Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Ariana
Ididn’t even realize I was holding my breath as I walked toward my office.
I pushed the door open, and there he was—Grayson. Sitting on the couch under the window, one leg crossed over the other, looking completely relaxed.
Of course.
He found a way to get back at me. On the night of our private dinner, he had almost no customers. And today, even though we hadn’t officially opened, I’d already noticed that Belrose wasn’t nearly as packed as usual.
Good.
His eyes followed me as I walked in and stopped across from him, standing on the other side of the coffee table. I didn’t say a word. I waited.
“Not going to sit?” he asked.
I shook my head slowly. “You’re going to leave in a minute, and I have better things to do. So what for?”
“Okay then.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “I’d better say what I came here to say.”
I didn’t respond, but I was listening closely.
“I’m sure you’ve heard I’ll be hosting an event this Friday.” He paused, probably waiting to catch a reaction.
I gave him nothing.
He stood and walked toward me, stopping just a foot away. I had to tilt my head slightly to meet his eyes.
“It won’t be as grand as what you pulled off yesterday, but let me make something clear, Ari.
” He leaned in until his face hovered right in front of mine.
“This is my town. The Mercers have ruled it for years. You know that. We have people who owe us favors. People who respect us. Friends who have stood by us for generations. And they’ll take our side. ”
His smile twisted into something wicked, laced with mockery as he looked at me.
“They know what you did to me three years ago. They know the kind of person you are. And they’ll believe whatever I say because I will tell them, Ari. I’ll tell them you came back to ruin my family by going after Belrose directly.”
He straightened up, slipping his hands into the pockets of his pants.
“And no one will take your side. Because who are you? Just a nobody who happened to fuck one of the country’s richest bachelors to climb the social ladder.” His voice turned cold.
I wanted to say something back to him. I really did. But my mind was still tangled from everything Christian had told me. I couldn’t think straight. Questions and confusion kept spinning in my head, and Grayson showing up now—of all times—was the worst possible timing.
He tilted his head, studying me closely.
“You’re even more beautiful than I remembered.” His voice dropped, almost like a sigh. “Which is the saddest part, really. All that beauty, completely wasted on someone like you.”
And that was the moment I finally regained my composure.
I smiled at him, just as wicked as his.
“You said they’ll take your side? Then let them.” I smiled, cold and unbothered. “Go ahead, Grayson. Make this competition more interesting. Because so far, it’s been painfully boring how easy it is to beat you. And we’re not even open yet.”
His expression changed, flickering with something like anger, but only for a moment.
“This is a competition, Grayson, and I’m going to win it fair and square.
So go ahead with your event. Host one every week if you have to.
But you don’t have the vision, the resources, or even the skill to save yourself.
And let’s be honest, you don’t have the money either, do you?
Your business has been bleeding for years. ”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again, clearly at a loss for words. But the fury rolled off him in waves—I saw it in the way his jaw clenched, the way his eyes darkened.
“Why are you so hellbent on ruining me, Ari?” he snapped. “You fucking cheated on me. You betrayed me in the worst way, right there in the house that was supposed to be ours. On our engagement night!”
I didn’t respond.
I wasn’t going to give him anything. Not now. He would find out the truth after I destroyed him.
And it would hurt a thousand times more that way.
Then suddenly, his hands were on my face.
He wasn’t rough, even though I instinctively braced for it. His touch was careful, almost desperate, like he was too frustrated and didn’t know what else to do.
I stood frozen.
The warmth of his hands sent a shockwave through me, one I didn’t expect to feel after everything.
And then, as if to make it all worse, he leaned in.
His lips hovered just an inch from mine, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath against my skin. It was soft, a little shaky, laced with the faint sweetness of mint. My heart pounded so hard I could hear it echoing in my ears, drowning out everything else.
I could feel the tension between us, thick and magnetic, pulling me toward him. Every nerve in my body was on edge, alive with his nearness. Buried deep in my chest was the feeling I had tried so hard to forget, the one I could never quite let go of, no matter how much I tried.
And in that impossible stillness, just before everything could fall apart again, I felt it, his mouth brushing against mine. Light. Lingering.
I stopped breathing. My heart felt like it had stalled in my chest.
