The Rebirth of My Dead Billionaire Wife

Chapter 244

“What is this?” she stammered, her voice shaky as she turned to face Ryan , who stood at the base of the staircase. Her wide gray eyes searched his face for answers.

Ryan looked at her with a mixture of sadness and vulnerability, his hands at his sides. “It’s you,” he said simply.

“Me?” she repeated, her voice rising with disbelief. She gestured to the paintings around her, her hands trembling. “These are from when I was still fat and ugly. The times when you were bullying me and making my life a living hell.”

Ryan flinched at her words, the guilt in his hazel eyes clear. He took a step forward, his voice soft but steady. “You were never ugly, Avery. Not to me.”

Avery’s confusion deepened, and anger started to bubble beneath the surface. “What are you talking about? You tormented me in high school. You made me feel like I was nothing. And now you’re telling me… what? That you didn’t mean it? That you were painting me all along?”

“Please,” Ryan said, his tone almost pleading. “Let me explain.”

Avery crossed her arms, her stance defensive but her curiosity unwilling to let her leave just yet. “Then explain, Ryan. Because this… this doesn’t make any sense.”

***

Avery sat on the cold stone floor of the secret chamber, her arms wrapped around her knees. The weight of everything she had discovered pressed heavily on her chest—the paintings, Ryan’s confession, and the tangled emotions swirling in her heart.

Across from her, Ryan leaned against the wall, his head tilted back, his hazel eyes staring up at the ceiling as if searching for words. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the faint hum of the hidden lights illuminating the gallery of Avery’s likeness.

Ryan exhaled deeply, finally breaking the silence. “I always saw something in you, Avery,” he began, his voice low and steady.

Avery looked up at him, her expression skeptical but curious. “Saw something in me?” she repeated. “Ryan, you spent years making me feel like I was nothing.”

“I know,” Ryan said, his voice tinged with regret. He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding her gaze. “That’s why this is so hard to explain. You were always so… real. You had this strength about you, even when you didn’t realize it. And that terrified me.”

Avery frowned, her confusion growing. “Why would that terrify you?”