I Set You Free

Chapter 5

Ryan stood there, a smirk on his face as he watched me, waiting for the next move.

He kicked my wheelchair over with a cruel twist of his foot. Pain shot through my body, and cold sweat broke out all over me. But Ryan just stood there, a smug smile playing on his lips.

"Must really suck, huh? Being crippled?" he taunted. "After all these years, you're still as useless as ever."

He stepped closer, his voice full of mock pity.

"Watching your wedding get stolen from you, watching your wife bring home my daughter… and you just have to swallow it all. I almost feel bad for you."

I tried to push myself up, but before I could even get the chance, Ryan lost his balance and went tumbling down the stairs.

Lily was already there, catching him in her arms like it was all part of the plan.

Her eyes flashed with anger when she saw me.

"What's this, Jack?" she snapped. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Ryan was just coming up to call you for dinner, and you attack him?"

She didn't seem to care about the fact that Ryan had just provoked me. Her words were sharp, but I was numb to them. Her parents stood off to the side, watching with disapproving eyes.

And then, Emma started crying, wailing loudly.

"Bad man! Bad man hurt daddy!" she cried. "I don't want this bad man in our home! I want daddy, I want daddy!"

Ryan leaned weakly into Lily, looking up at me with a mix of fear and satisfaction.

"I'm sorry, Jack," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I just told you I'd go in your place for the wedding. I didn't mean for you to misunderstand..."

"Don't blame Jack," Lily added, her tone sugar-sweet but with an underlying edge. "He didn't mean it."

I stayed on the floor, unable to move, a bitter smile twisting my lips.

"Lily, don't you owe me an explanation?" I forced out. "About the wedding, the accident, and the child?"

For a moment, she froze. Her eyes betrayed her panic before she quickly masked it.

"Explain what?" she shot back. "You got into an accident. What does that have to do with Ryan?"

She helped Ryan up, guiding him toward the door like a performance was unfolding.

"He's just doing me a favor by going in your place. And instead of being grateful, you attack him? When did you become this person?"

"Apologize to Ryan!" she demanded.

Before I could say anything, her parents chimed in with their own cruel remarks.

"You're already a cripple, Jack. Can't you just act like one?" her father sneered. "You really think anyone would want a useless man like you? Besides our daughter, of course."

Her mother added, "Being disabled today is just karma."

"Enough of this," Lily's father snapped. "Take Ryan to the hospital. We don't need to deal with this anymore."

My hands clenched into fists, nails digging into my palms as I fought to hold it together. The blood from my palms stained my skin, but I couldn't feel it.

Lily, with Ryan in one arm and Emma's hand in the other, left the house without so much as a glance back.

And in that instant, everything, five years of love, trust, everything I had built, turned to ash.

I pulled myself back into my wheelchair, every movement painful as I fought to keep my composure.

Without hesitation, I booked a plane ticket for the day of the wedding.