All Chapters of The Things He Withheld: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Ryan Kellogg unfastened his seat belt, the corner of his mouth lifting."Han, you've become so reasonable lately. You finally know how to look at the bigger picture."My phone vibrated twice.I ignored him and looked down at the final bill from the restaurant.Ryan hated dealing with details like that, so I'd always handled our household accounts.I'd just paid the balance when I heard the chime of another successful payment.When I turned, Ryan had fastened his seat belt again.His phone lay beside him with his conversation with Sophie Bennett still open."Where are you celebrating? Send me the address.""I ordered a three-tier cake. I put your name on the card, so everyone will think it's your graduation gift to the group."The screenshot showed a $688 payment to a bakery.Sophie replied with obvious delight."Ryan, that's so thoughtful! I get to take all the credit, then."He sent back a sticker of someone patting a puppy on the head.I recognized the dog from Sophie's

Chapter 2

When I got home, I looked around the sparsely decorated apartment that was supposed to become our marital home.Ryan had rejected my design plans. He said simplicity made a place feel lived in.We were weeks from marriage, yet he wouldn't even let me hang a small wedding sign on the wall.He called the matching throw pillows I'd ordered sentimental nonsense.After my shower, I saw a new video on Sophie's social feed.Ryan stood beside the three-tier cake while servers brought out elaborate dishes and expensive wine."Thank you for taking such good care of Sophie. Everything tonight is on me. Congratulations to all the graduates!"The room erupted in cheers.Ryan applauded with them, then turned toward the camera with a gentle smile.Someone nearby murmured in amazement."Sophie, your mentor is ridiculously romantic. This looks like a scene from a movie."Off camera, Sophie laughed."Ryan's always been like this."I let out a long breath.For her, he'd always been like thi

Chapter 3

Satisfaction curved Ryan's mouth."Good. You could never wear a dress like that again. Making it would only waste money."He reached for my shoulder.I stepped aside without comment, changed clothes, and walked Rachel to the elevator myself.Before the doors closed, Ryan pushed a straw into a carton of oat milk and handed it to Sophie."You can't handle dairy. Drink this instead."I was lactose intolerant too.It was the first time he'd ever bought oat milk, and he'd bought it for someone else."Hannah, is that girl your friend?"I don't mean to interfere, but Ryan brought Sophie to my store two days ago and bought more than thirty outfits. Some were casual, some formal. He said it didn't matter that she couldn't wear most of them to graduation."So why'd he call your reception dress a waste? Once you remove the wedding label, it's just a red evening dress."Rachel held the dress with open disbelief.I remembered the graduation robe Sophie had worn beside Ryan in her posts.

Chapter 4

He turned away to get dressed.His brows stayed knotted, and every word carried resentment."You may not be tired of it, but I am."It was as though he'd been holding back for years, and now everything burst out."And the engagement dinner. Didn't I tell you I only wanted to eat and leave? Why did your father make me thank everyone for coming? Why did we need group pictures?"I've never been that embarrassed in my life."Ryan slammed the door behind him.I held the framed photograph against my chest.The cold glass pressed through my shirt like an edge against my heart.Over five years with Ryan, I'd abandoned the rituals I'd cherished since childhood.In the end, he considered me a burden.There wasn't much left to pack. I finished within two hours.When I opened my social feed again, Sophie was eagerly documenting her day with Ryan.Ryan can build a whole bookcase by himself. Look at my amazing mentor.Ryan bought me two vases of flowers because a new apartment needs co

Chapter 5

After drinking too much, Ryan woke in the hotel with a splitting headache.He forced himself through breakfast with Sophie's parents, then helped Sophie walk Milo.As his mind slowly cleared, he remembered that today was his courthouse appointment.His head rang.The civil ceremony had been scheduled for ten. It was already eleven.He shoved the leash into Sophie's hand and drove straight to the Alder County Courthouse.At a red light, he sent Hannah a message."Traffic's terrible. I'll be a little late."By the time he ran inside, she still hadn't replied.Ryan hissed under his breath, rubbing his temple with one hand while typing with the other."I'm here. Where are you? Are you late too?""Send me your location. I'll come get you if I have to.""Hannah, why aren't you answering?""Is this because of what I said yesterday? Fine, I admit I was harsh. But you know I've hated ceremonies since I was a kid. I've never given a formal toast in my life. Your father put me on the

