The Last Time I Loved Him (Autumn and Ryan)
Chapter 20

Chapter 6

I called Ryan immediately after seeing the comments. "Have you lost your mind?"

"I told you, I won't divorce you," he said stubbornly. "Emma, isn't this what you wanted?

Being publicly known as an award-winning actor's wife? It's yours now."

laughed bitterly. "Ryan, stop pretending you know me."

"Then what do you want?"

I smiled coldly. "Say whatever you want."

After hanging up, I photographed the divorce papers and court summons, then quote-tweeted Ryan's post: [Sign the papers or see you in court. Choose.] Then I turned off my phone.

I drew the blinds, counting days until our court date.

But Ryan showed up that night with a locksmith, playing the "husband card" to get in.

He walked in carrying pink roses and a designer dress. "Emma, happy fifth anniversary

If Ryan hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have remembered. Before, I used to plan his surprises months in advance.

To avoid being materialistic, I'd made his gifts by hand each year. A belt the first year, a wallet the second, a tie the third, a shirt the fourth.

Except for briefly using the belt and wallet, he'd trashed everything else without a glance. What were his words back then?

I threw the dress in the trash. "What an ugly piece of trash. Ryan, stop showing me this garbage."

He stared at the lavender fabric in the bin, stunned. "Emma, you used to love my gifts."

I remembered the time Ryan randomly gave me a necklace. I wore it to a premiere, glowing with pride, until I overheard Olivia's snide comment: "Emma, that necklace looks familiar. The Last Time I Loved Ham

Chapter 6

Oh right, it's the one from my donation pile."

No one knew how small I felt in that moment.

Ryan had sided with her. "Emma, know your place. Even in Cartier, you'd look like a

knockoff."

'Knockoff that word had burned like acid.

Aut

But I'd loved Ryan so much that even knowing it was Olivia's castoff, I treasured it because he'd put it on me. I nearly framed it. Now his words only reminded me what I hat I was worth.

"Ryan, like you said - that was then. I was blind, but now I see." The words were barely out when Olivia's ringtone cut through the air.

Ryan rejected the call.

His phone immediately flooded with her messages:

[Ryan, everyone's calling me a homewrecker. You can't ghost me!]

[Ryan, I got death threats in the mail. I'm having panic attacks!]

[Ryan, don't abandon me. Dad made you promise to look after me before he died!]

[Ryan, please answer me!]

[Ryan! Emma aborted your baby. She doesn't love you. Why stay with that old hag?]

Ryan's phone clattered to the floor. He stared at me, stricken. "A baby? Emma, we... we had a baby?"

He ignored Olivia's texts, gripping my shoulders, laughing through tears. "Emma, when?"

I pulled away from his touch, looking at the face millions adored. "It's gone."

Ryan froze. "Gone? What do you mean gone?" His voice cracked.

The same Ryan who hadn't shed a tear over broken ribs from stunts now sobbed openly.

His eyes were red. "Emma, Olivia's lying, right? Tell me she's lying. I'll believe anything you 15 18

The Last Time 1 Loved Hum

say.

Crying, he reached for my stomach. I stepped back, looking at the man who no longer moved me. "A baby isn't a reason to stay married. We've been over for a long time."

I turned away, throwing back one last line: "Divorce papers are on the table. Sign them or

see you in court in three days."

I walked out of the house we'd shared for three years, past the camera flashes. If I couldn't

eanse this place, I had to leave it.

The house was Ryan's first big purchase, paid in full in my name. I listed it for sale and bought a new apartment.

Ryan had been wrong from the start. Growing up alone. I'd always feared empty homes.

So the day I moved in, I adopted a British Shorthair cat named Toby. Somehow Ryan for out. He showed up with premium cat food. "Emma, this is all my fault. I handled things with Olivia badly. I failed you. I know words mean nothing now. But please don't divorce 1. me. Emma, I can't live without you."