Professor Bryant's Second Chance

Chapter Seven

Dylan



This flight was ridiculously long. I had woken early this morning to get with Mr. Knight and work everything through before leaving. Carly was informed of my two-week departure, and soon all the media outlets would find out. I wasn't looking forward to the hour-long interview that I've agreed to with Mr. Knight when I return. Let's just hope that Riley was sitting right beside me. This was my one chance to get her back in my corner. There was no way that I was going to waste it.

Halfway through the flight, I got a ding on my phone. It was my email notification. I had no intention of checking it until I recognized the email address. It was Riley's. Why was she emailing me?

I quickly pulled up her email by grabbing my laptop out of its case sitting next to me. Thankfully, I hadn't stopped my emails from campus coming directly to my personal email.

It took me reading over the email three times for me to fully comprehend the emotion that had been running through her while she was writing this out to me. Knowing Riley, she probably debated more often times than not about even sending it over to me in the first place. While reading the short email, I could feel the passion behind every word she wrote.

Riley didn't know I wanted to go on camera and make a statement. Honestly, I did. When I heard the media was slandering her name, I wanted to do anything and everything I could to ease that off her shoulders. My lawyer stepped in and recommended that I didn't do that. He said there was a chance that Riley could retaliate and sue me. If she did sue me, she would be within her legal rights to do so since I lied to her about my marriage and would ultimately be awarded. At first, retaliation was the last thing on my mind. I wanted to do the right thing and clear her name. I would deal with the consequences since this was on my shoulders anyway.

Amora was the one to talk me out of it. My sister was furious with me once the news broke out, and my parents refused to speak to me, not like they did before. Amora felt terrible for what happened in New York but ultimately convinced me to let things go. She said that the last thing I wanted to do was to tarnish my family's name. I should have told her to go to hell along with my parents, but I didn't know if Riley would even care if I went on camera to say that none of this was her fault.

The other part about this email that bothered me was the fact that she stated I only cared about myself, and she wished she could be the same way. No way. Riley was the most perfect woman the way she was now. It nearly killed me to hear how close she is with Justin now. I'm sure she put that piece in there to make me jealous, and so far, it was working.

I can't believe that he didn't bother mentioning our conversation to her. I mean, I know that I told him not to tell her that I was the one that got her out of jail, but with how pushy Riley is sometimes, I figured she would have gotten it out of him. That was good for me. It was just one more thing I could use in my arsenal of winning her back.

While I was on my computer, I pulled up some emails that I had received from different divorce lawyers. The lawyer I currently had for that didn't seem to know how to do his job correctly because he hadn't succeeded in getting Veronica to sign the damn things. I know that there wasn't a lot that I could do to make up for the past, but I could start fresh. In order to do that, I needed to cut all ties with Veronica once and for all. Riley could never accept me back into her life without knowing I was trying.

After sending some emails over to a few different divorce lawyers, I decided to send an email back to Riley.

Ms. Bell,

You have no idea the amount of regret that I carry. More than anything, I wanted to comfort you and be there for you. Seeing as how I'm the one that caused you all this pain, I thought it best to give you the space you needed to think about everything.

My time spent with you was one hundred percent authentic. I'm in love with you, Riley, and I always will be. You deserve an answer from me that would help you move on in your life, but I can't. You know me better than anyone in my life. You know just how greedy I can be when it comes to you. I don't want you to move on. I know how selfish that is to say, but I'm being truthful with how I feel.

If I could take it all back, I wouldn't change a thing except for not telling you about my marriage earlier. There are things that you don't understand and didn't give me the time to explain to you before you shut me out. I'm in no way upset with you for doing so. This is all on me. I should have told you sooner. Your reaction was reasonable and completely justified. I won't go into details over an email. If, at some point in your life, you want to sit down and discuss it, I would be more than willing to.

Riley Bell, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I honestly mean that.

Yours truly,

Dylan Bryant

I quickly hit send without reading through it again. I could feel the emotion running through my body to my fingers and onto the keyboard as I typed away. I didn't need to read it again to know that I put every feeling I had into that email. I hated lying to her yet again. Well, technically, I wasn't lying. I was withholding information about the trip. In this email, I've made it seem as if I may just see her again one day. Little did she know how soon that day would come.

