I let out one last sigh and turned away from the nervous girl in the reflection. Ryan would be here at any minute, and I needed to be ready to face him. The doorbell rang, and I slipped a soft cardigan over my floral dress. The guys turned down the temperature much colder than I would have preferred, and I needed the layers to prevent me from turning into a popsicle. I gathered up my courage and walked out of my room and into the common area of the suite I was sharing with the guys.
“Katya!” Ryan said in surprise as soon as he saw me. Only it wasn’t in a good way - it was more of an ‘oh, shit’ moment. He took a step back from me as I walked towards him, and I frowned.
“Ryan, I know you asked me for space, but I really to see you,” I pleaded.
Ryan swallowed nervously and attempted to hide the envelope he was holding under one arm. Of course, that just brought to my attention that he was trying to hide something from me.
“What’s that?” I asked suspiciously.
Ryan’s eyes widened in alarm, and I lunged forward to try and snatch it from him. Ryan twisted away, but I wasn’t a stranger to having to tackle him to the ground. We went down in a tangle of limbs, and Kingston laughed.
“She’s going to find out eventually - you might as well just tell her,” Maverik said in exasperation.
I took the second of distraction Maverik offered and managed to get my hands on the envelope. Ryan still held on tight to the other side.
“Katya,” he panted. “Give me a chance to explain.”
I didn’t loosen my grip as Maverik reached down and attempted to pull me off of Ryan. “A little help here,” he grunted at Kingston.
Kingston just laughed. “Nah, I wanna see you get taken down by a ballerina in a dress.”
Maverik lifted me up, but Ryan and I were still attached by the envelope.
“Let go!” I told Ryan through gritted teeth.
“You’re being ridiculous right now,” he grimaced as his grip started slipping.
Maverik twisted, and I managed to rip the envelope out of Ryan’s hands.
“You can put me down now,” I informed Maverik triumphantly.
Ryan got up slowly and brushed himself off before edging toward the door.
“Nope,” Kingston said cheerfully as he cut off Ryan’s escape route. “We didn’t come all this way for nothing.”
Ryan’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “What have they told you so far?” he asked me quietly.
I shrugged. “I’d like to hear your side of the story.”
I hated that it seemed like Maverik hadn’t been lying, because Ryan was sure acting like he had betrayed me right now.
Ryan looked down at the ground to gather his thoughts, so I took the opportunity to tear open the envelope. It took me a minute to realize what the document was before I looked up at Ryan in shock. “Where did you get this?”
Ryan swallowed, and I shook my head.
“How long have you known about this? Why would you bring it here if you didn’t know I was here?” I asked. Angry tears made my vision blurry, but I could see the guilt written all over Ryan’s face.
Ryan avoided my eyes. “Katya, things are complicated.”
“So explain it to me,” I said angrily. “Why would you be bringing this document to Maverik and Kingston? Why wouldn’t you come to me?”
“Have a seat,” Maverik said as he pointed Ryan to the couch. “This is going to take a while.”
Nina hadn’t been lying when she said my babushka kept her away from me. This document very clearly laid out the terms of their agreement. Babulya would raise me as her own child, provided that Nina did not attempt to contact me. In return, Babulya agreed to give Nina her freedom in the form of emancipation. She signed paperwork that allowed Nina to become an adult in the eyes of the law: at sixteen years old, she was given the ability to sign contracts in her own name, live independently, and get a driver’s license. Most importantly, she had become exempt from child labor laws, which had allowed her more freedom to pursue her modeling career.
This revelation left me feeling hurt and confused. Babulya had always painted Nina as the selfish teen mom who wanted nothing to do with her own child. She had never once admitted that she had played a part in my mother abandoning me for a career in the fashion industry. This didn’t prove that Nina was a good person, but it cast shadows of doubt on a situation that had previously been black and white. What else might my babushka have lied to me about?
“Katya,” Ryan said softly. “I didn’t want to tell you because I knew how much you loved your grandmother, and I didn’t want to see that look on your face.”
“That didn’t stop you from telling them,” I said angrily. “Why did you agree to meet them here if you didn’t know I was coming?”
Ryan reached out his hands towards me. “Because they need to know this since they’re the ones who take care of you now.”
I threw the papers down angrily. “Are you kidding me?” I stood up and stalked towards Ryan. “I am not a helpless little girl that needs to
