Risky Return by Nicole Helm

Author:Nicole Helm
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: revenge, blackmailed, married, reunited lovers, high school sweethearts
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC (Indulgence)
Published: 2014-03-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Ryan walked into his house, Celia trudging behind him. He hadn’t said anything in the car, hadn’t let himself unleash the kind of anger brewing inside him on Celia when she was obviously already at the end of her rope. She didn’t deserve his anger when it wasn’t geared at her. It was for Cathy. For his father. For himself, sure, but not her.

She’d looked so much like beaten-down, beaten-up, scared-and-alone CeeCee. And he was teenager Ry. The pathetic kid who’d never really done anything for her.

In fact, he’d made everything worse. Well, his father had. What else was new there?

“Say something.” Celia looked at him, imploring, desperate. “Please say something.”

“What do you want me to say?”

She walked away, circling his couch, stopping in the kitchen. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I…I need help.”

It was tempting to give her that. To set her down and put together a plan where they’d both get what they wanted, but for what? It didn’t do anything for them when they’d loved each other, why would it do anything now?

“Eventually, she’s going to run me dry.” Celia gripped the edge of the table. “I’m not sure I can keep up.”

“And for what? So you can get the roles you want? You’re going to give her that much money just so people don’t send you the wrong kinds of scripts?” He couldn’t understand it. No matter what she’d dreamed, no matter what she wanted to forget, how could she be giving that much money to Cathy?

“You don’t get it.”

“So explain it to me.”

“What does it matter, Ryan? What does any of this matter? I’ve lost. You heard her. What I really am? It’s not just about money anymore. I…can’t fight that. I can only put it off for a little longer.” The last words broke and he tried not to feel her pain along with his own.

It was a valid question. What did it matter? But it did. She did. He cared for the woman he’d once been in love with and for the woman who’d come back here, guns blazing. She’d gone after what she wanted and succeeded beyond anything most people even dreamed was possible. This woman in front of him now wasn’t the girl he’d loved back then. But there was still…something there.

He could keep pretending it was old feelings causing this concern, this want to protect, but there was something about the woman now, underneath the Celia Grant lie, that he very much couldn’t get out of his head.

“I’m falling apart here. I need… I’ve done a few days filming. We can ask Vivvy if that’s enough. I can’t be here anymore.” She fisted a hand at her heart. “This is my nightmare. Worse than back then.”

“How could anything be worse than then?”

“I didn’t have a choice then.” She took a deep, shaky breath. “It was terrible. Worse because he physically hurt me, but…but, I didn’t have anywhere to go or any way to escape. It was the worst, but it was out of my hands.

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