Page 55 of The Jealous Girl

Nothing. It was all⁠—

My chest tightened as I frowned at a scanned document. I leaned forward, my gaze narrowed, locked on the bottom of the page.

A signature.

My stomach dropped.

My signature.

22

THEN

Late July

Ryan’s jaw was set; his gaze fixed straight ahead as the road twisted.

I wrung my hands together in my lap.

‘You didn’t need to come,’ Ryan said, his tone stiff.

I turned to him. ‘I wasn’t going to leave you to come here alone.’

‘It’s fine, Kirsty. I’m just going to see my parents.’

I swallowed. It wasn’t just his parents though; that was the problem. It was them, and her.

‘Will Charlotte be there?’

Ryan glanced at me, something unreadable flickering in his expression before his focus snapped back to the road. ‘Probably.’

The word settled heavily between us.

I exhaled slowly, forcing my shoulders to relax.

‘Don’t forget what Mum said,’ Ryan reminded me. ‘About not saying anything to Dad,’ he added, as though I needed further clarification.

I didn’t.

Don’t tell your dad. You’ll kill him.

Denise’s words were impossible to forget. No matter how much I wanted to.

‘I know,’ I replied, sharper than I intended.

‘Kirsty…’ Ryan glanced at me again, studying me with uncertainty as though he didn’t fully trust me.

‘I won’t say anything,’ I assured him. ‘For you,’ I added softly.

He nodded at that. Seemingly satisfied.

‘Don’t forget to take your ring off,’ he said, glancing at my left hand.

I hesitated. ‘It doesn’t look like a wedding ring, or even an engagement ring really.’

‘Best not to draw attention, though. It could still raise questions,’ Ryan said gently.

Reluctantly, I tugged the ring off and slipped it into my handbag.