Ransom Drysdale could count all the things he loved on one hand-his money, his pride, himself, and Juliette Reyes. So when one thing is threatened, you can damn well bet that there's nothing he wouldn't do to protect it.
How far would you go for lo...
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DESPITE CONFESSING TO MURDER, RANSOM ONLY SPENT ONE WEEK IN CUSTODY.
Why?
Because he was a rich white man with very powerful lawyers.
The only catch was that he still had to endure some sort of punishment. With numerous charges stacked up against him, it was impossible to get off completely scot-free. So instead of serving twenty-five years in jail, he was sentenced the lightest punishment available; three months of home arrest.
Right after Ransom's arrest, Lieutenant Elliot requested to speak to Juliette. Still in a state of shock, she nodded slowly and followed them to the station. None of her in-laws offered to go with her, opting to stand outside of Marta's new house like a flock of headless chickens.
She parked in front of the station and waited in her car as they brought Ransom in. She didn't want to arrive at the same time as him because then he would talk to her and the last thing she wanted was to face him.
The officers asked her questions about what she knew. She said she knew nothing. They questioned if she had any involvement in her husband's crimes. She said no. They asked her if she was lying. She said no.
When they got all the information they needed, they asked her if she wanted to see her husband before leaving. She said no and walked out of the building without another word.
She needed time to process what had happened. The person she spent years of her life with—the person she promised her love to—was a murderer. She was married to a murderer. The father of her child was a murderer.
The first thought she had when Ransom was arrested was, No, that's not right. Ransom would never. But after all the facts were laid out in front of her, she'd be a fool if she sided with Ransom. And a liar.
Never, in her twenty-eight years of living, had she ever felt more betrayed. She felt disgusted and confused, sad and angry. Every time she thought of him, her mind immediately went to Marta, then Harlan, then Fran. He had ruined two families—one of them his own—and tried to ruin Marta.
I did it for us.
His words haunted her. The guilt that those five little words caused planted itself in her and followed her wherever she went.
Juliette couldn't believe she missed it. If she had only paid better attention, maybe this wouldn't have happened. She prided herself on observation skills, but at the end of the day, they failed her. After all, who goes to the gym in the middle of the night?
She should've known something was up. But she trusted Ransom. She had no reason to believe that anything was more than what she was told. But that didn't stop her from beating herself up over it.
The worst part about it was that she was still in love with him.
Images of him in his best moments played in her mind like a movie. A supercut of Ransom Drysdale flashed behind her eyes every time she blinked, and there was nothing she could do about it.
He was still the same man who made her breakfast in bed. The same man who carried her up the stairs after a long night in heels. The same man who shielded her from the drama reporters who showed up at her office every time one of her competitors tried to drag her company through the dirt. The same man who smiled for days when he found out she was pregnant.
Under all the anger, hate, and manipulation that had surfaced recently, he was still her Ransom.
She loved him. And no matter how badly she wanted to, she knew she could never stop. The day they got married, she made a vow to love him through the good, the bad, and the ugly. She just didn't know that the bad and ugly would be murder charge.
She longed for the days where they would just stay in bed as the world passed them by. But that was no longer her reality. She was a big believer in ignoring the problem until it doesn't exist anymore. This was no different.
It took Juliette several days to build up the courage to go see him. In all honesty, she probably wouldn't have if their lawyer didn't call her. Ransom refused to cooperate until he saw her.
The drive to the police station felt too long to be real. The walk to the interrogation room felt even longer. It was empty when she entered, the lawyer chose to stay outside. She sat at the table and fiddled with the jewelry on her hands.
The door opened again and Ransom, along with two cops, walked in. They unlocked his handcuffs and exited the room. Juliette looked up as the chair across from her dragged across the floor.
They said nothing for a few moments. Ransom was well aware that Juliette had to be forced here and Juliette knew that Ransom knew and that made their whole encounter awkward. She didn't know where to start. She had so many things to say to him. She wanted to scream, and kick, and cry, but when she went to open her mouth, one simple question came out.
"Are you even sorry?"
Ransom smirked and let out an airy chuckle. "What, no 'hi, honey'?"
"Ransom," Juliette scolded with the slight shake of her head.
He studied her briefly. She looked tired, like she hadn't gotten a decent sleep for a week. He assumed it was because she hadn't. His arrogant facade melted away and was replaced with one of concern. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was setting my grandfather's nurse up for murder. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I tried to kill his housekeeper. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I committed arson. And that I lied about it. But I'm not sorry for actually doing it."
He watched her carefully as her jaw clenched. She sucked in her cheeks and turned her head to the side. "Because you did it for me." Her statement came out more like a question than a statement.
"And I'd do it again," Ransom said without missing a beat.
The look of repulsion that overcame Juliette's face was startling. She swallowed the lump that grew in her throat. "I never asked you to do that."
"I'd never hurt you," he said. Ransom's eyes flickered down her body. "Either of you."
Juliette laughed humourlessly, causing Ransom to give her a look of confusion. "See, that's what I thought. I used to think that you weren't capable of doing what you did, but you were. I look at you and I don't know who you are anymore. So forgive me if I don't believe you."
Juliette stood up, her chair letting out an agonizing screech as it dragged across the floor. She said nothing as she rushed out of the room. Their lawyer tried to stop her as she passed, but she just kept walking until she got to her car. When she entered the small sports car, she didn't start it right away. Instead, she sat in silence, wondering how her life had gone so bad, so quickly.
