CHAPTER 17

Ryan’s POV

The documents on my desk hadn’t moved in an hour. I’d been staring at the same paragraph so long that the words blurred into grey lines, my pen hovering uselessly over the margin.

It wasn’t work that was keeping me frozen — it was Amanda.

Her voice from earlier replayed in my head, sharp and cold as broken glass.

“I know the Stewards well. You’ll try to take my son away from me… so you deserved that.”

She’d said it like a fact. Like she’d already decided the verdict and the sentence before I’d even opened my mouth.

I’d walked into this whole thing wanting to play by her rules. Not because I had to, but because I thought it was the right thing for Levi. I didn’t want him caught in the middle of a tug-of-war. If that meant swallowing my pride and letting Amanda control the terms, I could do it.

Or at least, I thought I could.

The restraining order proved I was wrong.

It wasn’t just a legal document it was a declaration that she saw me as a threat, as someone who didn’t deserve to be around my own son.

My jaw tightened as I leaned back in my chair, the leather creaking under the shift of my weight. If she wanted a fight, fine. She was going to get one.

I was so deep in thought that I didn’t hear Selene enter until the faint clink of china touched the silence.

“I thought you might be hungry,” she said, her voice pitched light, almost sweet. She set a tray on the desk fruit, crackers, a small wedge of cheese arranged like she was serving royalty instead of me.

I barely glanced at it. “Not now.”

She lingered, clearly waiting for more, but I kept my eyes on the report in front of me. Not reading it just using it as a wall between us.

“You’ve been in here for hours,” she tried again. “You should eat something. At least take a break.”

“I’m fine.”

She circled the desk and moved into my line of sight, wearing a silk blouse that probably cost more than the tray she was holding. Her eyes searched my face. “Ryan, you’re not even looking at me.”

I didn’t want to admit it, but she was right my mind wasn’t in the room with her. It was back in the school parking lot, watching Levi laugh with Blair, seeing the way Amanda’s hand had tightened on our son’s shoulder like she was already pulling him away from me forever.

Selene reached out and rested a hand on my shoulder. “You’re not too busy for me.”

And before I could think, before I could control it, I muttered, “Amanda, not now.”

The second her name left my mouth, the air in the room shifted.

Selene’s hand froze. Slowly, she withdrew it. Her expression was unreadable for half a second then her brows drew together in a sharp line.

“What did you just call me?”

I blinked, my own words catching up with me. “Selene,” I corrected quickly, turning to face her. “I didn’t—”

Her lips curled into a smile that wasn’t a smile at all. “It’s been what? Two weeks since you met her? And you’re already saying her name like it’s some… reflex?”

“You’re making too much of it,” I said, my tone clipped.

“I’m making too much of it?” She let out a short, humorless laugh. “Ryan, I’ve been in your life for years. Years. And you’ve never once called me the wrong name. Now suddenly, she’s lodged in your head so deep you can’t even control it?”

I exhaled slowly, trying to keep my temper. “It was a slip. I’m under stress.”

“A slip,” she repeated, drawing the word out like it tasted bitter. “Do you know what a woman hears when a man says another woman’s name? She hears the truth.”

I met her glare evenly. “The truth is, Amanda is trying to cut me out of my son’s life. That’s what’s on my mind.”

Selene tilted her head, studying me like she could see through the layers I kept between myself and everyone else. “And yet you’re still talking about her, still thinking about her. Maybe you want to admit that to yourself.”

“I’m thinking about Levi,” I snapped.

“Right,” she said, drawing the word out again. “And she’s just a harmless side effect of that? Please.”

My patience was starting to thin. “Selene—”

“You want her gone?” she cut in. “Then do something about it. Stop sitting here brooding over her and take away what she values most.”

I narrowed my eyes. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“She’s built her whole identity on that job,” Selene said smoothly. “That perfect doctor reputation, the patients who think she’s a saint it’s all she’s got outside of Levi. Take that away, and you take away her confidence. Her leverage.”

Her voice softened, coaxing now. “You have the connections to make it happen. If you’re really not thinking about her the way I think you are, then prove it. Get her fired.”

I leaned back in my chair, weighing her words. It wasn’t the first time the thought had crossed my mind but hearing it spoken out loud made it real in a way it hadn’t been before.

Selene must have seen the shift in my expression because her lips curved in satisfaction. “See? You’re already considering it. Don’t pretend you’re not.”

I didn’t respond immediately. My gaze drifted back to the untouched tray of food, but I wasn’t seeing it. I was seeing Amanda in a courtroom, her lawyer scrambling to explain why she no longer had a stable income. I was seeing the judge take note. I was seeing Levi’s custody tilt in my favor.

The part of me that wanted to play fair was still there but it was quieter now. Drowned out by the part that didn’t like being underestimated.

Selene leaned down, her perfume filling the space between us. “She drew first blood, Ryan. You just have to finish it.”

I finally looked at her. “Leave the food. Close the door on your way out.”

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t argue. She set the tray down with deliberate care, her heels clicking against the hardwood as she left.

When the door shut, I let out a long breath. The office felt even quieter now, but my mind wasn’t still.

I wasn’t ready to admit it to Selene hell, I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself but she was right about one thing.

Amanda had made this personal.

And I wasn’t going to sit back and let her win.