Eleanor held Ryan close, a satisfactory smile spread across her lips. She was about to lean in and kiss him when his words stopped her.
"Yes, you're right," he said, his voice soft. "You had to listen to your father. I don't think you're wrong, but if I were you, I wouldn't have made the same decision. You could have found a better way."
Eleanor was taken aback by the sudden change in Ryan's narrative.
Ryan's thoughts drifted to Suzy. "No matter how much she feared death and abandonment," he mused, "she would never plead or beg to someone she feared. She faced her fears head on. She wouldn't have thrown anything precious to her away, even if it meant dying to keep her freedom from being taken away from her. If she had already lost something, she wouldn't fall apart. She would always find a way to recover on her own. And that's what I admire most about her."
