I turned to walk toward my room, but Ryan grabbed my arm.
“You’re leaving today, Ava. Don’t make this ugly.”
And in that moment, something changed.
The anger faded. In its place came something colder. Clearer.
I leaned in, close enough that only he could hear me.
“Before you throw me out,” I whispered, “there’s something you should know.”
He frowned. “What?”
“Your name’s been on that mortgage for three months.”
The beer nearly slipped from his hand.
“What did you just say?”
“You heard me.”
His face drained. Linda stopped smiling. Frank stood up sharply.
“Stop lying,” Ryan snapped—but his voice had already lost its strength.
I grabbed my keys, picked up my bag, and headed for the door.
“You wanted to kick me out of something you never built,” I said calmly. “Now you get to carry what you thought was so easy.”
