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Chapter 93

Author: Theresa Oliver
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56
Vickie came a few minutes later and they all took turns teasing Ava about possibly being pregnant. She finally told them all to stop, truly annoyed. The truth was that she didn't want to get her hopes built up before she found out if she was pregnant or not for sure.

Later that night, Henley fell asleep, ending all conversation in her hospital room.

"So, are you hungry?" Ava asked Grayson in a low voice later that night.

He nodded. "Yes. Ari, I was thinking that since Henley is better now, would you mind if we go back to Estrea? I hate to leave, but I have some business to attend to."

Ari knew that the "business" he was speaking of was the murders, but she was glad he didn't say it. He probably didn't want to be reminded of it, either. Although she hated to leave her family, it was time. And after the fiasco on New Year's Eve, she didn't want Grayson to leave without her. Although she loved Vickie dearly, she was no longer single, and she couldn't do all the things she used to when
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    Ari looked out the window of the plane, enjoying the puffy white clouds below, placed in the sky as if God himself had set them there."Are you okay?" Grayson asked, refilling her champagne glass. Ari nodded and took a sip. "I'm fine."Grayson tilted his head to the side. "Are you sure? You've been quiet since we left."A broad smile spread across her face. "I'm glad that you and my mother are finally getting along." Then she tucked her free arm around his, enjoying the feel of this wonderful man beside her. "Thank you so much for everything."A confused look spread over his face. "For what? I didn't do anything."She kissed his cheek. "You did everything." Then she gently kissed his cheek again... and again....Grayson turned his head and seemed to devour her lips as passion overtook them both. Then he pulled back and whispered in her ear, "Want to join the Mile-High Club?"Ari scoffed. "Here?" She looked around, wondering who was watching. Even though it was the Royal Family's priva

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    Luckily, Grayson was able to get Ari to the limousine unscathed. "To the castle," Grayson shouted to the driver. But they were surrounded by paparazzi and were unable to move."Sorry, Your Highness," Clark replied, shaking his head. "I'll get us out of here as soon as I can.""I'll take care of this," Hal, another bodyguard, said, getting out of the limo. "Everyone, step away from the limo, unless you want to see the inside of a jail cell!" Suddenly, everyone stepped back. He walked around the limo, ensuring everyone observed a safe distance away from the limousine.Ari rubbed his arm in a calming motion, obviously worried about him. Grayson wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his side. Then he raised the partition. "Ari, I'm sorry. Why they were allowed onto the tarmac near the plane is beyond me."She shook her head, still rubbing his arm. "Grayson, it's not your fault.Sirens screamed in the distance, growing closer, and the paparazzi began to scatter, just like roaches. A

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    When the three of them entered the parlor, the king rose from his seat. "Grayson, my boy! It's great to have you home!" He pulled his son in for a hug."It's good to be home," Grayson replied, releasing him. Then the king took Ari's hand, patting it as he looked into her eyes. "My dear, you look absolutely radiant tonight." Then he kissed her hand. "Welcome home."Ari gave a slight curtsy. "Thank you, Your Majesty.""Come. Sit down." The king motioned toward the sofa and the empty chairs. "Sit and tell me all about your trip. I want to hear every word." Then he looked at Ari, his eyes filled with concern. "How is your sister, my dear? Did the transplant work?""She was very sick at first but was feeling better before we left. However, we won't know for another few weeks whether the Stem Cell Transplant worked or not."The king nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you'll keep me informed. Won't you?"Ari nodded, a smile curling the edges of her lips. "Yes, Your Majesty. Of course. Thank you."T

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    Before long, the day of the interview was upon them. To Ari's surprise, the last few days had flown by."Are you sure you really want to do this?" Ari asked, adjusting Grayson's tie for him. "We can always cancel."Grayson shook his head. "No, the station has been advertising this since we made the appointment. It won't look good if we cancel now." Then he kissed her cheek and looked into her eyes. "But if you'd rather not do this, it's fine. I can make an excuse for you."Ari shook her head. "No. As you said, we need to do this. And I want to be there to tell my side. I'd like to put this mess behind us once and for all."Grayson kissed her cheek. "You look beautiful, by the way."She was dressed in a sheath dress, with a high neck, and sleeveless. She planned to wear a full-length white coat over it, since it was January, and then take it off at the studio. She just hoped everything went well and that the interview went in their favor. She just hoped the station didn't double cross t

