Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ella
I stare at the calendar hanging in the kitchen, chewing on the inside of my lip. I feel like an alligator has my insides in its jaws, and it’s trying to crush me to death .
I’m pretty sure my period’s a week late. I say pretty sure because I’ve never kept track all that well — it happened about once a month, everything always seemed normal, and I was definitely not getting pregnant, so I didn’t bother .
Now I wish I had. I think I’d give almost anything to go back in time and write down when I started my last period, because I wish I knew whether I was giving myself an ulcer over nothing .
I try to tell myself that I’m remembering wrong, and it’s just because of stress that I haven’t gotten it yet. Stress is probably also why everything I’ve eaten in the last week has made me feel mildly nauseous, and why my breasts hurt so bad that rolling over wrong in bed wakes me up .
Getting pregnant your first time would be crazy , I tell myself. What are the odds? Chill out .
Not to mention that I’m terrified of what Livia might do to me if I were pregnant .
Speaking of the devil, she walks into the kitchen and stands imperiously in the doorway .
“Basement, now ,” she spits .
“Can’t I just be quiet? Dinner will burn — ”
“Was I unclear?” she snaps .
I turn off the burners on the stove, wiping my hands on a towel. She stands there, glaring at me, until she’s interrupted by someone knocking on the door .
No. They’re not knocking. They’re pounding on the door. Even Livia jumps, and for once she actually looks shaken .
“Basement!” she orders, just as the pounding begins again. I put the towel down on the counter and walk toward the basement door, only to be interrupted .
“LIVIA TREMAINE, THE ROYAL GUARD DEMANDS THAT YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW .”
My mouth falls open and my heart leaps into my throat .
It’s Grayson .
Livia turns pale, then bright red, and she marches toward me, her icy eyes narrowing .
“Get the fuck into that basement or I swear I’ll — ”
The pounding starts again, and now I can hear footsteps coming down the stairs like a drunk elephant .
“Jesus, Mom,” Slade is saying. “Where the fuck is Ella, can’t she do her job for once? I’m trying to sleep .”
Livia whirls around, her eyes wide and panicked .
“Slade, do not open — ”
The hinges creak .
“Huh?” Slade says .
“Where’s Livia Tremaine?” Grayson barks .
Livia lunges for me, taking me totally by surprise. Before I can move she’s grabbed me by the hair and yanks me backwards, nearly knocking me off my feet as she pulls me toward the basement door .
“Ow!” I yelp .
“ELLA!”
Feet stomp through the foyer. Slade makes an oof noise, and Livia just grits her teeth and drags me harder .
“I’m here!” I shout, my voice sounding strangled, my eyes burning with tears .
“Shut up, you stupid tramp,” Livia growls as I put my hands around her wrist, trying to get her off of me .
I can feel my hair coming out by the roots, the pain white-hot and searing as I stumble backwards along the kitchen floor .
“Let me go !” I shout, and in that instant, the kitchen door bursts open .
Grayson’s standing there, several uniformed men behind him. He doesn’t say anything, but in three steps he’s across the kitchen, and Livia lets me go just before he reaches her, and I stumble .
It doesn’t matter .
“You’re a fucking monster !” he shouts, and shoves her as hard as he can. She falls back against a wall, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen her look terrified .
Grayson advances toward her, a vein ticking in his forehead .
“I should beat you until you’re as ugly on the outside as you are inside,” he says, his voice low and dangerous. “I should — ”
“Grayson,” I say, both hands on my head, trying to make sure she didn’t rip my scalp off .
He turns, and instantly, his face softens. I swallow hard, because there are tears streaming down my face and I have no idea what’s happening .
“Ella,” he murmurs, and the next thing I know he’s wrapped me in his arms and I’m tight against his chest. “Ella, I’m so sorry it took me so long to find you .”
I hug him back as hard as I can, burying my face in him, breathing in his scent — leather and stone, mixed with just a little bit of musk .
“What do you mean?” I whisper .
“You just left,” he says. “And I didn’t know your last name, where you lived, anything . I kept trying the diner, but since Livia owns it ...”
The uniformed men are surrounding her now, and I can hear her pleading over their low, stern voices telling her that she’s arrested for kidnapping, human trafficking, and a whole host of other things I can’t make out .
“You were looking for me?” I ask, pulling back so we’re face-to- face .
“Of course,” he says, his eyes searching mine, and a small frown furrows his brow. “I told you I was yours, Ella. I meant it .”
I have no idea what to say, but my eyes fill with tears again .
“I didn’t think... I mean, I’ve read the papers, and ...”
I bite my lip, because there’s no good way to phrase you’ve got a reputation for going through women like a hot knife through butter and I thought you were lying to me because of that to the man who just spent three weeks tearing apart his own kingdom to find you .
But Grayson just grins, then kisses me gently, his lips soft and warm against mine. I kiss back greedily, hungrily, like he’s a freshwater spring and I’ve been in the desert for weeks .
“That was all before you,” he whispers when we pull away. “You changed everything, Ella .”
The uniformed men take Livia away, out of the room. Peyton and Slade are screeching, so they’re probably also in handcuffs, and for just an instant, I feel bad .
Then Grayson kisses me again, and I feel less bad. I let one hand drift to my belly, and I wonder if I should tell him .
Not yet, I think. You’re not even sure .