When I saw Ryan's name on the caller ID, I hesitated for a second. It was like some silly part of me thought that if I didn't answer, maybe things wouldn't get worse. But that's just lying to yourself.

I picked up.

"Grace, I'm sorry," Ryan's voice came through the phone. "I've gone home. I'm taking a position at the Aurevian Group. To do that, I had to show what I've accomplished since graduation, and the only thing I had was Blue Knight. So... I'm really ...