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    "So, what did you find out?" Ari asked Grayson when she walked out of the green room at the news station, along with the king and Quinn.Grayson was on the other side of the door, standing to the side. "Marcus is here for a rebuttal after our interview." Grayson sighed, clenching his jaw.Ari shook her head. "How did he find out about this?""The station must have called him." He shrugged. "But if I find out that Ella J. Scott or Jacob Andrews called him, I'll never do another interview with them again."Xavier and Quinn were walking with the king, following him down the hallway toward the set."How do you feel about Marcus being given airtime to refute our statements?" Ari asked, clearly concerned. Of all the things she expected to happen, that wasn't one of them.Grayson placed his hand on her back, leading her down the hallway. "He shouldn't be here. If he wanted to refute our statements, then he could have held a press conference."Ari nodded in agreement. In her opinion, it was ta

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    "Now," Ella J. Scott sat forward in her chair during the interview with the Royal Family, looking directly at Grayson. "Prince Grayson, are there any truths to the accusation that you bought your wife through AmericanMate?"Grayson smiled. "Ms. Scott, as you know, slavery has been outlawed in this country for quite some time now. Years ago, arranged marriages were standard practice in the Royal Family. After my very public breakup with Dima Franz, I decided to have an arranged marriage with AmericanMate." He reached over and held Ari's hand and smiled. "And that was when I met my lovely wife, Her Royal Highness Princess Ari Douglas Pierce of Estrea. Luckily, it worked out very well. We hit it off as soon as we met, and I haven't looked back. I can honestly say that marrying Ari has been the best thing that has ever happened to me.""So, it was an arranged marriage then?" Ella clarified.Grayson nodded. "Yes, it was a modern day arranged marriage.""I see," Ella replied. "So, if you don

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    After the interview, Grayson and Ari headed back to the castle, along with the rest of the Royal Family. Grayson wrapped his arm around Ari, who was leaning against him. "So, do you think the interview did any good?" Ari asked, looking up at him with innocent eyes. Grayson sighed. He didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't want her to worry unnecessarily, either. "I'm not sure. But at least the truth is out there. The public can't fault us for that. I just hope it satisfies the people. The one thing we don't need is a Civil War.""Well, let's just hope it doesn't come down to that," Ari replied. "I think it went well. I just hope that Marcus doesn't do anything stupid."Grayson smirked. "That's a lot to ask," he said, his voice filled with sarcasm. Ari yawned when they pulled up in front of the castle a little while later. "Tired?" Grayson asked her.Ari nodded. "Just a little, but I'm fine.""You haven't had any time to relax since we came back," Grayson observed. "Why don't you

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    Ari had fallen asleep on the way home, despite her best efforts to stay awake. But the lack of sleep and the continuous motion of Grayson stroking her hair, made sleep inevitable. But now that she was with Grayson again, the world could fall apart, and she wouldn't care. Her stomach hurt a bit, waking her."Are you alright?" Grayson asked, his voice filled with concern.Ari nodded. "My stomach's hurting just a bit, but I'm fine. I just need to rest.""And eat," Xavier added, looking at her in the rearview mirror. Ari laughed. "Well, that's a given." She thought for a moment, wanting to word it correctly. "Xavier, Grayson, thank you both for coming to my rescue.""It's my pleasure, my lady," Xavier teased."You know I would move heaven and earth to get to you," Grayson replied, his voice low and husky.Xavier nodded. "And he is not exaggerating."Ari laughed. "Well, I truly appreciate it." Then she thought of something. "I had to do something that I'm not proud of." She bit her lower

