Chapter 183: Truth
Ryan’s POV
For years now Ryan had kept his mouth shut.
He had buried the truth about Brian and Gwendolyn as deeply as he could. Doing so in order to shield his grandfather. It was a secret that he had intended to hold on to for as long as possible. But now the truth was well and truly out, and it had come out in an awful way too.
"What do you mean she slept with Brian? Gwendolyn is a respectable young lady, she would not..." Something in Ryan’s face must have gotten to his grandfather because the old man could not even bring himself to finish the sentence. Bringing a trembling hand to his lips, his grandfather took in a few shaky breaths before returning the hand to his cane.
A shell shocked look on his face, he failed to blink away the tears in his eyes and just let them fall as he looked at Ryan.
"That was the reason you fought with Brian wasn’t it? Shortly before your brother died, I remember that the two of you would not even be in the same room together. Neither of you would tell me why," Unable to speak, all that Ryan could manage was a nod. His heart hurting even more at the choked off sob that his grandfather let out.
"That child came here crying, Ryan, she got on her knees and begged me to help her get you back. She looked me straight in the eyes, she cried, she trembled and I believed her," As painful as the visit was turning out to be, Ryan was glad that he had come to see his grandfather. The conversation that they were having was slotting pieces into place that Ryan had been struggling with for quite some time.
He now knew without a doubt that Gwendolyn knew exactly where Bryce was, and now his grandfather had just revealed that the reason he had been pushing Ryan so hard towards her was because Gwendolyn had been playing puppet master in the background.
"What exactly did Vivian’s ex say about her? All of it was a lie. That much I am certain of, but I would like to know what he said," Looking ashamed for having been duped, his grandfather began sharing not only what Bryce had said, but also Gwendolyn’s words as well.
For his part, Ryan made sure to meet every single false statement that they had given to his grandfather with facts that could not be ignored. Even going as far as to show his grandfather the various pictures that he had managed to acquire of Bryce with different women, and also showing him the artificial intelligence tool that Bryce had used to create the naked pictures of Vivian.
With all of the facts on the table, Ryan sat back, giving his grandfather time to process and also allowing himself to take in everything that had just transpired.
"Why did you not say anything? Had I known, that woman would not have even stepped foot in this place. Just knowing how foul that child is makes my blood boil," Adding some sliced fruit that the maids had brought them to a plate. Ryan pushed it towards his grandfather before answering.
"Before he died I was going to tell you, but then Brian was no more and all that you had left of him was memories, memories that I did not wish to tarnish so I kept silent..."
"...and you kept away," His grandfather finished.
Ryan could not refute that so he simply nodded. "I am sorry for leaving you alone all of these years. I should have just manned up and come to see you. But I was so scared that I would not be able to hold it in. That I would end up saying something and ruining Brian’s memory. But in the end all that I did was leave you open to being manipulated by Gwendolyn," Picking up a sliced apple, the old man chewed slowly. When he was done he turned his attention back to Ryan.
"What is she like, your Vivian?" Even with all of the heaviness that they had just been discussing, Ryan felt his soul light up.
"She is amazing grandfather. I could be having the worst day ever but the moment that I lay eyes upon her, I just know that everything is going to be okay," Straightening with a gasp, Ryan realized that his grandfather had seen pictures of Vivian, but he had never actually seen true pictures of her, just the fake stuff.
Reaching into his pocket, he brought out his phone and began scrolling through pictures. Ever since they had become boyfriend and girlfriend he had been taking as many as possible.
"This is my Vivian," He said, showing his grandfather a picture of Vivian sitting on the floor. Her tongue sticking out slightly, her focus on writing a giant sign for her class,"
"Oh," His grandfather said softly. Then a big smile broke across his features.
"She reminds me of my Marilyn. She used to have that exact same expression when she painted." Ryan had no idea why, but hearing that small comparison made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Handing the phone back, the old man’s sighed.
"What you have told me is a lot to take in. A part of me almost does not wish to believe it, but I know that it is true. And I find that I must apologize to you grandson,"
"There’s no need for that grandfather," But the old man simply shook his head. "There is. I am sorry that you had to carry this burden on your own for all of these years. I am sorry that I even entertained that snake’s lies. And I am sorry that your brother betrayed you in such an awful way," The words moved something deep within Ryan, and he was reminded of Vivian apologizing to him over the whole thing, even though she’d had nothing to do with it.
Sitting there in stunned silence, he could only watch as his grandfather got up and moved over to him. The old man leaned in to hug him and Ryan accepted the contact. With Langston Terrell being older, smaller, and frailer now, his hug should not have felt so comforting. But as Ryan let himself be held. He could not help but feel the way he used to when he was young, and it felt like his grandfather’s hugs just got rid of all the problems in the world.
It was very freeing to finally have everything out in the open.
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