When I didn't get a response back, I closed my laptop and my eyes. When I woke again, we were getting ready to land. The airport was about forty miles from the resort. A cab would have to take me the rest of the way.

As soon as I left the airport, my phone started going off like crazy. I turned it off after sending my email to Riley. If I heard my phone ding, I would have been too attempted to read it. I wanted to wait until I at least got to my hut.

"Dylan! What do you think you are doing?!" Veronica buzzed in my ear the second that I answered her call. She's called me twenty f*****g times already. "I went by your office this morning, and your assistant proceeded to tell me that you have left the states! When were you planning on telling me?"

"Never," I laughed. "We are separated, Veronica. I don't have to tell you about every detail of my life."

She huffed, and even though I couldn't see her, I knew her face was red, and she was running around her apartment with her arms in the air. "Uh! You are impossible sometimes. Why do you have to make things so complicated all the time?! I'm trying to work through our differences and am even willing to forgive you for your little hookup with one of your students. You aren't even trying to make this work!"

I'm getting pranked, right? She wasn't that dumb. "Veronica, we split months before I even met Riley, and that was because you didn't know how to stop opening your f*****g legs. This marriage was doomed from the minute we said, 'I do.' You are a manipulative, cold-hearted b***h. We don't match. Expect another letter from my attorney regarding the divorce papers. Be smart and sign them this time."

"You arrogant asshole! I'm not signing s**t, and you can't make me. You know that your parents chose me for a reason. You will never get better than me, Dylan! I will ruin everything in your life that you hold dear. Count that as a promise. Eventually, there will be no one left that cares about you, only me."

Veronica hung up before I could say anything else, which I was thankful for. That woman knew how to bring out the worst in me. If I had stayed on the phone with her any longer, I would have said some hurtful things. It wasn't like she didn't deserve them. Still, no woman should experience a man being mentally abusive, no matter how horrible they were.

Finally, I had arrived at my hut, greeted by one of the tour guides who showed me around. It was impressive. The hut that I rented out for myself could sleep twelve people easily. On the back deck was a deep pool where the water ran over into the ocean, creating the most romantic setting. Everything was gorgeous and spotless. Riley would love it here.

I rented out three huts in total. One hut for Nora and her boyfriend Mikey, a hut for myself, and a hut for Justin and Riley. Trust me when I say that I hated the thought of them sharing a hut all to themselves, but I was hoping that the rest of the nights would be spent in mine when she saw me. My hut was more extensive than theirs. I did this on purpose, hoping that I could maybe invite everyone over to have dinner after 'accidentally' running into them.

Bora, Bora has so many nice things to do and see. Snorkeling would be a top priority, of course. There were private classes available right outside of our huts. I didn't waste any time walking down there and booking two tickets. This was a once-a-lifetime trip, and it needed to be special for Riley. Even if she didn't take me back, it would be nice to get away from life. She put on a strong face, but I knew all this media attention was killing her on the inside.

Once I was ultimately settled in and had dinner, I rang the front office a few miles down up the pier.

"How can I help you, Mr. Bryant."

Of course, they knew my name. After all, I was a VIP guest. Once people caught wind of me being here, this resort would get more publicity, though it didn't need it. This resort spoke for itself. "Yes, can you please inform me when Ms. Bell and her guest check-in tomorrow? Under no circumstances are you to let them know that I am here. I will let Ms. Bell know once I am ready for her to know."

"Certainly, sir. Are there any more requests that we may be able to fill? We have the best spas in this resort along with some fun water activities."

That was a good suggestion. "Yes. Please schedule an appointment for the women for the spa every two days that they are here. I'm more than happy to pay for everything. Please bill my room directly. Under no circumstances will they be billed for anything while staying at this resort. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir,"

"Also, please pencil them in for the ski jets at the end of the week. Thank you."

I know it was a little rude for me to end the call like that. I've been told I can be a little bossy when it came to things I wanted, but I was excited for Riley to get here.

One last thing before taking off to bed, I called up the nearest store that sold high-end bikinis. They were instructed to take the girls there right after their flight to be treated to a few pairs at no expense and were also ordered to bill that to me.

This entire trip cost me more money than I've ever spent at one time, but it would all be worth it just to put a smile on Riley's face again, knowing that I was the cause.