Chapter 126: Opposition
Ryan’s POV
Were it humanly possible, Ryan would have never stopped moving. He would have continued pacing until the whole ordeal with his grandfather’s health scare was finished.
Staying still while fighting off negative emotions was never a good idea, especially for him. His mind could be particularly vicious. After telling his still sleeping grandfather that he would marry Gwendolyn, he had gotten up and started pacing. But in the end, Ryan had caved to exhaustion and had sat down.
Now his mind was letting him have it, and it was not holding back.
’Spineless coward, useless weak-willed man, are you seriously going to marry a snake that slept with your own brother? Just man up and tell your grandfather the truth,...’
The voices were relentless. But every time that they got to be too much, all that Ryan had to do was raise his head and look in the direction of his grandfather’s hospital room, and that strengthened his resolve. What he was planning to do was not something that could be avoided. The old man in there depended on him. If Ryan did not swallow his own hurt and marry Gwendolyn, there was a very big chance that his grandfather would stress himself to death.
He could not have that. But even though he knew that it was all for his grandfather, that did not make Ryan feel any better.
Sitting as still as can be on the hospital chair, Ryan was looking down at the floor, barely aware of the world around him, Ryan startled when a pair of shiny shoes came to a stop right in front of him.
Not wanting to be bothered, he continued to look down, hoping that the person would get the message and leave, but instead of doing that, they cleared their throat...loudly. Looking up, he was greeted by the sight of Mark holding out a coffee cup.
"Here, I thought you might need this," He accepted the cup with shaky hands, taking a sip of the drink, Ryan nodded gratefully and looked over at his friend as the other man took a seat next to him.
"How did you know that I was here? I have not called anyone yet," Adjusting his suit and even taking a moment to check the time on his pocket watch, Mark shrugged. "The power of the media, they already have their claws all over this. You do not need to worry though. Your people are doing their thing. So far all that they know is that your grandfather is in the hospital and nothing more," Breathing a sigh of relief, Ryan let himself enjoy the coffee for a bit, glad to finally have company. His friend’s presence helped to quiet the negative thoughts that had been whirling around in his head.
***
Good man that he was, Mark did not say a single thing until Ryan was completely done with his coffee. Only then did the other man bring up the reason why they were in the hospital in the first place.
"So, how bad is it?" He asked and Ryan sighed, crumpling the now empty cup in his hands.
"It is not bad at all. The doctors said it was a panic attack and that his blood pressure is a bit high. Other than that he is in perfect health for a man in his eighties," Mark nodded, the relief on his face clear to see. But then a few seconds later his eyes narrowed as he took Ryan in.
"Wait, if everything is fine with your grandfather, why is it that you look like your world is about to end? Shouldn’t you be happier?" Turning his attention to the ruined coffee cup in his hands. Ryan answered, "How can I be happy when it is my fault that my grandfather is here in the first place?"
***
"Ryan, I know for a fact how much you care about your grandfather. Whatever it is that you think is your fault. I am pretty certain that it is not," Ryan shook his head.
"No, you don’t get it. I truly am at fault this time," He stared at his friend, willing him to understand without Ryan having to say anything else, but Mark did not.
"How?" Forcing himself to speak on the matter even though he did not want to, Ryan told him the whole story. Starting with how the old man had initially faked an illness, and going over everything all the way until the old man’s collapse.
"So you see, it really is all my fault. Not only have I been a bad grandson by avoiding him all of these years. I couldn’t even tell him what he wanted to hear to keep his blood pressure normal. He had a panic attack because of me,"
Rather than agreeing with Ryan’s logic, Mark shook his head in disagreement.
"Ryan, this is not your fault. You set boundaries and you stuck to them with good reason. You cannot tie yourself to Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth all because your grandfather wants you to. She is an awful person," Ryan shrugged.
"That may be so, But she is also the woman that my grandfather feels is best for me,"
"He only thinks that because you have not told him the truth," Ryan’s shoulders slumped.
"And I never will. The only way that I can think to fix this is to just go ahead and marry her. So what if I will be unhappy. My grandfather’s health is way more important. So long as it means I can keep him around for a little while longer, I will gladly tie myself to Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth,"
His entire frame shaking with barely suppressed rage, Mark glared at Ryan with an intensity that he had not been expecting at all. "Ryan, I am telling you here and now if you truly intend to marry Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth, then you will have to burn me and bury me before you do that because so long as I am still breathing such a thing will never happen,"
