Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
Grayson
Idouble-checked the address on Google Maps. Yeah, this was it.
The house was small and blue, with white trim, a wraparound porch with two chairs, a table, and potted plants hanging along the fence. Behind me, the sand stretched all the way out to the water.
It felt homey. Warm. Just like their old house—the one I had been to more times than I could count.
This was where Ariana’s parents lived now. Two hours from my town.
And just thinking about why they had to move this far brought that sick feeling crawling back into my gut.
I locked my phone, let out a breath, and started toward the front door.
Here we go.
I had spent all night rehearsing what I was going to say. Now it was gone. Completely blank.
Damn it.
I let out a breath and glanced around the front of the house. Maybe I would find a coffee shop nearby, think about what I wanted to say, then come back again.
But just as I turned to leave, I froze.
Ariana’s parents were standing right behind me, and with them was a small dog I immediately recognized. Puppet. Nellie’s dog.
“Grayson?” Paul’s voice cut through the moment, full of surprise. “What are you doing here?”
Nellie just stared at me, wary and unsure.
I didn’t blame her. After everything, she had every right to look at me that way.
“Uh… hi,” I said, my voice a little unsure as they walked toward me. “I’m sorry for showing up like this without notice. I didn’t mean to intrude. I came because I wanted to talk to you.”
Their expressions shifted. The surprise in their eyes was still there, but now it carried a hint of caution. Paul looked at Nellie, and she looked back at him.
Something passed between them without a word. They had the kind of bond people spend their whole lives searching for.
The kind I had with Ariana.
“Sure,” Paul answered.
Looking at him now, I was reminded of how much he used to care about me, how I had always appreciated him more than my own father.
Before I proposed to Ariana, I went to them first. I still remember every word he said to me that day.
“She’s my precious, Grayson. I didn’t think any man would ever be good enough for her.
But then you came along. And I’m proud of her.
I’m glad that she chose you, because I see how much you love her, how your whole world revolves around her.
You’ll be good to her, Gray. I trust that you will. And I couldn’t be happier.”
God, my chest tightened just remembering that.
It messed me up how anger, blind and all-consuming, could erase everything that mattered. How, in that one moment, I let fury drown out everything good.
The way they trusted me. The way she loved me. And I ruined it, not even realizing what I was losing.
“Come in,” Nellie said as she opened the door, and I followed them inside.
She motioned toward the living room, and I took a seat while Paul settled across from me.
“Would you like something to drink? Coffee or tea?” Nellie asked gently.
“No, thank you,” I said, shaking my head. There was a weight in my chest—guilt settling deeper—because even after everything, they were still being kind.
“Are you sure?” she asked again.
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
She sat beside her husband, and I could feel both of them waiting for me to speak.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my thighs, my hands clasped tightly together to stop them from trembling.
“I came to apologize,” I said, looking at each of them. “I just found out the truth. All of it—the lies, what my parents did to you.”
I took a breath to steady myself.
“I’m sorry. I know there’s nothing I can say that will ever be enough. Nothing that undoes any of it. But most of all, I’m sorry for not believing Ariana.”
My voice shook. The emotions I had tried to hold back were breaking through, rising faster than I could stop them.
“I’m sorry for letting all of this happen. I didn’t know. I truly believed she—” I swallowed hard. “And I know that’s not an excuse.”
My throat closed around the words.
“I’m sorry for being blind. For letting my anger take over to the point where I stopped thinking, stopped asking, stopped listening.” I looked at them, barely holding it together. “I am so sorry. Truly.”
They were silent, staring at me. It was clear they hadn’t expected me to show up, let alone say any of that.
I didn’t push further. I kept my head down, unsure of what else I could add, and braced myself for whatever came next.
They weren’t confrontational people—I knew that. But after everything they had been through, everything that had been taken from them, I wouldn’t have blamed them if they had been.
But instead, Nellie spoke. Her voice was calm, with no hint of anger.