Chapter 6

The moment he pushed her away, Sophie lunged forward and wrapped both arms around his waist."Why do you refuse to understand what I'm saying?"Hannah didn't come, but I did. I brought my driver's license, my birth certificate, everything we'd need. I even wore the veil. You could marry me instead."People entering and leaving the courthouse turned to stare.Ryan went rigid.He threw both hands into the air, his arms locked because he had no idea where else to put them.Yet Sophie's words unsettled him far more than her embrace.As her grip tightened, he forced himself to shove her away."What are you talking about? I can't marry you. I was your graduate mentor.""So what? There's no rule against it. You don't love Hannah anyway. You even waited until my graduation ceremony ended before you went to your own engagement dinner."Ryan's temple began to pound.Was that why Hannah was angry enough to miss the ceremony?Why hadn't she simply asked? He could have explained.Sophi

Chapter 7

"Hannah used to keep all kinds of things here. There was always a single flower in a tiny vase, and she changed the picture in that frame every few days."She also had a desk calendar. The first thing she did every morning was turn the page because she said it made time feel real."And she kept a stack of notes about good restaurants. Whenever someone in the office had a birthday, Hannah was the one who booked the table."Then, little by little, all of it disappeared."The employee sighed, clearly saddened by the memory.Ryan stood speechless.He remembered the small vases Hannah used to place around their old rental, changing the water every day and replacing each flower when it wilted.One week she bought sunflowers. The next, pale lisianthus.Ryan had called the habit fussy and inconvenient until she put the vases away.He never saw them again.She'd also researched a different restaurant for almost every date.Some were suited to birthdays, some to anniversaries, and som

Chapter 8

Rachel frowned at him."Ryan, Hannah's gone.""That's impossible. She wouldn't leave without saying anything.""She did say goodbye. She celebrated her twenty-eighth birthday with us, then left."Ryan stopped breathing.His mouth opened slowly."Her birthday... when was it?""Yesterday."Rachel rolled her eyes. "You didn't know?"The room seemed to tilt around him.Yesterday, he'd told Hannah she embarrassed him and made his life exhausting.Then he'd picked up Sophie's parents, spent the evening drinking with them, and stayed at the hotel until morning.He'd become accustomed to Hannah being understanding and undemanding.No cake for her birthday. No anniversary dinner. Everything could be kept simple.So he'd forgotten the date entirely."Did... did you celebrate with her?""Obviously. Who else was going to do it?"Rachel tapped her phone and showed him a video.Hannah sat at the center of a round table with a modest cake in front of her.When she closed her eyes t

Chapter 9

I only smiled and said nothing.One afternoon, I came across a viral video online.It was the same clip Sophie had posted after graduation.Ryan stood in a suit, thanking everyone for looking after her.The comments overflowed with excitement."Where do I find a mentor like this?""He's more romantic for her graduation than my boyfriend is for my birthday. He complains about buying one cake, and this man ordered three tiers.""Are you two together yet? He obviously loves you. It'd be criminal not to date him."My finger paused, then I scrolled past.A few days later, Sophie called me for the first time.Her voice was hoarse when I answered."Hannah, Ryan won't speak to me. He says the video damaged his life and forced me to delete my account, but it was real footage. I didn't generate it."Now he's angry and refuses to help me. He promised to find me a job, but I've heard nothing."Please help me."I continued editing a work document."Help you with what?"Her energy re

Chapter 10

"Ryan, you don't need to change. You did those things for Sophie because you wanted to. With me, they felt like work. You were exhausted, and so was I."He stood among the crowd while everyone else watched the sky. His eyes never left me."I didn't come to argue. I came to tell you I truly understand how wrong I was.""You understand because I left. Had I stayed, you'd still call me dramatic and dismiss everything I loved as empty pageantry."He stepped closer and pulled something from his pocket, trying to press it into my palm."Han, I got the brooch back. My mother meant it for you."I withdrew my hand, and the brooch fell onto the grass."No, Ryan. She meant it for your wife, and I'm not her."He bent quickly, picked it up, and closed his fingers around it."I'm sorry.""You've said that many times. You should save one apology for your mother."If she could have heard what you said about the last gift she left, it would have broken her heart."Instructions sounded throu

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