Chapter 30
THIRTY
Ariana
Isprinted across the hospital parking lot, pushing my legs as fast as they would go toward the ER entrance.
Kenji trailed behind me, shouting for me to slow down, but I barely heard him.
My focus was locked on that door. I almost collided with a car pulling out from the left, the driver leaning out his window to hurl profanities at me.
I didn’t care. I kept running while Kenji’s voice faded into the background as he apologized on my behalf.
I had to get to Grayson.
Twenty minutes ago, Mickey had called to tell me Grayson was in the hospital.
His voice was strained, urgent, and it made my stomach sink before he even finished speaking.
He explained that Grayson had phoned him at 3:00 a.m., asking if he could come pick him up.
The place he mentioned was a warehouse owned by Helser.
When Mickey got there, he found Grayson on the ground, bruised and bleeding, barely able to stand.
Without a second thought, he pulled him into the car and rushed him to the hospital.
The image burned into my mind, even though I hadn’t seen it—Grayson’s strength stripped away, his body broken in a place that reeked of danger.
What had they done to him? What had Helser put him through? Guilt clenched my chest so hard it stole my breath. This was because of me. Because he was caught in the crossfire of my revenge, and if anything bad happened to Grayson, I would never forgive myself.
I shoved the ER door open, my heart pounding so hard it echoed in my ears.
My eyes swept the crowded room, frantically searching for him.
Nurses rushed past with clipboards, the sharp scent of antiseptic stung my nose, and voices overlapped in a blur of urgency.
I scanned every face, every bed, desperate for just one glimpse of Grayson.
And then I spotted Mickey.
“Ari!” he called, lifting his hand to wave me over. “Over here!”
I rushed toward him without pause. He stood in front of a bed hidden behind a blue curtain, and the moment I saw it, dread poured through me. I knew Grayson was lying there.
“Grayson... he’s…” My voice faltered, my throat too tight to finish the question.
Mickey gave a short nod. “They sedated him, so he’s out right now.”
“What happened to him, Mickey?” My voice came out so faint I could barely hear it myself.
Mickey shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t even understand why he was there.” He paused, then added quietly, “But I heard about what happened with Demi and Taylor. And of course, Helser. I’m guessing this is the fallout from all of that.”
He studied my face, then reached out and gently wiped away the tears slipping down my cheeks.
“He’s okay now, Ari. The doctor said he’ll be fine. It may not look like it now, but he’s going to be okay.”
I stared at the curtain, my heart pounding in my chest. I tried to brace myself for what I might see, but my mind flooded with the worst possibilities. Each thought cut through me until it felt like I was carrying his pain inside my own body.
“I want to see him,” I said, clenching my fists to keep them from shaking. Kenji stood silently at my side, his gaze fixed on me.
“I’ll wait here,” he said softly.
Mickey pulled the curtain aside, and then I saw him.
The world stopped.
My breath caught in my throat as my eyes locked on the figure lying before me. His skin was pale beneath the harsh fluorescent lights, his face battered with cuts and bruises. One eye was swollen shut, darkened to a sickening purple, and his arm hung motionless in a sling strapped across his chest.
I remained frozen in place, my body unable to move as my mind refused to accept what I was seeing. The sight crushed me, tightening my chest until every breath felt impossible.
I caused this. I was the reason he ended up like this.
The thought echoed again and again, relentless, until it was all I could hear.
I couldn’t hold myself together anymore. The first sob tore through me, then another, until I was trembling so violently I could barely stand. Mickey moved at once, gathering me into his arms. I buried my face against his chest, clutching his jacket with shaking hands as the sobs consumed me.
“Hey,” Mickey whispered. “He’s going to be okay. The doctor promised. He has broken ribs and a fractured arm, but they said he’ll recover.”
But it wasn’t only the sight of him lying there that broke me.
It was guilt. It was the truth behind it.
He had taken my place. He had suffered the consequences that were meant for me.
Every bruise, every broken bone, every cut carved into his skin existed because of me.
Because I was too consumed by hate, too lost in the fire of revenge to stop and think about what I was doing.
In the end, I allowed hate to shape me. It bled into every thought and every decision until it was all I could see. It blinded me to everything else, most of all him.
Grayson had hurt me, but he was trying to make it right.
He kept reaching for me, proving himself over and over, asking silently for a chance to redeem what was broken between us.
And I turned away. I ignored it. I kept pressing forward because nothing mattered more to me than carrying out my plan.
