Chapters (66)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Keep Reading
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sneak Peek
- Find Me
- Books by Mary Catherine Gebhard
- Acknowledgments
“So that’s it?” I said, voice hoarse. “It’s really true? You’re marrying her and leaving me in the dust.”
His eyes were red but brutal.
“You promised you wouldn’t do this to me,” I said quietly. “Now not just everyone in Crowne Hall knows we’re together, but everyone in the fucking world. But they also know you’re marrying Charlotte. You didn’t take us out of the dark. You just shoved me deeper into the shadows. You made me your public mistress. You made me your dirty secret. You made me your lie. Why?”
He clenched his jaw. “Just go.”
“You’re a coward, Grayson Crowne. Afraid to show your insides. Afraid to be truly vulnerable. Afraid.”
“Me?”
He grasped my sheet, tearing me up until my back bent, and I was face-to-face with him. “How long have you been hiding, Story? Do you even remember what the real you looks like beneath all your armor?”
“You made me the mistress,” I spat. “You made me the liar. Why, why did you do this to us?”
His eyes fractured, and for a moment I saw Grayson. I thought maybe he would let me in, tell me how we got from last night to here.
Then his grip tightened. “I’ll give you double this, no, fucking quadruple it. Whatever you want, five hundred million dollars right now to get out of my fucking life.”
Five hundred million dollars.
I couldn’t breathe by the amount.
“I-I can’t.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“You know why. There’s only one person in Crowne Hall who would let my uncle stay here. Only one person who gives a damn to let a dying man stay when he has no labor to offer.”
His grip tightened a fraction; then he shoved me away. I clasped at the sheets so they didn’t fall off me.
“Am I supposed to leave him and let him die here on his own?”
“You can visit him.”
“When? Crowne Hall has never been very open to visitors. I can’t imagine your family allowing me to visit whenever the hell I want.”
“I’ll make it happen,” he gritted.
“What if he gets worse while I’m away? Or dies? Of anyone you should know how important family is. You act like you don’t care, but you do. You know why I can’t leave him.”
He slammed his hands on either side of me. “You’re only here because I allow it.”
A rush of cold iced my spine.
Grayson Crowne.
Apathetic and entitled…cruel. Not the boy I’d fallen in love with.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I punched his chest, but he didn’t so much as stumble. “Why is everything different? Stop it. Stop it. Stop ruining everything.” I shoved his chest again. “I thought we were past this. I thought you were letting me in.”