Grace“ Come home with me, Grace. Come home and I will make it up to you.” He whispers, his eyes holding the longing, and plead.For a second there, my heart stops beating. My eyes search his gaze, now gentle, and focused solely on me.Didn’t I always want this? For Ethan to push Lily aside and reach me for once? I think.Then, I burst out laughing. “ Have you gone deaf on top of dumb, Ethan? Did you hear what I said, and do you hear yourself now? Come home? What home? ”“ Grace—” He takes another step closer.“ Leave me.” I whisper, interrupting him. “ and sign the papers, Ethan. I want nothing to do with you. Besides, you already got what you wanted from me, right? You took my grandma’s inheritance and got control over the Whitlock Corp. Now you are unstoppable.”“ No!” Ethan, grip tightens on my arm. “ I don’t want anything from you! Just come home, okay? I will return it to you. I will give you anything. I will forget you cheated on me and let you—”“ Are you serious right
GraceSilence ensues on our way back to Tristin’s home. I steal occasional glances his way to find his jaw clenched and his eyes glaring out the window.What Lily said is obviously a lie and it ticked him off. Before, I heard that she had killed Sebastian Roberto too.But...if she has murdered Tristin’s brother and Tristin is powerful enough to make her pay...Why is he not doing anything to her?What is he waiting for?“ Stop staring at me. ” Tristin mumbles.I flinch, realizing that I forgot to take my eyes off him this time.Awkwardly, I look out the window and watch the Roberto mansion getting closer. I thought what happened today will leave me shaken up again, but somehow, I am faring better than I expected.Once Lily is in, Ethan will do everything to get her out. But with Tristin’s influence, it won’t be easy.Sighing, I step out of the car once it stops in the driveway. Tristin moves past me, striding straight for the door without looking back.My eyes narrow. It fe
GraceThe next morning, I come out of my room, wearing another one of a grey pencil skirt and a white blouse sent by Alma. But, it fits me well now, instead of being painfully tight.Lost in my own thoughts, I walk down the stairs only to see Alma standing at the end of them, staring up at me. “ Grace. ” Alma calls me out and nods. “ I heard about your sister on the news. ”My body freezes on the second last stair as I look at her. Her eyes are soft, but there is a lingering wariness in them, which became a part of them after she realized that I am Grace Whitlock.“ I— ”“ I didn’t know they had done something like this to you before. Is that why you are staying with us? ” She interrupts me as if she can’t bother to hear what I have to say to her.My cheeks heat up. “ Uh—Yes, Alma. But as I said, it’s only temporary and— ”“ I don’t mind, Grace. This house is big enough for us to not cross paths even if we stay under the same roof. ” She cuts me again.I press my lips in a thin line a
GraceAs I stroll inside the RB tower, I notice the crowd gathered near the reception but don’t pay much attention.I take the elevator and go to my floor. When the doors ding open, some pair of eyes fall on me. Instantly, the atmosphere on the floor becomes chilling and uncomfortable as the always busy people gossip to each other.I have no doubt it’s about the direct approval of a mere leave from the CEO himself.“ How do you think she is connected to the CEO? ” I hear a Redhead talking in hushed voice to the two girls looming over her.“ How else? She probably slept with him. ”“ She is a looker, I must admit but Mr. Roberto can not take a liking to someone like her. He avoids women like plague. ”The comment piques my interest. Avoids women like plague huh? “ That’s true. I don’t think he is sleeping with her. Maybe it’s one of his personal assistants. ”The hushed gossips follow me until I sit down on my desk in the lonely corner of the floor, right beside Mr. Costello’s office.
GraceEthan’s face reddens. He strolls towards me, seething and blind with rage.All eyes follow him, surprise and curiosity painted across their faces. They must know him. He is the CEO of a rival company.I ignore the curious looks and sit down on my chair. He is here for drama again!How ridiculous! “ What do you want? ” I scoff just as he stops beside me and opens his mouth.His fists clench, a dark look crossing his eyes. But when his eyes fall over my stomach, surprisingly, the anger changes into doubt.A lump forms in my throat as Ethan stiffens and continues to stare at my stomach. “ Are you… ” Ethan’s voice lowers, turning into a whisper. “ Are you feeling better? ” “ After the forced miscarriage, you mean? ” I smile, hatred written over my face.Ethan meets my gaze and swallows. I ignore the way his eyes turn soft and focus on my computer’s screen instead.“ Don’t make a scene in my workplace, or you don’t want to know what I will do next to your precious lover. ” I warn,
Grace“ You said you would give my child to Lily if I was pregnant because I didn’t deserve to be a mother. ” I state, as a matter of fact, not sparing him a glance.I hear his breath hitch and smile wider. He is so good at his ‘hurt’ act. “ Don’t be hurt. You gave the child to Lily, after all. She wanted it gone and you did just that. ” I lean back and continue to stare out. “ Do you think I don’t mourn the loss of our— ”“ Don’t. ” I snap, pulling my wrist out of his palm. “ don’t go there, Ethan. ”To my relief, he goes silent and doesn’t push it. Our journey ends in silence but his eyes remain on me, making it impossible for me to not feel disdain.When the expensive hospital comes into my view, I straighten up. Out of nowhere, Ethan grabs my hand again and places a file in it.I lift my brows and finally direct my gaze to his face. His eyes meet mine, softening once more.“ Take it. ” He whispers. I eye the file and open it without delay. “ Everything you think I snatched fr
Grace“ Maybe I should…take it to the court after all. ” I mumble under my breath, my brows pinched in concentration.My lack of horror towards stabbing Ethan and hurting Lily surprises me. But I still can’t bring myself to regret it.Instead, I regret not doing it sooner.“ Or I should— ”A warm hand around my wrist makes me pause. I look down, to find my hand still holding onto to Tristin’s wrist.My lips purse, my eyes narrowing on my trembling fingers. It’s so stupid that I haven’t stopped trembling.It’s like something inside me is screaming at me to wake up, but I am still lost in an abyss, unable to think about anything else but the damn divorce.The sooner Ethan divorces me, the sooner I can leave this awful world. I can be at peace. I—Tristin pries my fingers off his wrist and turns my hand around to look at my palm. I blink at the deep gash on my hand that is bleeding profusely. The scissors must have hurt me too.After all, it’s not possible to hurt someone else and not g
GraceI couldn’t guess what Tristin really meant by destroying Ethan this time. But in the days to come, I got to know the depth of his words and threats. First, an employee from the Calder Corporation became a whistleblower. He revealed the under-the-table deals that got Calders most of the contracts they bid for. Their stocks plummeted after the news aired. It didn’t stop there. Several people came forth, with accusations of workplace harassment the next day.On the third day, another executive decided to disclose that some of the material used in the construction of the Calder projects was of poor quality, which could become the reason for a building’s collapse under any minor straining condition. I watched new things on the news channel every day. Corruption charges, embezzlement charges, harassment charges, and so much more that I couldn’t even keep up with. Lawsuits after lawsuits, secrets after secrets…everything started drowning Ethan’s name. Whenever the reporters caugh