some time before you do anything permanent.”
“Ryan, how can I ever trust you again?” Kate asks like she really wants to find a way though this.
“I’ve never done anything to hurt you. I will never do anything to hurt you,” Ryan assures her.
“Ryan, you killed your first wife. You planted drugs in her suitcase so she’d be locked up in a Thai prison.”
“I know Kate. It was stupid. It was wrong. I wish I could take it back, but I can’t. Can you please give me one more chance?”
“Ryan, I have to let you go,” Kate says.
“Kate, all I’m asking––“
Click
“Kate?…..Kate?”
.
The Beginning of Hope: The Highly Anticipated, Mind-Blowing Sequel to the Killing of Faith (The Killing of Faith Series Book 2) Page 21