Chapter 12 #2
I thought about the plan I had put together, the one meant to ruin him. Everything was in place. The setup. The girl. The act she would perform, pretending he had hurt her. The moment he would be caught on camera, exposed, and reported to the authorities.
It was a cheap attempt, but the plan was solid. And I believed it would work.
But seeing him now… this wasn’t what I expected.
The way he was living—quiet, isolated—did not fit the version of him I built my plan around.
“Why are you living like this, Chris?” I asked, unable to hide the curiosity in my voice. “Why did you feel the need to isolate yourself like this?”
He let out a long, weary sigh, leaned back in his seat, and wiped a hand across his face, as if the weight of the question was something he physically carried.
“Taylor told me to disappear, afraid that I would tell anyone about it,” he said quietly.
“She still has the photos and the videos, and even after everything, she’s still threatening to use them against me.
So I did what she wanted.” He turned to me then, his eyes heavy with exhaustion and something like defeat. “I disappeared.”
“But why here, Chris? Why a farm? I don’t understand.”
“It was Tony’s dream,” he said. “Funny, we used to fight about it sometimes, because I thought it was ridiculous. We’d sit around and daydream, talk about what we’d want if we ever had the chance to actually be together.
He wanted a farm. He wanted a simple life.
So when I left, I looked for one. I bought this place with my inheritance. ”
“Where’s Tony now?” I asked.
He shook his head slowly, and there was something hollow in the way he moved, like the question had scraped open an old wound.
“He left, too,” he said. “Moved to another town.”
I looked at him. It was hard not to feel sorry for him, no matter how much I hated him. “And you’re still waiting for him to come back.”
He nodded, then stared out into the distance.
“Yeah,” he murmured. “But that day might never come.”
He paused, his gaze drifting somewhere far away, and when he spoke again, his voice was softer, almost broken.
“The truth is, there was never going to be a way for Tony and me to be together. His family was even worse than mine. They wouldn’t just disown him, Ari… they’d destroy him. I don’t even want to imagine what they’d do if they ever found out.”
We didn’t speak after that. Instead, we sat in silence, our eyes fixed on the distance, letting the quiet stretch between us.
The breeze moved gently through the air, carrying the soft rustle of leaves and the occasional sound of nearby animals.
Neither of us moved. We were both lost in our own thoughts, not needing to fill the silence with anything else.
All the questions that had consumed my thoughts for the past three years had finally been answered.
I still didn’t know what to do about Christian. That part needed more time. I had to think it through carefully.
But Demi—she would get exactly what she deserved.
And Taylor? She needed to pay for what she did.
As for the entire Mercer family, my determination to bring them down had only grown stronger. I couldn’t wait to watch them fall, one by one, until they were the ones crawling to me in their ruin.
Then he said, “I’m sorry, Ari. I really am. I don’t know what else to say.”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I stood up from my seat and walked away without a word.
On the drive back, I asked Toby to take the wheel because I couldn’t focus. My mind was spinning, replaying everything Christian had said.
What stuck with me most was the part about Grayson’s parents trying to fix him up with other girls—girls they chose. I never knew that. He never told me.
Was Lila one of them?
But he was only with her for a year.
That meant even when I wasn’t around, he was still refusing to give in. It was all too much—one revelation after another—and my head was spinning from the weight of it.
Then something just occurred to me. Something I realized too late.
Christian had said he was supposed to ask me out so they could take pictures of us and show them to Grayson.
But that didn’t make sense.
What photos? Grayson never said anything about this to me either.
Toby parked in front of Ana?s, and I got out, still in a daze, barely paying attention to my surroundings. The opening was just days away, this Friday, and everyone was busy with last-minute preparations.
I was about to head up the back stairs when Allen caught my arm, stopping me. He looked anxious.
“I have two pieces of news. One of them is bad. Which do you want first?”
I frowned. “The bad one.”
He took a deep breath, clearly dreading it.
“Belrose is hosting an event,” he said, then paused before adding through gritted teeth, “on our opening day, Ari. This fucking Friday.”
I stared at him, then gave a small shrug. Even if they were planning something, it could not possibly compare to what we had pulled off at the private dinner.
But Allen wasn’t done.
“And I heard they invited a lot of the town’s most affluent people. Not celebrities, but the rich and powerful. People like the mayor and the governor.”
“Allen, what are you so worried about? We’re already fully booked for the next two months.”
He straightened up, looking positively wrecked.
“That’s the thing, Ari. Because of Belrose’s invitations, people are canceling.”
I drew back, stunned.
“What?”
“Apparently, their family has a lot of influence in this town. So if people have to choose, they’re going to pick them, whether it’s out of friendship, loyalty, pressure, or whatever. But the point is, they’re choosing them. We’ve already had eleven tables cancel for Friday.”
Shit!
“Give me some time to think about it,” I said to Allen. “Don’t worry. We’ll fill those eleven tables, and after the event, they won’t be able to touch us. They can’t possibly host something like that every week.”
His shoulders dropped slightly, though the worry still lingered in his expression.
“I hope you’re right. Let me know if you want to talk more about it.”
“Okay,” I nodded. “What’s the other news?”
“Oh,” he said, his face twisting into a frown. “Mr. Grayson Mercer himself is waiting for you. He’s in your office.”