Chapter 245: Crack
Ryan’s POV
Ryan’s ex was a big problem.
No matter which way he tried to look at it, Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth was a serious threat. She was so dangerous that she had managed to convince the world of her innocence without ever speaking out for herself.
Vivian’s ex had harassed her online, creating fake content that had led to her being bullied relentlessly. In addition to that, he had also come to her apartment and had attacked her. That man had very nearly killed her. Had Ryan not shown up, his Vivian would be gone.
That was the case that the police had been focused on. They had also been looking into Gwendolyn because Ryan had dropped her name as a possible accomplice.
Now out of nowhere the case was going to be closed, Bryce was dead and with all of the evidence pointing to him and only him, nothing was going to be done about Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth, Ryan was pretty sure of that.
It was an absolute nightmare.
How could Vivian’s ex be so useless? The man had literally lived and breathed just to torment Ryan’s lady. Now without giving Ryan a chance to get his hands on him and give him another beating he was gone. Why could he have not continued living, crawling on his belly like the snake that he was?
Why had he suddenly decided that suicide was best? After all that he had done, why had he suddenly gotten the urge to grab a rope and end it all? Had he not realize that by doing that, he had made it easier for Gwendolyn to get away with everything.
If he had still been alive, Ryan was certain they would have gotten him to sing. Now Gwendolyn would walk free and it was all because he was- wait, wait...
Gwendolyn was walking free because Bryce was dead.
Taking a breath and then releasing it, Ryan let the information settle.
When he had first heard of Bryce’s demise, Ryan had been certain that his ex had done it. But he had shut down those thoughts because he had thought that it was just his hatred for her looking for connections when there were none.
But the thought that he’d just had was not being influenced by emotions, it was based on facts.
She was the only person benefitting from the man’s demise. Could it be... was she truly capable of something like that?
***
Since the news of Bryce’s death had reached them, the two of them had not really discussed the matter in depth, Ryan not wanting to stress Vivian. But now as he joined her in the living room, he realized that he was going to have to bring up the topic.
"Can we talk?" He asked as he grabbed a cushion and sat down. Her gaze moving from the TV to him, Vivian blinked slowly, then she muted the show that she was watching and nodded.
"Of course, what would you like to talk about?" The uncharacteristic sadness that her voice had taken ever since the news of Bryce’s death was really unnerving to Ryan. He had thought that she would cheer up after their little talk where he had reassured her that she was not a bad person. But that was not the case, if anything, Vivian had gotten more withdrawn after their talk.
Choosing not to focus on that at the moment, he just pushed it back. Hopefully, with a bit more time she would go back to being her usual vibrant self.
"During your time together, did Bryce ever show any signs of being depressed or suicidal?" Her eyes suddenly glistening with unshed tears, Vivian shook her head. Ryan wanted so badly to reach out and pull her into his arms, but he settled for squeezing the cushion that he was holding tight, not wanting to give her unwanted contact.
"Bryce was always very attached to his own life, even at his lowest moments, he would rather make others feel bad instead of fixating on how awful he felt about himself," Taking in that bit of information, Ryan dug his fingers into the cushion with such strength that he actually worried that he would tear it. Though Vivian had not said it directly, he was pretty certain she was the person that Bryce had put down in order to cheer himself up when he had been feeling bad.
Reminding himself that the man was already dead and gone. That he could not touch Vivian anymore, Ryan forced himself to release the cushion and turned his attention back to her.
"So you are saying that the likelihood of him having committed suicide is very small," Her eyes settling on something just past his head instead of looking him directly in the eyes, Vivian nodded. "It seems highly unlikely, but he was found hanging and the police, have stated that there were no signs of a struggle and also nothing leading them to believe that he had been murdered. So as much as I think that is unlikely, the evidence is proving otherwise,"
Her eyes suddenly meeting his, Vivian folded her hands over her lap. "You don’t think he committed suicide, do you?"
There was no use in denying it so Ryan shook his head. Bringing a hand up, Vivian bit at her nails before she grimaced and forcefully held the hand down against her knee.
"You think that it was Gwendolyn, don’t you? Do you really think that your ex-girlfriend is capable of murder? Maybe it really was just Bryce acting on his own all along, perhaps your ex is not as dangerous as mine was,"
"I think she’s even more dangerous than Bryce. She is definitely involved in all of this, and I am going to do everything in my power to stop her," Ryan shared. With a tired shrug, Vivian went back to looking at that point just past his shoulder again.
"Even if that is true, we have no proof. If you are to keep going after her and actually find her, legally you’d end up in a bind. Isn’t it better to just let it go? Bryce is gone. The physical danger has passed, let the woman be," Not saying anymore, Vivian unmuted her show and resumed watching it, completely blocking Ryan out.
Stunned, all that he could do was stare at her for a few long seconds. The issue of Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth’s involvement being swiftly pushed to the back of his mind as he tried to figure out why Vivian was suddenly being so cold towards him.
Was she mad that her ex was dead? Did she perhaps wish that the other man was still alive so that they would have a chance to fix things in the future?