Special Chapter!!!

The same night

°°°

R Y A N

I don't know why I feel this way. I didn't plan it. I didn't even think I could care for her again, not like this. But as I walk toward Ryza's house, I feel a strange mix of sympathy and anger swirling in my gut.

Sarah chooses Noah. That's the truth.

I don't owe Ryza anything, and yet, here I am, checking up on her. I've never been the type to be concerned about someone like her, someone who's always been so controlled, so calculated.

But after everything that's happened between her and Noah, I can't shake the thought that maybe she needs help. Maybe she needs someone who sees beyond the mask she wears.

The door creaks open when I knock, and Ryza stands there in a plain outfit, no expensive designer clothes, no fancy makeup or overdone jewelry. She looks different today, almost like she's let go of that persona she's built up, even if just for a moment.

"Ryan," she says, her voice quieter than usual. "What are you doing here?"

I step inside without waiting for an invitation. I'm not sure why I'm here. Maybe I want to know if she's okay, or maybe I just want to put everything behind us. I'm tired of feeling like I'm stuck in this never-ending cycle of jealousy and rage.

I need closure.

I understand her now, the feeling when the one you love chooses someone else.

Damn, it hurts.

Ryza needs help, and so do I.

"Just wanted to see how you're doing," I say, though I know it sounds empty. She hasn't exactly been kind to me in the past, and I haven't been any better to her.

She crosses her arms over her chest, still standing by the door. "You seem a little too concerned for someone who's barely acknowledged my existence in the past."

"Things have changed," I reply. I meet her eyes, and for the first time in a long while, I see the cracks in her armor. It's a look I haven't seen before, not from her.

She tilts her head, her lips twisting into a smirk that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "You're here for some reason. You're not just here to be the big brother who comes to 'check up' on me."

I take a deep breath. She's right, but it's not just about her. It's about Noah, about Sarah, about everything that's happened.

"I'm here because I can walk away, Ryza. I can walk away from someone I've loved for five years, just like that. And you should, too."

Her face hardens at the mention of Noah. I can see the pride in her eyes, but also something else, something darker. She bites her lip, staring at the floor for a moment as though the words I've said have struck a nerve.

"I don't need advice from you," she snaps, but there's an edge of vulnerability in her voice, something she's trying to hide.

She doesn't say anything more, and for a moment, the silence between us stretches on, thick and uncomfortable.

I step closer, making her meet my gaze again. "Ryza, stop pretending. Stop pretending like you're this devilish woman who has everything under control. I'm done with that game. You're not her, and you never were."

She blinks, caught off guard by my words. For the first time, I see her mask slip away, if only for a second. "What do you want from me, Ryan?" she asks quietly, her voice cracking.

I can't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her. I didn't expect to feel anything, but here I am feeling sorry for someone who's always been so cold. "I want you to be honest with yourself. I want you to tell me the truth. What do you really want?"

She looks away, her fingers nervously playing with the hem of her sleeve. After a long silence, she finally speaks, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I want him. Noah. He's the only one who's ever given me anything. He's the one who gave me everything I asked for. I want him because...He is my only family. I don't have anyone else."

I feel a weight settle in my chest. She's not the villain I've made her out to be. She's just someone who's afraid-afraid of being alone, afraid of losing the only person who ever cared about her.

"You're scared," I say softly, almost to myself. "You're scared to lose him, scared to lose control. That's why you're doing everything you can to keep him."

Her eyes flash with anger, but I can see the pain there too. She tries to speak, to defend herself, but her words falter. "I'm not scared. I'm just... I'm just trying to make sure no one else gets to him."

I nod, understanding more than I want to admit. "That's what this is about, isn't it? You're scared of losing Noah, scared that he'll move on. You're trying to control him because that's all you have left."

She doesn't answer, but the tears in her eyes tell me everything I need to know.

"But you can't control him, Ryza," I continue, my voice low and steady. "And you can't keep doing this to yourself. He's never going to be what you want him to be. He doesn't love you the way you want him to. He's already chosen Sarah."

Just like Sarah chooses him over me.

I can see the anger bubbling up inside her, and for a moment, I think she might lash out at me. But she doesn't. Instead, she stares at me, her expression unreadable.

"You think I don't know that?" she says, her voice raw. "You think I don't see it? I know he doesn't love me. But I can't let go of him. I can't just walk away from everything I've built, everything he's given me."

My heart aches for her, but I know what I have to do. "You have to let go, Ryza. For your own sake, you have to let him go. Let Sarah and Noah be happy. You have to move on."

She shakes her head, tears streaming down her face. "I can't. I can't do that."

"You can," I insist, stepping closer to her. "You have to. If you want to find peace, if you want to stop this endless cycle of destruction, you have to move on."

She looks at me, her eyes filled with pain, confusion, and something else, regret, maybe. "And what about you, Ryan? What about you? How do I move on from someone who has been the only one who's ever been there for me? How do I forget that?"

I sigh, shaking my head. "You deserve better than Noah. You deserve someone who will love you the way you need to be loved. Not someone who's just a rebound. You can't keep holding onto someone who's never going to be yours."

She stares at me for a long time, the silence between us almost deafening. Finally, she speaks again, her voice breaking. "I don't know if I can do that."

"You can," I say, my voice firm. "But you have to want to. You have to let go. For yourself."

She's quiet for a moment before she nods slowly, like she's finally understanding. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I have to let him go. But it's hard."

