Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Grayson
I threw my glass at the wall, which shattered all over the floor. Then I took another glass and threw that as anger consumed me.
“Whoa,” Julius said as he walked in. “Grayson, calm the fuck down.”
“I can’t. God, Julius, you should have seen her. I’ve never felt so much pain in my life. What the fuck am I going to do?”
“There’s nothing you can do. You lied to her for months, Grayson. I warned you about this.”
“I love her so much. You don’t understand. I can’t live without her and my daughter.”
“Then you’re going to have to try and win her back. But to be honest, I don’t think she’ll take you back. Not to mention she’s probably going to sue the fuck out of the cryobank.”
“She won’t do that.”
“You can’t be so sure about that.”
“I know her, and she won’t.”
“You know her when she’s stable. God knows the mental state she’s in now. You fucked that poor woman up. She loved you, man.”
“You don’t think I know that,” I spoke through gritted teeth as I grabbed his shirt.
“Don’t. Don’t you dare yell at me. You’re the one who wanted to get involved to make sure you got your company. I hope it was worth it. You destroyed that poor woman’s life, the mother of your child.”
“She told me she never wants my daughter to know what kind of man I really am.”
“I’m sorry, bro. I really am.”
“If you don’t mind, I want to be alone.”
“Sure.” He patted my shoulder. “Call me if you need anything.”
One Month Later
For the past month, I sent her a dozen roses every day with a card telling her how sorry I was and that I loved her. I tried to send her some text messages, but they wouldn’t go through. I was sure she blocked my number. I hadn’t been in the office much and did a lot of work from home. The past couple of weeks, I told Christine that I was sick with the flu. I couldn’t bear to leave the penthouse anymore. All I did was drink and sleep. I hated myself for what I’d done. I had never felt so low in my entire life. I couldn’t do this anymore. The pain of being here in the city was killing me.
I had Damon drive me to my grandfather’s house because I needed to tell him. He had been in Florida and didn’t know what happened. He was going to be so pissed,but I didn’t care anymore.
“Grayson, you look like shit,” he said as he walked into the living room. “Are you still sick?”
“No. I need to talk to you.”
“Sit down. What is it?”
“I’ve done something really bad. Something I can’t take back.”
“What did you do?”
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath.
“Harper and I are no longer together. She left me because I lied to her.”
“Good God, Grayson. What did you lie about?”
“I made a bet with Julius a couple of years ago, and I lost. Because I lost, I had to donate some of my sperm to the cryobank where Julius works. My profile was never to be found or seen, but somehow when he and Yasmin were on vacation, it did, and it was sent to Harper. She chose me and became pregnant.”
“What? Are you telling me that you’re the father of Harper’s baby after you sat here and told me you weren’t?”
“Yes. After you gave me that ultimatum, I found out who she was, and I pursued her. My plan was to make you believe that I loved her, and when you signed over the company to me, I was going to break it off. But then I fell in love with her.” Tears started to stream down my face. “I wanted to tell her so many times what I’d done, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t bear to hurt her. I loved her too much.” I cried. “She found out, and now she’s gone. She told me she never wanted to see me again.”
My grandfather sat there and stared at me without saying a word. I was waiting for his wrath, and I was prepared for it. Nothing more could bring me down any lower than I already was. I had totally hit rock bottom.
“What you did was wrong, and now you’re being punished for it. I’m not going to say anything else to you because the pain and suffering of losing someone you love is bad enough. Especially when it was done out of betrayal. You reap what you sow, son. I’m very disappointed in you.”
“I know you are, and I’m sorry. I swear to you that if I could take it all back, I would in a heartbeat. And this is why I need to do what I came here to do.”
“And what is that?”
“I quit. You can hand the company over to Alfie. I’m sure he’ll do a great job.”
“So, you’re giving it all up?”
“I am. My greed and the need for power was what led all of this to happen. If I can’t have Harper and my daughter by my side while I’m running the company, then I don’t want it. I’m sorry, Grandfather. I’m truly sorry for everything I’ve done.”
I walked out and climbed into the back of the Escalade.
“What did he say?” Damon asked.
“Nothing. He barely said anything at all.”