Chapter 2: The Secret Behind the Tuition
Nia stared at the folded document in Ryan's hand.
For a few seconds, the hallway seemed to tilt around her. The string quartet continued playing downstairs. A woman laughed somewhere near the staircase. The scent of white roses drifted from the reception hall.
But all Nia could hear was Ryan's last sentence.
Who really paid for your college?
“My mother paid for my college,” Nia said.
Ryan gave a humorless laugh.
“That's what you've been told.””
Evelyn gripped Nia's arm.
“Ryan, don't.””
The sound of her mother's voice changed everything.
Nia turned.
“Mom?””
Evelyn's eyes filled again, but this time her tears looked different. They weren't simply the tears of a woman who had been humiliated. They were the tears of someone who had just watched a locked door swing open.
Ryan held out the document.
“Ask her.””
Nia didn't take it.
“You have ten seconds to explain why you're using my education to distract me from what you did.””
Ryan's mouth tightened.
“Your tuition was paid through a private educational trust. A trust associated with my family.””
“No.””
“Look at the paperwork.””
“My mother worked nights at St. Mary's Hospital. She cleaned offices on weekends.
She skipped vacations, bought secondhand clothes, and packed leftovers for lunch. I watched her do it. Don't stand here and tell me she didn't pay for my education.””
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Ryan glanced at her, then lowered his voice.
“Your mother didn't have the money to cover four years at Westbridge University. Not without help.””
Nia remembered her first acceptance letter.
She remembered Evelyn holding it at the kitchen table, crying so hard that she had to take off her glasses to wipe her eyes.
She remembered her mother saying, You're going to have the life I never got to have.
At the time, Nia had thought it was a mother's pride.
Now the memory felt like a photograph with something important cropped out.
“Who created the trust?”” Nia asked.
Ryan unfolded the document himself.
“My grandfather established it. Your tuition payments were made anonymously.””
“Why anonymously?””
“Because your mother requested it.””
Nia looked at Evelyn.
“Is that true?””
Her mother stared at the floor.
“Partly.””
Ryan lifted his eyebrows as if he'd just won an argument.
“Partly?””
Evelyn's voice shook.
“Your father and I separated when you were eight. After he left, I struggled to keep the house. I had debts. I was working two jobs, and the university fees were more than I could manage.””
Nia's throat tightened.
“Dad never told me any of this.””
“Your father wasn't involved,” Evelyn said.
“Not then.””
Ryan interrupted.
“My grandfather offered to help because he believed you were talented. He wanted you to have a chance.””
“Then why have I never heard about him?””
“Because your mother refused to let my family take credit for it.””
Evelyn lifted her chin.
“I refused to let anyone use my daughter as a debt.””
Ryan's expression sharpened.
“You accepted the money.””
“I accepted help for my child. I never promised you ownership of her life.””
A silence fell between them.
Nia looked from one face to the other.
“Wait. Your grandfather knew my mother?””
Ryan hesitated.
It was brief, but Nia caught it.
“Yes,” he said.
“Years ago.””
“How?””
“He knew a lot of people.””
“That isn't an answer.””
Ryan folded the paper.
“This is not the place for a family history lesson.””
“You brought it up.””
“Because you're about to make a decision that affects both our families.””
Nia stepped closer.
“No. You brought it up because you thought money would make me obey you.””
Ryan's cheeks reddened.
“I am trying to protect you from making a mistake.””
“By cutting my mother's hair?””
“By reminding you that this relationship is bigger than your temper.””
Nia almost laughed.
Her mother had spent years teaching her that money was a tool, not a measure of a person's worth. Ryan had spent two years making her believe he understood that.
Apparently, he'd only understood it when it benefited him.
Footsteps approached from the staircase.
“Nia?””
Her father, David, appeared at the end of the hallway in a navy suit. His tie was slightly crooked, and a white rose was pinned to his lapel.
He looked from Nia's face to Evelyn's hair.
Then his expression went blank.
“What happened?””
Evelyn looked away.
Ryan answered first.
“A disagreement with the stylist. It's being handled.””
David's gaze settled on the scissors still visible through the open dressing-room door.
“Is that what you call this?””
“David,” Evelyn whispered, “please.””
He crossed the hallway and stood beside his former wife.
“Who did this?””
Nia pointed toward Ryan.
“He ordered Vanessa to cut Mom's hair because he thought it would ruin the wedding photographs.””
David's face went dangerously still.
Ryan spread his hands.
“That is not what happened.””
Vanessa appeared in the doorway behind them, still holding her makeup kit.
“It is what happened,” she said quietly.
Ryan spun around.
“You need to stop talking.””
Vanessa flinched, then straightened.
“No. I should have stopped cutting when Evelyn asked me to. But you told me the bride's family had to meet your standards, and you made it clear my contract depended on keeping you happy.””
David took one step toward Ryan.
“You threatened a woman into letting someone cut her hair?””
“I didn't threaten anyone.””
“You blocked the door,” Nia said.
Ryan looked at her.
“You're twisting everything.””
“No,” Evelyn said.
Everyone turned toward her.
Her hands were trembling, but she rose from the chair without assistance.
“You stood in front of the door, Ryan. You told me that if I caused trouble, Nia would blame me for ruining her wedding. You said she had worked too hard to reach this day for her mother to make it about herself.””
Ryan's face darkened.
“I was trying to avoid a scene.””
“You made me feel ashamed of my own face,” Evelyn whispered.
“You made me apologize for having gray hair.””
For the first time, Ryan had no immediate answer.
Nia wrapped an arm around her mother.
“That's enough. We're leaving.””
Ryan's voice followed them.
“If you walk out, don't expect the wedding funds to be returned. My family has paid deposits, vendors, and the venue. You could be looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.””
David stopped.
“Are you threatening my daughter with a bill?””
“I'm explaining the consequences.””
Nia turned around.
“Send the invoices to my lawyer.””
Ryan stared at her.
“Your lawyer?””
“Yes.””
“You don't have one.””
“Then I'll get one.””
For the first time since she'd met him, Ryan looked genuinely uncertain.
Nia helped Evelyn toward the staircase.
Halfway down, her mother stopped.
“Sweetheart, there's something else.””
Nia closed her eyes briefly.
“Mom, please tell me it isn't another secret.””
Evelyn looked toward the dressing room, where Ryan had disappeared.
“The trust wasn't created by his grandfather because I asked for help.””
Nia waited.
“It was created because, years ago, his grandfather made a promise to your father.””
“My father?””
Evelyn nodded.
“He promised David that if anything happened to our family, you would never have to pay for the mistakes the adults made.””
Nia stared at her.
“What mistakes?””
Before Evelyn could answer, David came down the stairs behind them.
His face had gone pale.
“Evelyn,” he said quietly.
“You weren't supposed to tell her that.””
Nia turned to him.
“Tell me what?””
Her father looked toward the ballroom, where the wedding guests were beginning to take their seats.
Then he looked at the woman he'd once loved.
“Your mother and I didn't separate for the reason you were told.””
Nia felt the engagement ring's absence on her finger as sharply as if the diamond had left a wound.
“What reason was I told?””
David swallowed.
May you like
And then he said the one thing Nia had never expected to hear on the morning she was supposed to become Ryan's wife.
“Ryan's family had something to do with why your mother and I broke up.””