“I have someone now,” he growled against my lips. “Someone I love and who loves me back just as much. Someone who’s more than you. Better than you. In every fucking way. Someone who isn’t a disgrace.”
He pulled back just a little, but not enough to give me space to breathe or think clearly.
“You still have feelings for me,” he said slowly, his eyes sweeping over my face. “I can see it. Being this close to me… it made you feel something, didn’t it?”
I swallowed hard and forced myself to step back. His hands fell to his side.
“It never really faded,” I said quietly. I had no reason to lie. “But that’s exactly why I hate you so much. Why I’m here now, building Ana?s right across from Belrose.”
My voice wavered for a second, but I pushed through.
“Because the pain didn’t just go away. It ate at me, little by little, for years, until all I had left was love and hate for you. The love I had for you is what kept the hate alive. It’s what made it burn so damn strong.”
He looked stunned, like my words had knocked the air out of him. Clearly, he hadn’t expected me to say that. Not out loud. Not directly to him.
“I went through hell to get here, Grayson.” My voice shook, but I didn’t care anymore. “Everything I’ve done in the past three years—every step I took—was for this moment. My only goal has been to make you suffer the way I did at your hands.”
I was trembling now, all the anger, the pain, and the goddamn love I still had for him crashing out of me in one violent, uncontrollable wave.
“Maybe you think I deserved what you did to me. Fine. I won’t waste time arguing with someone like you. Just know this,” I leaned forward slightly, my voice a solid fucking promise, “you’re going to feel every inch of the burn my hatred has become.”
His face fell.
The anger that had twisted his features vanished, replaced by something quieter—shock. The full force of my words hit him, and I saw it. The realization was sinking in.
He finally understood just how much I hated him. And just how deeply he had hurt me.
This wasn’t just a game to me. It was the only thing driving me forward now. And he knew it. He knew I would stop at nothing to get what I came for.
“I think you should leave now,” I said firmly. He stood there, still stunned, just staring at me. “There’s nothing left for us to say.”
Grayson rubbed his mouth with his hand and stood there in silence for a moment before he finally moved.
My eyes followed him, watching closely as he walked toward the door.
His hand wrapped around the handle, but before he opened it, he paused.
“For what it’s worth, I truly am sorry, Ari,” he said quietly. “For what I did to you. There’s no excuse. It was wrong. I should’ve never hurt you like that.”
He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes heavy with something that almost looked like regret.
“You know that wasn’t me. I was blinded by anger, by heartbreak. Because I loved you so goddamn much, and it tore me apart. But that doesn’t change what I did. I was wrong. And I’m sorry.”
Then he pushed the handle down, opened the door, and walked out.
I waited until I could no longer hear his footsteps echoing down the hall. Only then did I rush forward, shutting the door with trembling hands. I leaned against it, squeezed my eyes shut, and bit down hard on my lip.
I couldn’t cry. I wouldn’t.
I had to be strong. Strong enough not to waver, especially now.
The plan still had to go on, no matter what.
His apology meant nothing. It didn’t change a damn thing.
I stood against the door for a long time, trying to steady my breath, struggling to stop the tears, to shut down the storm of emotions bursting in my chest, and to erase everything that had happened today from my mind.
When I finally regained focus, I called Allen up to my office.
And then I worked like a machine. Cold. Emotionless.
We combed through our contacts, pulled up the guest list from the private dinner, and started making calls.
We invited them back for the grand opening as a thank you, especially those who had already posted articles and blog reviews.
We told them they could bring a plus one. Everything would be on the house.
In under two hours, those eleven canceled tables were filled again.
Then I turned to Allen.
“There’s a man working at Belrose. His name is Pete Lancey. He’s one of the Executive Sous Chefs. A phenomenal talent—far better than Greg, their Executive Chef.”
Allen nodded, listening intently.
“But Belrose is stuck in the old ways. Greg will never step down, no matter how far below standard he’s fallen. Pete’s the one actually running that kitchen, but no one there appreciates it.”
I paused, recalling the details Toby had dug up for me—how Pete had just taken out a second mortgage on his house to pay for his daughter’s place at an elite music school. He’d been overlooked and underpaid for years.
“Make him an offer. Before their event on Friday,” I said quietly. “Get Pete to cross over to our side.”