“You coming here to say that means a lot, Grayson.”
I looked up, and she gave me a small, tired smile. The guilt in my stomach twisted hard, almost too much to bear.
“What you did to my daughter was horrible,” Nellie said. “You hurt her more than you probably realize. And she may never fully recover from it. But what your parents did to us… I always believed you didn’t know.”
“But that’s still neglect, Grayson,” Paul added. “You chose not to see who your parents really are. You turned away from the truth.”
“I know,” I said quietly. “I’ve confronted them. I see it all now. I can’t even begin to explain how much I regret it. I have no one to blame but myself.”
“Ari’s back now,” Paul said. “And I think you understand what she came back to do. She opened her restaurant right across from yours, after all.”
“Yes,” I said. “She completely outmaneuvered us.”
“And how do you feel about that?” he asked.
The question gave me pause. I needed a moment to really think it through. I had never been one to lie, and I wasn’t about to start now.
“I have mixed feelings,” I admitted. “I’m honestly worried. Many people rely on me. Their livelihood depends on the restaurant. But at the same time, I’m proud of her. She did it on her own. She proved herself. And she’s thriving.”
Paul gave me a slight nod, but I still couldn’t read his expression.
“What are you going to do about it?”
I leaned back. Honestly, I never thought they would ask me such questions. They were focusing on the future, not the past, even though I was sure they hadn’t forgiven me entirely yet.
“I’m fighting to keep standing. Like I said, I have people working for me, people who count on me to stay strong through this.”
I paused, searching for the right words. Then, more quietly, I looked at them, hoping they could see how much I meant it.
“But I need to make things right. I need her to forgive me.”
Nellie studied me, her gaze softening. “Do you want her back?”
The question hit like a physical blow.
God, yes.
The answer burned in my chest. Saying it would’ve brought relief. Just to let the truth out, to believe, even for a moment, that I deserved the chance to say it.
But then I remembered the hurt in her eyes, how I was the one who put it there. The pain. The anger. The hatred. And now, her revenge.
“I know I can’t have her back,” I said, the words like ash in my mouth. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to try.”
“My daughter carries a lot of anger,” Nellie said softly. “It’s deep, and it lives in her because of everything she’s been through. No one’s been able to reach her, and I understand why. That pain is what’s been keeping her going. It’s the only thing holding her together.”
She held my gaze, watching closely to see how I would respond.
“I won’t pretend this is going to be easy for you, Grayson. And to be honest, I’m still not sure I want you around her. I want her to be safe, and you didn’t give her that. You hurt her deeply, and that’s not something I can forget easily.”
She paused for a moment, then said quietly, “That day, you changed. You weren’t the man we trusted with her heart. You stopped being the man we once saw as part of this family.”
“I don’t know what can be done at this point to earn her forgiveness,” Paul said. “But there’s one thing I need to say to you, Grayson, because it matters to us.”
He paused, and the silence stretched long enough that my whole body tensed, bracing for whatever was coming.
“She’s not going to stop,” he said finally.
“So you’d better brace yourself. But if, by some miracle, she chooses to forgive you, it has to be because you’ve done everything right by her.
Not just because she still has feelings for you.
Not because you’re hoping her love is strong enough to make her forget what happened. ”
He looked at me squarely. “You’re not only proving yourself to her. You’re proving yourself to us, too. And if you ask me right now, I wouldn’t want my daughter to be with you. Not again.”
They were both looking at me, and I could only hope they couldn’t see how much my heart was breaking.
“But,” Paul said with a heavy sigh, “we still remember the man you used to be. The man who loved our daughter with everything he had. And now you’re here. Maybe that man is still in there somewhere.”
I drove home with a heart that felt just a little lighter.
Even though it still hurt, hearing them say they didn’t want me near their daughter. That kind of truth cut deeper than I cared to admit. But it was Paul’s last words that stayed with me. The way he said them, like there was still a sliver of hope, something left of the man they once believed in.
