My Ex-girlfriend Took Advantage of Me

My grin only made Ryan's eyes colder. "Take him away!"

The bodyguards hauled me downstairs, manhandling me the entire way.

I warned Ryan as I was dragged along, "Keep this up, and I swear, I'll call the cops!"

"Call the cops?" Ryan scoffed as if I'd cracked a joke, "You kidnap my wife, coax her into stealing plans, con us out of cars and homes, and trick her out of millions!"

"Go ahead, call them. Let's see who they haul off!"

With that, they shoved me into a black van.

Ryan took me to a beauty salon, Tiffany's alleged hideout according to her usual excuses, and where I was supposedly her alibi.

As we arrived, bystanders gathered, some filming with their phones, drawn by the spectacle.

"What's all this about?"

"What's happening?"

Ryan addressed the growing crowd, spinning his version of events.

Instantly, I was the villain in their eyes.

"Gross, I can't stand guys like that, using the 'best friend' angle to sneak around with someone's wife!"

"Exactly, female best friends? Maybe. But a guy? That's just shady!"

"Such a sleaze!"

"Complete scum!"

The crowd's jeers surrounded me.

Ryan then dragged me into the salon.

Tiffany wasn't there. He pointed at me, asking the manager, "You recognize this guy? He claims to frequent here with my wife."

"Um..."

The manager squinted, looking me over, "Nope, doesn't look familiar. He's not one of our regulars."

Ryan's fury peaked, "Logan, you dare to toy with me!"

He pushed my head towards the wall.

The salon owner, worried about trouble, quickly stepped in.

Outside, the crowd's curiosity turned into a frenzy.

They whispered and pointed, their stories growing more outrageous by the minute.

Some claimed I'd cheated with Ryan's wife and got busted.

Others speculated I was trafficking women, having sold his wife to some backwoods recluse.

Watching the spectators filming with their phones and talking like they'd seen the whole picture, an idea dawned on me.

"Logan, are you gonna tell me where she is or what?" Ryan's patience was thin, gripping my collar, "You have ten seconds, or I call the cops!"

"Just the cops?"

I mocked him, "Why not make it a media show? Expose me completely, make sure I can never hold my head up again!"

Ryan narrowed his eyes, then yelled to his guards, "You hear that? Do what he wants, give him his big break!"