Chapter 2

I sat on our bed, the condom wrappers clutched in my fist as I waited for Ryan to emerge from the bathroom. The sound of him humming some upbeat tune while towel-drying his hair made my stomach twist. How could he be so carefree while systematically destroying everything we'd built?

When he finally stepped into our bedroom, bare-chested with a towel around his waist, I couldn't hold back anymore.

"I found these," I said, my voice surprisingly steady as I uncurled my fingers to reveal the damning evidence.

Ryan froze, water droplets still clinging to his shoulders. For a split second, panic flashed across his face before it smoothed into practiced nonchalance.

"Where did you get those?" he asked, his tone casual as he turned away to pull on a t-shirt.

"Your gym bag." I stood up, the wrappers falling to the floor between us like fallen leaves. "We don't use condoms, Ryan. We haven't since my surgery."

He didn't respond immediately, busying himself with getting dressed. The silence stretched between us, heavy with three years of sacrifices and broken promises.

"Are you sleeping with her?" I finally asked, my voice cracking. "With Sergeant Hayes?"

"You're being paranoid, Maddie," he said, not even bothering to look at me. "Those are probably old."

"I saw you today." The words tumbled out before I could stop them. "At the equipment shed during the exercise. I saw you kissing her."

Ryan's shoulders tensed, but he still wouldn't face me. "You're stressed about midterms. You're seeing things that aren't there."

Something inside me snapped. I grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn around. "Don't you dare gaslight me!"

With trembling fingers, I yanked up my shirt, exposing the three jagged scars that marred my abdomen – permanent reminders of the night I'd nearly died for him.

"I took three knife wounds for you," I said, my voice low and shaking. "I can't have children because of what I did for you. I work three jobs to put you through school while you're out there fucking your instructor, and you have the audacity to tell me I'm being paranoid?"

Ryan's eyes flickered to my scars, then away. There was no remorse there, only irritation at being confronted.

"What do you want me to say, Madison?" he asked coldly. "That I should be grateful forever because you decided to play hero? That I owe you my entire life because of one night?"

His words hit me like physical blows. I let my shirt fall, covering the scars that suddenly felt like badges of foolishness rather than courage.

"I never asked for your sacrifice," he continued, his voice softer but somehow more cruel. "I never asked you to save me."

Tears streamed down my face as the full reality of our relationship crystallized before me. The man I loved – the man I had bled for – had never valued what I'd given him. Had I been blind all this time, or had he changed?

I turned away, unable to look at him anymore. As I wiped my tears, a plan began forming in my mind. If words couldn't reach him, perhaps consequences would.

For the next three days, I moved through our apartment like a ghost, barely speaking to Ryan, who seemed relieved by my silence. I spent my evenings researching transfer programs while he was at "study sessions" that I no longer believed in.

On the fourth day, I waited until he was rushing out the door for morning training.

"Ryan, I need your signature on these student loan forms before you go," I called, holding out a stack of official-looking documents. "They're due by noon."

"Now? I'm already late," he grumbled, glancing at his watch.

"It'll take thirty seconds," I insisted, offering him a pen. "Just sign where I've marked. It's the same paperwork as always."

He sighed dramatically, taking the pen and scrawling his signature across the highlighted lines without even glancing at what he was signing – documents that would legally release me from my four-year financial commitment to his education.

"Thanks," I said, my voice neutral as I collected the papers. "Have a good day."

Ryan nodded absently, already halfway out the door, completely unaware that he had just signed away the safety net he'd taken for granted for so long.

As the door closed behind him, I carefully filed the documents in my folder labeled "Oxford Application." For the first time in years, I felt something other than love or pain when thinking about Ryan Mitchell.

I felt free.