Ever growing 2

Chapter 61

A week later

Ryan and I enter the lawyer's office in Los Angeles, my heart is racing. I know he can sense it as he holds my hand tenderly. Mr. Hale, a man in his 40's who's short and slim tells us about a bunch of legal stuff, some I understand but some of it seems complicated. He then asks if I can share what happened so he can build a good defense. My stomach is in knots as I try to find the courage.

I've shared with Ryan and my friends how he got to me as I was searching for my phone and dragged me to his car before. I then explain how he blindfolded me to bring me inside the house leading me to a bedroom and throwing me onto the bed. He threatened to hurt Ryan if I didn't follow his instructions, he took my phone away as well. I was trying to fight him, I was so angry at him for being the one behind the whole thing. The more I fought the angrier he got. He told me we were meant to be together and I would realize Ryan is a monster once he'd tell me his secrets. I turn to my husband feeling terrible for the word Jake used. His jaw is clenched, his body is tensed. I have to take a deep breath when Mr. Hale asks me to keep going. Jake was angry that I would try to defend Ryan but he said he knew how to convince me to love him.

"He...umm... said I should allow him to... umm... bring me to orgasm to prove how good he is for me," I have a hard time swallowing. Ryan is very quiet. I know he's holding back for my sake. "At first, he tried a softer approach asking me to make love. But of course, I rejected the offer which pissed him off. He...umm... he," tears run down my cheeks. "Did he rape you?" Mr. Hale asks. "He... His... did not penetrate me but," my voice cracks. "He used his fingers and objects," Ryan says in a hard tone. He looks at me telling me I'm doing good. "What type of objects?" Mr. Hale asks, he's very serious scribbling as I talk. The memory of what he did is almost causing me physical pain as I remember how it felt. "The handle of... a hammer first," I whisper. Ryan explodes hitting the desk with his fist cursing loudly. I feel myself crumbling into the chair, wrapping my arms around myself, unsure of what to do or say now. Ryan stands up pacing around the office cursing Jake and saying he needs to pay for what he did to me. "Do you want to wait outside, she's clearly upset," I hear the lawyer say. Ryan turns to me, he seems to calm down noticing my reaction to his outburst. "I'm sorry, baby," he comes back to me, holding me tight. I hide my face in his chest crying.

"I want to get it done and over with me," I say moving around so I can see Mr. Hale's face. I explain that he then used sex toys and his fingers on me but got frustrated because I kept on crying and begging him to stop. He forced me to touch him but again got mad when he tried to force me to perform oral sex and I ended up biting him. He left the room for a while but came back trying the whole thing again forcing me to kiss him now. He tried to get me to perform oral on him again and he tried to do it to me but I fought him. Ryan's face is red, his breathing labored, his arms shaking around me. Then Jake got to another level of anger and he started hitting me.

"He hit my stomach and pubic area because he said he knew about my fertility issues. He said if I wouldn't accept his love then Ryan and I should never be able to have a baby," I'm unsure how I was able to blurb out the whole thing without breaking down but somehow I managed. Ryan looks at me with a mix of sadness and anger in his eyes. Taking a deep breath I keep on talking. "He called me names, said I was a tease because I wore V-necks and dresses around him at the office. He said I invited my husband to the work dinner just to make him jealous. He kept on hitting me over and over again. I couldn't breathe anymore. I felt faint." I go quiet for a moment. "I thought he was never going to stop until he kind of snapped out of his rage. He asked me to please him again promising to stop if I touched him. I was so desperate when he took my hand in his, leading it to his member I looked away crying but I..." I break down in tears again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was hoping he'd stop. I didn't want this! I promise!" I plead with Ryan. Mr. Hale says he'll give us a minute.

Ryan takes my face in his hands looking into my eyes. His expression is soft which surprises me, I expected him to be angry with me. "Ella, I know it wasn't your fault, I know you didn't want this," he says softly. "I really didn't mean to cheat on you, I swear," I'm still worried about the impact of what I had to do on our relationship. "You weren't cheating! He forced you! He's a psycho and we'll make sure he gets what he deserves." He says, still holding my face. He tells me to look at him when my eyes avoid him. "I love you. Forever. You did NOTHING wrong." his lips press on mine tenderly. I relax into his touch, finally feeling relieved. I was so scared he'd think I cheated and wouldn't want me anymore.

Ryan gets the lawyer to come back so I can finish. After explaining how the night and following day ended, Ryan is asked to tell his version. I feel terrible hearing him talk about the panic he felt when I disappeared. Reliving the moment where he faked being dead is also very painful.

"Thank you so much, Ella, you are brave. We will match your statement with the tape and I'm sure we'll win this case," Mr. Hale smiles.

"Wait, what tape?" I ask, confused.

"I thought you knew, Jake had hidden cameras capturing everything. Your statement and the tape match, the case is solid," he explains.

My head is spinning trying to register the new information I just got. What was Jake going to do with the tape? I'm assuming if Mr. Hale saw it, police officers saw it too. Ryan sees the panic in my eyes, he thanks Mr. Hale and leads me to the exit where my legs give out. He picks me up and brings me to the SUV. He tells Cooper, Max, and the driver to wait outside.

I'm on his lap in the backseat having a hard time breathing, my chest hurts, my head is spinning. "Ella, look at me..." he says but my ears are ringing and I can't hear him anymore.

I come back to my senses slowly taking deep breaths. My eyes are still closed but I'm aware that I'm laying down. "Ryan?" My voice is raspy. "I'm here," he holds my hand. My eyes open to see him and realize I'm laying on a stretcher with paramedics by my side. I see the ambulance right by our SUV. "What happened?" I ask. "You had a panic attack, we're taking you to the hospital," The girl on my left says softly. "No!" I protest as I try to sit up. "Babe, lay down, relax," Ryan tries to convince me. "I said no! I won't go, I'm okay." I reach for Ryan's arms knowing the stretcher is high. He lets me wrap myself around him holding me. "You should really come with us so they can run some tests," the girl tries to tell me again. "I'll see my doctor later, I don't want to go now! I'm fine," I argue. I know I'm being stubborn but all I want to do right now is be with Ryan and hide from the world. I don't need to go to a hospital in Los Angeles where the information will leak and people will come up with a bunch of rumors. He momentarily puts me down for me to sign a paper stating I refused treatment before he brings me back to the car.

I glued myself to him once we're buckled up and on our way to the hotel. The driver uses the underground parking for us to go in from. Cooper and Max lead us to the room before retreating to theirs. My brain is a chaotic whirlwind trying to understand what his motive was for filming everything. For some odd reason, him hurting me and Ryan was hard to deal with but thinking a video of me going through this madness exists is even worse. It's been captured and will forever be there as evidence.

"Ella?" he says, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Sorry, yes?" I look up at him.

"Do you want to take a bath maybe?" He says softly. I nod.

We had planned on hanging with his agent and going to the beach but I can't face anyone right now. I feel bad for him having to deal with my breakdown. I tell him he can go see Laura if he wants to but he insists on staying with me. I know he's probably having a lot of questions too.