Chapter Twenty-Four
Rygaard
Dear Baby Girl,
I pray one day you can forgive me for all of this.
Until that day comes, I’ll write you a letter for every second, every minute, every hour we can’t be together.
I love you more than words could ever say, and I swear with every beat of my heart.
.. I’m coming for you. I’ll make up for every ounce of hurt I’ve caused. Please, wait for me.
I love you always, Your Ry Ry
July 20th
Hey, Baby Girl,
Today isn’t a good day. I’ve been fighting battles inside myself, trying to figure out how to tell you what’s really going on. Since it feels like I’m being watched constantly, I have to choose my words carefully.My father has found a girl. A girl he wants me to be with.
A girl who isn’t you, and that means I could never love her.
No matter what you’ve seen or heard... you’re the only girl for me, Prez.
The days feel endless without you. It’s been so long since I’ve wrapped my arms around you, held you close, breathed in your existence.
I’m getting hard just thinking about your body pressed against mine.
Fuck, Presley, I need you. I miss you so fucking much.
I don’t know how I’m supposed to survive this world without you by my side.
Until next time, Princess.
I love you always, Your Ry Ry
August 13th
Hey, Baby Girl,
How are you? Yeah, I know, rhetorical question.
I already know how you’re doing. Rafe gives me the sad updates.
And God, I’m so sorry I’m the cause of it.
I need you to forgive me, baby. You have to.
Because none of this was what I wanted. Since you won’t be getting these letters anytime soon, I’ve decided to tell you the truth:My father is an evil bastard.Greedy.
Ruthless. Selfish.He only cares about molding me into his perfect, little replica.
He wasn’t born rich. But money was handed to him, generation after generation, and he never learned what it meant to work for anything.
Everything he wanted, he took. Including my mother.
It took me a while to learn the truth about her.
She never spoke about it. Never complained about the life he forced on her.
Who would, when you're given everything you could ever want?
But then I was born. And life changed. He didn’t feed me with a silver spoon. No, he groomed me, forced me to be the perfect son. Obedient. Silent. But the older I got, the less I wanted to be what he demanded.
The night he kidnapped me, the night of my so-called pledging, all I could think about was you.How I would tell you that you’re more to me than life itself. That no matter what you saw, it wasn’t real.
I couldn’t. He made sure there wasn’t time.
Now? Now I sit here, staring out at the rooftop of this luxury prison he stuck me in, wondering how easy it would be to just jump and end it all.To leave this fucked-up life behind. But that would mean leaving you behind.
And I can’t do that, Princess.I’m coming for you.
I love you always,Your Ry Ry
December
I fold the letter carefully, tucking it into the box with all the others.Just as I slide the lid shut, I hear the lock on the front door click, followed by the sharp clack of Sylvia’s heels on the marble floor.
She walks in a few seconds later, looking just as drained as I feel.
“Hey,” she says, her voice tired.
“Hey,” I answer.
“How was your day?”
“Same as always,” I mutter. She nods, unsurprised.
“We have another party tonight. Formal,” she says, rolling her eyes.“Fucking story of my life.” I crack a small smile.We’ve been stuck living together for months now, prisoners under the same gilded roof, pretending everything's fine when it’s anything but.
“Yeah?” I say, running a hand through my long, messy hair. It’s overdue for a cut, but I couldn’t care less right now.
“Yeah. Whaddya say we show up looking nothing like they want us to?” she suggests, a mischievous smirk on her face.
I chuckle low in my throat. “I’d love that... but you remember what happened last time?”
The smirk fades instantly.We both remember.The surveillance. The punishments. The threats.
“It’s bullshit,” she snaps, pacing the room. “We don’t have to live like this, Ry! It’s not fair, to us or to the people we actually love!” Her hands fly up in frustration. “How the fuck are we supposed to survive this?! I don’t love you, no offense, but fuck! ”
“No offense taken.” I stand, facing her. “I don’t love you either. I could never love anyone but Presley.”
The words taste like blood in my mouth. Six months. Six months without her voice, her touch, her laugh.
When my father kidnapped me, he took everything. My phone. My freedom. My life. Replaced it all with chains hidden behind luxurious walls.
“If they force us to marry...” Sylvia starts, her voice cracking. “I swear to God, Ry... I’ll kill myself.”
My blood runs cold. I grab her by the shoulders, shaking her lightly. “Don’t you ever say that again! You hear me?” I bark.
Tears slip down her cheeks as she throws her arms around me, clutching tight. “I’m sorry,” she whispers brokenly. “I just... I can’t take much more.”
“We have to,” I murmur into her hair. “We fake it. Play along. Take everything they give us and use it against them.” She pulls back, hope flickering in her red-rimmed eyes. “When the time comes,” I promise, “we’ll make our escape. We’ll finally live the lives we’re meant to live.”
“And I can be with Phillip?” she asks softly.
“And I can finally have Presley,” I say. “I just hope they both understand.”
“Phillip will,” she says. “I managed to send him a message once.”
My heart stutters in my chest. “Do you think he could get a message to Presley for me?”
She hesitates. “I could try, but... they don’t know each other. How would he even find her?”
“Shit,” I mutter, raking a hand through my hair.
“There has to be a way,” I say.
“If only pay phones still existed...” Sylvia muses. “I could call him, maybe. Tell him everything.”
“Too risky,” I say. “They’d be watching.”
“We’ll figure it out,” she says firmly. “But for now... We better get ready to play nice with the assholes.” I follow her down the hallway, mind racing with half-formed plans.
We live together. But we don't share a bed.
There’s only one girl I'll ever share a bed with.
“I’m coming back to you, Presley,” I whisper under my breath. “Just give me a little more time.”