Chapter 11 Grandpa Is Onto You!
The sound of a cane echoed through the grand hallway.
Jasper froze in the middle of a call. Layla, seated on the velvet couch with her laptop, looked up instinctively.
Grandpa Gregory had arrived unexpectedly — again.
He stepped inside the mansion like he owned it. Because, in many ways, he did.
“Cancel all my appointments,” he said to his driver as he handed over his coat. “I’ll be staying for a few days.”
Jasper raised a brow. “Didn’t know you were dropping by, Grandpa.”
“I know,” Gregory said, narrowing his eyes. “That’s the point.”
He turned slowly toward Layla, who stood up with a smile. “It’s always a pleasure to see you, Grandpa.”
“Hmm.”
The hum he gave wasn’t unfriendly — but it wasn’t warm either. He was watching. Analyzing. Like a hawk circling something just a little off.
---
Over dinner, the tension was thick.
Grandpa sipped his wine and cleared his throat. “So, Layla. Remind me how you two met again?”
Layla paused, fork in mid-air.
Jasper cut in fast. “It was at a gala. We got introduced by mutual friends.”
“Hmm,” Grandpa said again, like that answer wasn’t quite satisfying.
Layla tried to smile. “It all happened fast. But… when you know, you know.”
Grandpa leaned back in his chair, lips twitching. “Right. Of course. That old story.”
His gaze shifted from Layla to Jasper. “Funny how there was no press about your relationship until a week after I threatened to change my will.”
The room went quiet.
Jasper’s jaw tensed.
Layla’s heart dropped.
He knows.
But Gregory just sipped his wine again, then added casually, “No matter. You’re a grown man, Jasper. Just make sure this marriage is… real.”
His eyes locked onto Layla’s like a silent warning.
---
Later that night, Layla paced the guest bedroom.
“He suspects,” she whispered as Jasper leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.
“Yeah,” he replied. “I know.”
“What are we going to do?”
Jasper ran a hand through his hair. “We’ll keep going. Convince him. Make him believe it.”
Layla looked at him, anxious. “And if we can’t?”
He didn’t answer right away.
Then he stepped forward, hands gently cupping her face.
“Then we’ll make it real.”
Before she could speak, his lips were on hers — soft, slow, a silent promise.
But they didn’t know…
Just down the hall, Grandpa Gregory stood silently outside the door, listening.
And a smirk curled on his lips.
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