PART 19:

Victoria tried, failed. Try it again. Ryan grinned. CEO of a billion-doll company, defeated by pasta sauce. This is why I have assistance. Well, your assistant isn’t here. Keep trying. Victoria finally got it open, feeling absurdly proud of herself. Ryan bumped her shoulder with his, a brief moment of casual affection that felt monumental.

They ate dinner at the table that wobbled. Emma talked non-stop about the aquarium, about how Chester the squirrel had loved it, about how her friend Mia was going to be so jealous. After dinner, Emma’s energy crashed completely. She barely made it through one chapter of her book before falling asleep. Ryan carried her to bed.

When he came back, Victoria was washing dishes. You don’t have to do that, he said. I want to help. You helped all day. You showed up at 7:20 in the morning, spent 6 hours with hyperactive kids, and didn’t complain once. I wasn’t complaining. I actually had fun. Ryan leaned against the counter. Can I ask you something? Anything.

What’s your actual life like? The CEO. What does a normal day look like for you? Victoria thought about it. Meetings, mostly. video calls with investors, strategy sessions, putting out fires, making decisions that affect thousands of people. She rinsed a plate. It’s a lot of pressure. I’m good at it, but it’s exhausting.

I usually work 12-hour days, weekends, too, sometimes. That sounds lonely. It is. That’s why I started testing people. I had all this success, but nobody to share it with. Everyone in my life either wanted something from me or worked for me or was intimidated by me. And you thought pretending to be poor would solve that? I thought it would help me find someone who saw me as a person instead of a resource, which it did, actually. I found you.

She turned to face him. But I went about it the wrong way. I should have been honest from the start. Trusted you to see me for who I was instead of hiding behind someone I wasn’t. Ryan was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, “I looked you up after you told me. Read about your company, your accomplishments.

You built something incredible. Thank you. But but what struck me most was this interview you did about 3 years ago. The interviewer asked what you wanted most in life. And you know what you said? Victoria shook her head. You said you wanted to matter to someone. Not as a CEO or a business partner or an investment opportunity, just as yourself. You moved closer.

That’s what I can’t reconcile. How someone so desperate to matter to someone could lie to them for 3 months. Victoria felt the words hit like a punch. You’re right. It doesn’t make sense. I was so scared of being hurt that I hurt you instead. And I hate that. I hate that I became the kind of person who would do that.

So don’t be that person anymore. I’m trying. I know. That’s why I haven’t completely written us off. Ryan ran a hand through his hair. I’m not going to lie and say I’m over it. I’m not. Every time I look at you, part of me remembers that you lied to my face for months. But another part remembers how good it felt when you were here.

How Emma lit up when you walked in. How I felt less alone. I want to make this work. Whatever it takes. Even if it means being honest when honesty is scary. Even if it means letting me see the messy parts of you, not just the polished CEO or the fake struggling office worker. Yes. Even then, Ryan studied her face like he was trying to read the truth there.

“Okay, then let’s try. Really try. No more games, no more tests, just us figuring out if we can build something real.” “Just us,” Victoria agreed. He kissed her then. Soft and tentative, like he was testing whether this could still work. Victoria kissed him back, and it felt different than before, more honest, more fragile, more more real.

When they pulled apart, Ryan rested his forehead against hers. “This is going to be complicated,” he said. “I know. You have a company to run. I have a kid to raise. Our lives are completely different. We’ll figure it out. Promise me something. Anything. Promise me that if it gets too hard, if you realize you can’t do this, you’ll tell me.

Don’t just disappear. Don’t make up excuses. Just be honest. I promise. And promise me you’ll be honest with Emma. She’s been through enough. She deserves the truth. I will. I promise. Ryan kissed her forehead. Okay, then. Let’s see where this goes. The next few weeks were an education in what real looked like. Victoria started splitting her time between her penthouse and Ryan’s apartment.

She learned to navigate Emma’s moods and Ryan’s protectiveness. She attended parent teacher conferences and school plays and did homework duty while Ryan worked late at the garage. She also started being honest about her real life. Told Ryan about board meetings that stressed her out, about difficult investors, about the pressure of running a company at 30.

Ryan told her about the garage struggling financially, about customers who couldn’t pay, about the fear that he wouldn’t be able to provide for Emma the way she deserved. Victoria offered to help. Ryan refused. I need to do this myself, he said. Why? if I can help because I need to know that what we have isn’t built on you solving all my problems.

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