For a Moment
SARAH
“Oh my God,” I said, stunned.
He looked up at me like it was nothing. Just… shrugged. Like he hadn’t just committed first-degree murder on a pair of designer shoes.
“Are you insane?” I whispered, voice rising. “Do you even know how much those cost?”
“They were impractical,” Ryan replied coolly, standing up as if we’d just had a casual conversation about the weather. “Now you can walk without limping or breaking your ankle.”
“They were Jimmy Choos,” I said, almost breathless, holding the words like a prayer, like maybe the name alone would bring them back to life.
Ryan held the broken pointy soles in one hand and turned to toss them into the nearby bin like they were old wrappers.
“Don’t you dare...!” I reached out, but it was too late.
Plop. The heel is gone.
“Are you serious right now?” I demanded, standing barefoot on the warm pavement, with the shoes missing their heels. “Do you always go around ruining people’s stuff just because you think it’s impractical?”
Ryan turned slightly, not meeting my eyes this time. “I said take them off. You didn’t. I handled it.”
“You broke them, Ryan! You handled nothing. You vandalised my wardrobe!”
“You’ll thank me later,” he said, and I swear if I had something in my hands, I would’ve launched it at his back.
“I won’t,” I hissed.
He glanced at me over his shoulder. “You can walk now, can’t you?”
“That’s not the point!”
But he was already walking away again, expecting me to follow, this time barefoot and humiliated, while trying not to cry over two snapped heels and the absolute audacity of my brother.
I took a deep breath. Counted to five. Then to ten. It was just a pair of shoes.....Just a really expensive, beautiful, perfect pair of shoes.
“I am pretty sure you didn't make a dime of that money, so stop whining about it being expensive,” Ryan said without even turning around.
I froze mid-step, my mouth parting slightly. The audacity. The actual gall of him. My blood went hot.
“Excuse me?” I snapped, catching up to him with angry little barefoot steps. “Just because I didn’t earn it doesn’t mean I don’t value it. Or that you get to decide what’s important to me.”
He stopped, turned slowly, and looked me right in the eyes. Calm. Cold. That unreadable Ryan expression that made you wonder if there was a storm behind it or absolutely nothing at all.
"I have no time for this Irish princess shit! You have going on," he said, his hand gesturing dismissively toward my entire self, my outfit, my half-snapped heels, all of it, before he turned and started stomping away again.
No way.
No fucking way.
If Ryan thought this was how it was going to be, him walking away and me trailing behind like a lost puppy, he was thoroughly mistaken. I had had it. I was done.
I turned sharply, shoes clicking, well, half part of my shoes without the heels and started walking in the opposite direction, back toward the parking lot. Let them take me home. Let him walk around the campus alone if that’s what he wanted.
Except... I was lost.
Of course I was.
Fucking fantastic, Ryan. You’re a fantastic tour guide, I shouted, loud enough for a few passing students to glance over curiously. I probably looked ridiculous with my broken shoes and dramatic rage, but I didn’t care.
I took a deep breath and looked around, trying to remember what Ryan had said, something about maps around campus. I spotted one posted near a path divider and headed toward it, squinting at the little campus guide, trying to orient myself. I found a rough direction toward the parking lot, but halfway through walking there, I paused.
Why was I even doing this? Why was I going back?
I was mad, sure, but I didn’t want to go home just yet. I knew the guards were probably already waiting, ready to ferry me back in silence like good little soldiers. But going home meant defeat. And following Ryan meant crawling back. Neither of them deserved that.
But I had a third option. One that neither of them even knew about.
I pulled my phone out of my bag and tapped Cullen’s name.
“Hey, wifey. What’s up? You already done with the tour?” he asked, light as ever.
“I need to get the hell out of here,” I said, skipping right over the pleasantries, straight to the point.
His voice immediately changed. Alert. Protective. “What’s going on? What happened?”
At that point, as he asked me that question, I nearly broke down. Right there in the middle of the pathway, broken shoes and all, I almost let the tears come. I wanted to sob, to scream, to just release everything that had been building in me since the moment I stepped into this ridiculous tour. But I didn’t.
I remembered who I was.
Who my father is.
What my family is.
I couldn’t break down. Not here. Not now.
“Can you come and pick me up, please?” I said, my voice barely holding itself together.
There was silence on the other end of the call. “Are you sure?” Cullen asked. “You said your brother is there.”
“I know he’s here,” I snapped, the anger finally spilling out, “but he left me. Okay? He snapped my shoes and left.”
“Did he hurt you?” Cullen’s voice dropped low and dangerous. “If he did, I swear....”
“No,” I cut in quickly. “He didn’t hurt me. He just… snapped my shoes. My bodyguards are waiting for me at the parking lot, but I remember Ryan saying there’s another gate at the back of the campus. Nobody’s expecting me to be there.”
I swallowed hard and added, “So can you come and pick me up? I really don’t want to go home right now. And I’m not following Ryan around like I’m his damn dog.”
There was another pause, and then, “Okay. I’m getting in the car. I’m coming to get you right now. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine.” But even I could hear the tremble in my voice. I wasn’t fine. Not really. But I would be. As long as I could just leave.
“On my way, wifey,” he said, and then the line went dead.
I took a deep breath, held it, and then slowly exhaled. I opened my phone again, snapped a quick picture of the campus map just in case I lost my bearings, and started following the path toward the back gate, hoping nobody would be there, hoping no one would stop me or recognise me, and especially praying that no one would see me getting into Cullen’s car.
I just needed to disappear, for a moment. Just one moment to breathe.
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