Nothing mattered more than feeding the hatred that I had allowed to take root in me.
And now he was lying there in my place, paying the price for all of it.
“Ari,” Mickey said softly. “Breathe.”
But I couldn’t. My chest locked tight, every breath catching like I was drowning in air that refused to reach my lungs.
“Close your eyes and breathe,” he urged gently. “In and out, slowly. He needs to see that you’re okay when he wakes up. He needs to see you smile at him, Ari.”
His words cut through the chaos inside me, and I forced myself to nod. He was right. That was what I had to do for Grayson.
So I tried. Inhale, exhale. Over and over. My breaths were shallow at first, shaky and uneven, but I forced myself to continue, clinging to the rhythm as though it was the only thing keeping me from falling apart.
And I would keep at it. I would stay by his side, waiting for the moment his eyes opened.
I didn’t know how long I sat there beside his bed, watching his face and listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing.
An hour, maybe two or three, though it felt far longer.
Time dragged in that room, each minute reminding me that he was here because of me.
I stayed there in silence, unwilling to look away, clinging to the comfort of his presence even as guilt pressed heavier with every passing moment.
My phone buzzed on the bed beside Grayson’s hand. I glanced at the screen and saw my brother’s name flashing. I picked it up.
“Adam,” I breathed.
“Where are you?” he asked. “I’m at Ana?s. Hannah and Payton are here too, but you’re not.”
I had completely forgotten they were coming today. Adam had taken his annual leave, and Hannah wanted to go over her rehearsal dinner with me. I hadn’t thought about it at all.
“I’m at the hospital, Adam,” I said quietly. “Grayson was admitted last night.”
“What happened?” His voice sharpened instantly.
“He was beaten,” I admitted. My throat burned as I forced the words out. “It happened because of me.”
“Why?” His voice rose slightly, tangled with confusion. “What do you mean, because of you?”
When I stayed silent, his tone grew tighter, more insistent. “Ari, tell me what happened. Why would anyone lay a hand on him because of you?”
“I can’t talk right now,” I whispered, my voice trembling slightly.
“I’m waiting for him to wake up. They sedated him so he could rest. His ribs are broken, and his arm too.
He’s in pain, but the doctors are taking care of him, giving him medicine to manage it.
They’re monitoring him closely, making sure nothing else is wrong. ”
“Do you want me there?” he asked.
“No, you don’t have to. Mickey is here too.” I told Kenji to go back since he had to get to his shift.
There was a pause. “Okay… I think I’ve missed a lot of things. You sounded so upset that Grayson got hurt. I thought you hated him.”
“Yeah… there’s so much I need to tell you.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come over? Hannah will be fine without you. She and Payton are with Allen right now.”
“I’m sure,” I said. “Are you going to Mom and Dad’s today?”
“No. I’m going to stay with you tonight. I’ll head over there tomorrow morning.”
“Okay,” I said. “The spare keys are in my drawer at the office. Ask Allen for them.”
Adam was quiet for a moment before he said, “Do you know Grayson came to the villa a while ago? He went to apologize to Mom and Dad in person.”
That gave me pause. I didn’t know. “No,” I admitted. “I haven’t called them in a while. I was busy.” And I hadn’t returned their calls either. God, I had been so consumed with vengeance that I’d neglected everything else.
“Honestly, I like that he did that,” Adam said. “And the fact that you didn’t know tells me he wasn’t looking for your acknowledgment. He genuinely wanted to apologize to them.”
I looked at Grayson’s face, bruised and broken because of me.
He had done so many things for me. He had given me his company when he could have sold it to anyone. He had gone against his family to make up for what they did to us. He had helped me with the vendors, helping Ana?s overcome a crisis.
And now this.
“Ari, I’m going to head to your apartment now,” Adam said. “I really need some sleep. And Ana?s is looking great, by the way. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you,” I said softly. “It’s all because of your help getting me connected with Sandra.”
“That reminds me, how’s your deal with her? Is it still going through?”
“Of course,” I said, a tight knot of anxiety pressing in my chest. The deal with Sandra—the reason she had agreed to back me—was still in place. “The deal with her is still on.”
“Fuck, Ari. Isn’t there another way around it?”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s in the contract. I have to meet her requirements, or she’ll take everything from me.”
I jumped at the weak, hoarse voice. “What?” Grayson had woken up. “What the hell are you talking about?”