It gave me something to hold on to. A reason to keep trying.
I knew the road ahead wouldn’t just be bumpy. It would be long, steep, and unforgiving. But I wasn’t going to give up, not even if all I had was the slightest chance to make things right.
I was smiling the whole drive home. Two hours of hope, and I held on to it.
Until I stepped into my office.
And found my father sitting there, waiting.
I hadn’t spoken to him since the day I confronted them. I’d been ignoring his calls, avoiding the inevitable. But now he was here, and I knew exactly why.
The bank must’ve called him after I signed over Rosemere’s assets to Ariana. Perhaps the supplier I met with also informed him. Blake probably did as well.
So I spoke first.
“I’ve made my decision for Rosemere, and there’s nothing you can say to change my mind.” I shrugged off my coat, hung it up, and then walked toward my desk. “Honestly, it’s a relief. One massive debt gone.”
“What about our employees?” he asked.
“I made it a condition in the sale,” I said. “It’s the right thing to do. And with the debt cleared, we can finally fix our operations.”
He didn’t sit long. He stood and stepped closer.
“What about expansion?”
I stared at him, disbelief rising in my chest.
“What expansion?” I snapped. “We can’t even stay afloat. We’re drowning, and you’re talking about expansion? God, you really can’t see what matters right now.”
His voice sharpened. “I disagree with handing Rosemere over to her. Do you not see the humiliation in that? She’s dismantling us piece by piece, taking our employees, our customers, and now even our business.
Belrose is struggling, and it’s because of the choices you’re making. You’re not handling this right.”
I stood too, anger boiling to the surface.
“I’m doing everything I can,” I hissed through clenched teeth.
“I’m drowning trying to clean up the mess you made, the reckless way you’ve run this place, the endless debts you kept piling on.
And while I’ve been scrambling to keep us afloat, you never once slowed down.
Your lifestyle stayed exactly the same. And I’m so fucking tired of it. ”
I took a breath, my voice sharp with resentment. “The only reason I haven’t walked away is because of them. The employees. Not you. Not Mother. Not Taylor. Just them.”
“And what about what she did to Taylor?” my father bellowed. “She humiliated your sister, made her lose her job! And you’re here defending her?”
I stared at him, my patience thinning fast. “Taylor got herself into that mess. I told her over and over to just repeat the year, fix her grades. She could’ve done it.
She still can. But she was too damn lazy to care.
Now that she’s finally putting in the effort, we’re seeing what she’s capable of. But it’s too late.”
I shook my head, bitter laughter escaping. “After everything she’s done to Ariana, to me, she needed to learn something. And maybe this was the only way she would.”
“We need to maintain our image, Grayson, we—”
“What fucking image are you talking about, Father?” I shouted, my anxiety rising with every word. “Our employees already know we’re in crisis. The banks know we’re drowning in debt we’ll never crawl out of. And don’t kid yourself—everyone in this town knows too.”
I stepped toward him, my hands clenched at my sides.
“This town isn’t big enough to hide from the gossip. You’ve been playing dress-up with our reputation while everything underneath rots. We’re already ruined. And what we need now isn’t some illusion of pride. We need damage control.”
I took a breath, steadying myself.
“Letting go of Rosemere is the first step. And that’s final. No more discussion.”
My father’s expression shifted suddenly. A slow, unsettling smile tugged at his lips, and I stared at him, thrown by the change.
Then he said, “Not if I can help it. I’ve already spoken to the bank to halt the sale. I know how to fix this.”
“What the fuck do you mean?”
“I spoke with Lila’s father,” he said, his voice calm and calculated. “He’s agreed to the loan. The funds are already being transferred into the company’s account as we speak.”
I froze. A cold dread crept through me like ice in my veins.
“And how exactly do you think we’re going to repay that?”
His smile widened, dark and triumphant. “Right now, it’s just a loan. But it doesn’t have to stay that way.”
He looked me dead in the eye.
“You just need to get back with Lila. And marry her.”