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    Ari ran through the forest as quickly as she could, headed toward who knew where. She remembered that there was a road that lead back to the village, and she had to find it. She couldn't follow the beach; she'd ever get home.Home.A small word that held so much power. As she ran, all she could think of was Grayson and going home, their home together, at the castle. Then she fell, stumbling over a root protruding from the ground, but caught herself with her hands. But she got up and started running again. After a bit, she looked behind her to see if anyone was following... and ran straight into something. When she looked up... it was Piers."No!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her knees buckling under her. But to her surprise, he caught her in his strong arms."Quiet!" Piers said, holding a finger to his lips."Hold it right there." When she looked up and saw Grayson holding a gun, her heart leapt with relief and joy."Grayson!"Piers quickly pulled her in front of him. "I want

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    Grayson rode with Xavier into the night toward the shore. Although the chances of finding her in the dead of night was slim and none, he knew he had to try. And from the moment Xavier had heard, he was along for the ride. Without question. "Thank you for this," Grayson said, looking over at him.One corner of his lips curled into a smile. "You don't have to thank me. You would do the same for me, if the tables were turned.""Without question."Xavier shrugged. "But then again, I'd do it for Ari, anyway."Grayson chuckled. "Of course, you would," he teased. "I'm glad that you two get along so well.""What can I say? She's a nice girl...." Then he grinned. "and I'm a nice guy."Grayson laughed. "Yes, you are... but I didn't say that.""Of course not." Xavier looked over at him and smiled. "So, have you seen anything suspicious?"Grayson shook his head. "No. Nothing that could be used as a fortress or a hideout.""The shore is farther away than I thought." Xavier sighed."Which is why I

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    Ari looked around the warehouse, taking everything in. Maybe she would find a clue as to where she was. She kept hearing the crashing of waves, as if she were near the ocean, which meant that she was a few hours away from the castle. Either way, it would be a long walk back.One thing was certain: she couldn't just run back down the road to the castle, even if she did manage to escape. But then again, if she could just get out, then she could easily find her way back to the castle. Surely, someone would know the way and could give her a ride. Although she had no idea what time it was or how much time had lapsed, she knew she had much less than twenty-four hours now and, although there were no windows, she knew it had to be dark—or close to it—making it the perfect time to escape. But she was also getting hungry and she knew she had to eat soon. Also, when she came out of the restroom earlier, Piers had put another zip tie around her wrists again. So, she had to escape when the Zip tie

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    Grayson called Xavier, knowing he couldn't just sit there and wait. At that moment, he would give anything to have Ari back."Yeah," Xavier answered on the first ring. "Find anything?" Grayson asked, pacing the floor in his office. "Yeah, I think you'd better get down here." From the sound of it, Xavier was pacing, too.Grayson sighed, fearing the worst. "I'll be right there." He clicked off and was ready to walk out when the door slowly opened. "Where's Ari?" Celeste asked, slowly walking in, obviously having overheard something. "Do you know where she is?"Grayson sighed, biting his lower lip. "Please, sit down." He knew he had to go, but her mother deserved to know the truth before he left.Celeste said nothing but slowly walked into the room and folded her arms across her chest. "Where is she?"Grayson looked directly into her eyes, pain ripping through his whole body, as if someone had physically shoved their hand into his chest and ripped his heart out."Ari's been kidnapped."

  • Bought by the Billionaire Prince   Chapter 139

    Ari looked around the warehouse and all eyes were on her. Marcus gritted his teeth as he walked purposefully toward her and slapped her across the face. "How dare you say that about me?" He raised his hand again, but Piers caught it.Piers shook his head. "You gave your word that she will not be harmed for twenty-four hours."Marcus glared at him for a moment, and then ripped his hand out of his grasp. Then he turned his attention to Ari. "Kill me, will you?"Ari raised her head and glared at him, staring daggers into his eyes looking through her hair covering one eye. "Mark my words. You will never get away with this. You should have taken the deal that King Maxwell offered you. It's as good as you're going to get." She shrugged. "It's more than I would have given you.""Why you—" Marcus made a move toward her again, but Piers stood in his way and shook his head in warning."Not while I'm here," Piers replied. Quicker than Ari would have thought possible, Marcus whipped out a gun an

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