Ryan slammed his glass down onto the table with a sharp crack. Without even sparing me a glance, he stood up, grabbed his jacket, and walked straight out.
The atmosphere around the table instantly turned cold. Everyone exchanged awkward looks before hurriedly getting up to follow after him.
As Vanessa left, she glanced back at me, her eyes filled with poorly hidden satisfaction.
In the past, anytime Ryan got upset and stormed off, I would chase after him within three minutes and apologize, whether I had done anything wrong or not.
But this time, I didn't follow.
Daniel remained where he was, watching me stand abandoned in the middle of the deafening bar.
"Do you need me to drive you home?"
I shook my head and forced out a smile. "No, thank you."
I lowered my head and walked out of the bar alone, my shadow stretched long and thin beneath the neon lights.
Daniel watched from behind for a long time. Only after my figure disappeared around the corner did he finally look away, a faint crease lingering between his brows.
The next day was the two families' usual dinner gathering.
My father and the Cooper family went way back. More accurately, ours depended on theirs for business.
The Parker family's construction supply company had managed to establish itself in Riverton largely because of the Cooper family's engineering contracts and business connections.
By the time I arrived, Ryan was already seated beside the head of the table.
He didn't look at me.
At dinner, glasses clinked endlessly while my father continued flattering the Cooper family with practiced enthusiasm.
Once the atmosphere warmed up, my mother smilingly brought up my marriage with Ryan.
"A talented young man like Ryan taking an interest in Emma is truly her blessing. Emma's grown up now too, so I think getting married sooner rather than later would be—"
Before she could finish, Ryan suddenly set down his fork and knife and spoke casually.
"Margaret, I think it's still too early to talk about marriage. Emma doesn't seem very eager anyway. I saw her chatting pretty happily with some guy at a bar yesterday."
His voice wasn't loud, but every person at the table heard him clearly. One by one, dissatisfied and questioning looks landed on me.
My grip around the fork and knife tightened so hard my fingertips turned pale.
"The Cooper family has high standards for a future daughter-in-law. Emma's still immature. We can talk about marriage after she learns how to behave herself and settles down a bit."
My mother's face instantly darkened.
"Emma! Is what Ryan said true?"
"Mom, it's not like that—"
"You're a young woman! Hanging around bars and approaching strange men? Do you have any sense of shame at all?"
My mother's voice turned sharp enough to cut through the room.
"Ryan being willing to associate with you is already a blessing, and this is how you act?"
My father said nothing. But the disappointment in his eyes suffocated me far more than any scolding could have.
When I walked out of the restaurant, Riverton's sky looked dull and overcast, like a giant iron lid pressing down overhead.
I didn't know how long I wandered before finally looking up and realizing I was standing in front of Serenity Medical Group's glass entrance.
I pushed the door open and walked inside.
The receptionist informed me that Daniel wasn't there that day and arranged for another male doctor to see me instead.
When the consultation room door closed behind me, I didn't think much of it.
The doctor flipped through my appointment form and smiled. "Breast reduction surgery? Let's start with a basic physical examination."
He stood up and walked behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
Then that hand slowly slid downward along the line of my shoulder.
My entire body stiffened instantly as I jerked away. "What are you doing?"
The smile on the doctor's face didn't change, but his grip tightened. His other hand locked around my wrist. "Relax. Just cooperate with the examination..."
My mind went blank in that instant.
"No—" The word caught in my throat.
Then, with a deafening bang, the door was kicked open from outside and slammed violently against the wall.
Daniel stood in the doorway, an icy fury radiating from him so intensely it made the entire room feel colder.
His eyes swept across the scene once. Then he strode forward in three quick steps, yanked the doctor away from me, and threw him hard onto the floor.
"Notify administration immediately. Suspend all of this man's medical credentials."
His voice was terrifyingly calm, devoid of any unnecessary emotion as he pulled out his phone and called the police.
Curled up in the corner, I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, trembling uncontrollably.
And beneath the fear, something even darker surged up like a tidal wave. Self-loathing.
Was it because my body was too attention-grabbing?
Was it because I shouldn't have worn that outfit today?
"If I'd gotten the surgery earlier... maybe this never would've—"
Before I could finish speaking, Daniel cut me off.
"This was not your fault." He crouched down in front of me, his voice low and unwavering. "What someone wears or what they look like is never a reason for them to be violated."