"I know," I say softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But you can do it. You deserve to be happy, Ryza. You don't need Noah to do that. You need to find yourself first."

And for the first time, I see something different in her eyes, hope, or maybe the beginning of it. It's a small thing, but it's enough. Enough to make me believe that she can let go of Noah.

And maybe, she can finally find peace.

I need Sarah to be happy. For that, Ryza has to move on.

Ryza doesn't deserve this too.

I sit across from Ryza. My mind is a mess, swirling with conflicting emotions. I'm here because I need to understand her, because I want to help her. Help her move on, help her find peace.

It's strange, this sudden surge of pity I feel for her, this realization that maybe she's more broken than I ever imagined. She's sitting across from me, her legs crossed, her eyes sharp but distant, as if she's guarding some secret she's not ready to share.

I want to understand her, how she got to this point, why she does the things she does. I have to know.

"You've been keeping a lot from me," I start, my voice quieter than I expected. The words come out heavier than I intended. She looks at me but doesn't answer.

I push on, needing to know. "Why, Ryza? Why this... obsession with Noah? What is it about him that you can't let go of?"

She tilts her head, but I can see the shift in her expression. There's a quiet sadness behind her gaze, something I didn't expect. "You wouldn't understand," she mutters. "It's not like that."

I lean forward, my voice soft but firm. "Try me."

She stays quiet for a long moment, and I wonder if she's going to shut me out again. But then, like the cracking of ice, she starts to speak, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't have anyone else," she says, the words slipping out like a confession. "No family. No one who cares. Noah... he's the only one who's ever given me anything, Ryan. He gave me everything I ever wanted."

She pauses.

"And I took it, because I needed it. But when I thought he was slipping away... when I thought he'd move on from me... I couldn't handle it. I didn't know what to do."

I feel a pang of understanding, something soft inside me, but I don't let myself give in to the sympathy just yet. Not when I know what she's capable of.

"So you controlled him," I say, my words sharper now. "You pushed him. You made him feel like he couldn't breathe. You tried to lock him in a cage of your own making."

Ryza doesn't flinch. Her eyes lock onto mine, and I see the rawness there, the vulnerability she's hidden so well. "I didn't know what else to do," she admits, her voice cracking.

"I was scared, Ryan. Scared that if I didn't keep control of him, he'd slip through my fingers. Scared that I'd lose him, and I'd be alone again."

There it is. The truth she's been hiding behind the façade of power and manipulation. She's terrified. I feel a wave of pity for her that I can't ignore. It's not that I agree with her actions, but I understand them.

The fear of abandonment, the need to control, the desperation to keep the one person who ever gave a damn about her.

"But pushing him wasn't the answer," I say quietly, trying to make her see the reality of what she's done. "You hurt him, Ryza. You hurt him, and it made things worse, not better."

She shakes her head, her voice becoming quieter. "You don't understand. I pushed him so hard to the point where he hit me, slapped me. And it... it broke me. But it was all my fault. I made him do it. I made him angry."

My gut tightens. I've heard about it. I've heard about the argument, about how Noah lost control in that moment. But hearing Ryza admit it, it hits me differently.

The way she says it, like she's almost ashamed, like she knows she's responsible for what happened. I swallow hard, feeling the weight of everything she's done.

"And then what?" I ask, my voice almost a whisper now.

Her eyes darken, and I can see the coldness creeping back into her expression. "I couldn't let it go. I couldn't let him be free. I couldn't let him move on. So I did what I had to."

I know what you are talking about, Ryza.

"I took the footage he slapped me from the CCTV and made it viral. I had to make sure no other girl would come near him, no one else would ever think they could take him from me."

My chest tightens as the realization hits me. "You made that video go viral because you wanted to control him. You wanted to make sure no one would love him the way you did."

Her eyes flicker, and for a moment, I see the regret in her expression. But it's fleeting, gone as quickly as it appeared. "He doesn't belong to anyone but me," she says, her voice cold now, almost defensive. "And I'll make sure he never forgets that."

I let out a slow breath, feeling the weight of her words settle in. It makes sense, in a twisted way. She's not just controlling him because she wants to; she's doing it because she's terrified of being left alone again.

She's using whatever she can to keep him in her grasp. But that's not love. That's fear. And fear never works in the long run.

"Ryza," I say, my voice softening. "You're killing yourself with this. And you're killing him too. You can't keep doing this to yourself, to him. You need to let go."

She looks away, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "I don't know how to let go," she admits, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know how to stop."

"You have to try," I urge, my heart heavy. "You have to let him go. For your sake. For both of you."

She looks at me, her eyes full of confusion and hurt. "What if I can't? What if I don't want to?"

I pause, feeling my own heart ache for her. "Then you're just going to keep hurting yourself, Ryza. And Noah. And Sarah. And me. Is that really what you want?"

She bites her lip, clearly torn, but there's something shifting in her eyes, a crack in the armor she's been wearing for so long. I don't know if she'll do it, if she'll really let go. But I know that this is the first step.

"I want Sarah to be happy," I say, my voice firm. "And Noah too. But I can't do that if you keep holding onto him. You need to move on. For all of our sakes."

She's quiet for a long time, and I wonder if she's hearing me, or if it's just more noise in her head. But I know she's processing, slowly but surely.

She whispers, her voice so soft it's almost a breath. "I'll try."

It's not much. But it's a start.