Chapter 22

Serena's POV The door opened, and there he was—Ryan. His usually perfect appearance was disheveled, hair messy like he'd been running his hands through it repeatedly. Dark circles under his eyes. Tie loosened. "Serena," he breathed, relief washing over his face when he saw me awake. "Thank God." "You're actually the last person I want to see right now," I cut him off, my voice surprisingly steady despite the storm raging inside me. Ryan stopped mid-step, looking like I'd just slapped him. Good. Maybe now he knew how it felt to be blindsided. "Serena, please. I just wanted to make sure you're okay," he said, his voice dropping lower. "When I saw you fall..." "When you saw me get pushed, you mean," I corrected, wincing as pain shot through my skull. "By your girlfriend." His jaw tightened. "Ivy is not my girlfriend. She never was." "Could've fooled me." I turned my face away, eyes fixed on the bland hospital wall. "This time, I'm not going to let it slide just because of you," I said, vo