Cruel
Ryan
While my Little Bird sleeps, I slip out of bed, getting dressed quietly. My mind is still burning with the audacity of Cade. I told him not to make me regret leaving Avi alone with him, and yet here I am, fuming. Make a choice, he told her. Choose what makes you happy. Choose what keeps you safe.
As if he knows what’s best for her.
Little does he know, I am what makes her happy. I am what keeps her safe. Her safety is my purpose. My life.
I press a soft kiss to her forehead before slipping out of the cabin, my jaw clenched, my steps purposeful as I head toward his office.
Cynthia is at the front desk when I walk in, offering me a polite but questioning look.
“Excuse me, do you have an appointment?” she asks, fingers hovering over the keyboard.
“No, but I was here this morning with Aviana Rendrop. I just need a quick word with Dr. Brenner. Alone, if that’s okay?” My voice is smooth, easy.
She hesitates, then nods. “Let me check if he’s available. Can I get your name?”
“Ryan. Ryan Frazier.”
A few clicks of her keyboard, then she stands. “Yes, sir. One moment.” She disappears down the hallway toward Cade’s office.
When she returns, her voice is all sugar. “He’s available. Go ahead in.”
I flash her a polite smile. “Thank you, Ms. Cynthia. Hope you have a beautiful day.”
She blushes slightly at my tone, but I don’t wait for a response. My focus is ahead.
Cade and I have unfinished business.
I don’t bother knocking. He knows I’m here.
When I step into his office, he’s glued to his computer, stacks of open files spread across his desk. He doesn’t even try to hide them when I walk in, which makes me wonder what exactly he’s working on.
“Patient-therapist confidentiality, Dr. Brenner,” I remark, nodding toward the files.
He barely looks up. “Oh, actually, this one is Avi’s.”
My jaw tightens. “Aviana,” I correct sharply. “How many times do I have to remind you of her name?” He knows damn well it gets under my skin when he calls her that. Only I call her Avi. Only she allows me to.
He leans back, finally acknowledging me. “I was just finishing up notes from our session earlier. Why are you here, Ryan? Looking for your own session? I’m sure we could dig up a few things.”
I ignore the bait, keeping my tone even. “I’m here about her session, actually.” I settle into the chair across from him, tapping my fingers against the armrest. “She told me what was said after I left.”
“I wouldn’t doubt she did,” he says, his tone unreadable. “And I stand by what I said.”
“She is mine ,” I growl, my patience thinning. “She’s your patient , nothing more. And when this camp is over, she’s leaving—with me . She’s coming home with me , not anywhere with you.”
Cade leans forward, his eyes searching mine. “But don’t you think that’s wrong, Ryan?”
I match his posture, leaning in until we’re nearly face-to-face. “How so? Please, enlighten me.”
He exhales, measuring his words. “Ryan… she’s your foster sister. She lived with you for years . Don’t you see how wrong that is?”
I don’t even hesitate. “No. She isn’t my sister. She’s a girl who needed a home, and we took her in. There’s no blood between us, no family ties. So stop trying to turn this into something it’s not.” My voice drops lower, more dangerous. “If you haven’t realized it yet—we’re a thing . She is mine . I am hers . And no one else will ever have her heart.”
Cade sighs, running a hand through his hair. “And does she know this? Or did you just decide for her how things are going to be?”
A slow smirk tugs at my lips. “I think having myself buried balls deep in her tight pussy multiple times is answer enough.” My voice darkens, my patience gone. “She loves me. I love her. So I suggest you stay the hell away from her.”
Cade exhales sharply, shaking his head like I’m some lost cause. “Love, huh?” He scoffs. “Tell me, Ryan—does she love you, or does she just think she does because you’ve been manipulating her since she was a kid?”
I clench my fists. “Watch it, Brenner.”
He leans back in his chair, like he’s got all the time in the world. “You groomed her. Whether you want to admit it or not, you made sure she only saw you . And now you expect her to just follow you home like some lost puppy? That’s not love, Ryan. That’s control.”
Something inside me snaps.
Before I know it, I’m lunging across his desk, knocking over his neat stack of files as my hand slams against his throat. His chair scrapes back from the force as he grips my wrist, but I squeeze harder, watching his face turn red.
“She. Is. Mine,” I growl through clenched teeth. “And if you ever— ever —try to put doubts in her head again, I swear to God, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
Cade glares up at me, unfazed despite the pressure I have on his throat. He coughs out a laugh, eyes burning with something between amusement and challenge. “See? This is what I mean. This is why you’re dangerous for her. ”
I tighten my grip for just a second before shoving him back into his chair. His hand flies to his throat as he takes a deep breath, but he doesn’t look scared—he looks satisfied . Like he just proved a point.
I take a step back, fists still shaking, chest heaving with rage.
“Stay the hell away from Aviana,” I warn, voice low and deadly. “Or next time, I won’t stop.”
I don’t give him a chance to respond before storming out, slamming the door behind me.
***
I couldn’t go back to the cabin after that. Not like this. Not with my hands still shaking and Cade’s words rattling around in my head like they meant something. Like they could change anything.
So I walked.
Past the cabins, past the fire pit, past the art cabin where Scarlet and her little group were probably still whispering bullshit. My fists clenched at my sides, jaw tight, muscles coiled like a wire about to snap. I just kept going.
The woods swallowed me whole.
I veered off the marked trails, pushing deeper where no one else dared to go. This place was supposed to be for healing, for reflection. A fresh start.
What a joke.
I found the clearing I’d discovered my first day here—secluded, untouched. No prying eyes. No one to pull me back from the edge. My breaths came in sharp, ragged bursts, my chest tight with the weight of it all.
She’s your foster sister.
Don’t you see how wrong this is?
Cade thought he knew me. Thought he knew us .
He didn’t know a damn thing.
I reached down, fingers closing around a rock. Without thinking, I hurled it at the nearest tree. The crack echoed through the silent woods. Not enough. I grabbed another. Threw it harder. Again. Again. Each impact sent a rush through me, the only thing keeping me from turning around and tearing Cade apart with my bare hands.
By the time my breathing slowed, my fingers ached from gripping the jagged stones. The tension in my chest eased just enough to think straight.
I needed to go back but I wasn’t going to let Aviana see the monster I’d turned into.
But that’s the thing, isn’t it? She made this monster. The day she stepped out of that car, all wide eyes and guarded silence, she became mine. The world had already chewed her up and spit her out, and I swore that day— swore —that I’d never let it touch her again.
And I won’t.
I can’t protect her if I’m soft, if I let people like Cade get in my head. I can’t be some gentle, innocent man. That’s not who I am. That’s not who she needs .
She needs me .
I will take her home when this is all over. Our home. Not the house filled with ghosts of Liam’s cruelty. No, that place is a coffin, and I refuse to bury her in it.