Chapter 36
THIRTY-SIX
GRAYSON
The hospital smells like antiseptic and cafeteria food.
The emotion of this moment hits me like a sucker punch as I step into the waiting room to low voices, stiff postures, and the kind of quiet that only exists when everyone is pretending they’re fine when, really, they’re hanging by a thread, waiting for news.
Instantly, I know something is wrong. The Sullivans are gathered together in a loose knot of bodies that somehow manages to look both solid and fragile at the same time.
The usually playful chatter and jokes are absent.
No one is talking. Every face is a mask of worry.
Mama sits upright in one of the plastic chairs, Mad perched on her lap in a large dark red sweatshirt, her small hands twisted into the fabric.
If I had to guess, I’d say it was her mom’s.
Harper stands nearby, arms folded tight across her chest, eyes fixed on a spot on the wall like she’s daring it to give her bad news.
Chase paces a short line, back and forth, running a hand over his shaved head, restless energy bleeding off him in waves.
Serena watches him with worry in her eyes.
Each of them looks up with hope in their expressions as I move through the doorway.
And even though it’s obvious I’m not who they were waiting for, even though they’re going through the worst time, each of them smiles a greeting at me.
My gaze fixes on Flic. She’s sitting beside Mama, worry etched into every line of her face but still breathtakingly beautiful. I swear my heart breaks a little more at the sight of her anxious and scared.
The moment she spots me, she’s moving, leaping up, crossing the gap between us. “Grayson.”
She rushes into me, and I barely have time to brace before she’s in my arms, clutching the front of my coat like it’s the only thing holding her upright.
I wrap her into me instinctively, breathing her in, needing to feel the steady warmth of her body every bit as much as she needs mine.
And however much I want to stay like this—to be here, to give her what she deserves—my heart breaks in this moment, because I know I can’t.
My bags are packed. Hunter is waiting to drive me to the airport. The jet is ready to go.
New York and my obligations are pulling me away, and I can’t turn my back on that.
I tell myself this is what responsibility looks like.
That sometimes doing the right thing means walking straight into the wreckage and letting it hit.
I won’t shy away from it. I can’t. Even as the weight lies heavy in my chest, even as the heartache cuts deeper with every second I delay, like a blade I’m pressing into my own skin.
“What’s happened? Is Izzy OK?” I ask.
“We don’t know. All we know is that the birth isn’t progressing as it should and there’s some kind of complication. Dylan’s with her.” She tightens her grip on me. “I’m scared, Grayson.”
So am I. Not just for Izzy or for how much this is affecting Flic. But everything Flic doesn’t know yet. I hate myself for how loud my own heartbeat feels right now.
How do I tell her this? How do I hurt her?
I don’t regret what we’ve built in these weeks we’ve spent together. Not for a second. Living and breathing this woman—letting myself feel something real—has been the best thing that’s happened to me. Period. It just means what I have to do now is almost impossible.
“Can we talk?” I murmur.
She nods, her hand slips into mine, and we step into the corridor, finding a quiet corner by the entrance. The hum of vending machines and distant footsteps filling the silence.
“The phone call at the event—what happened?”
I tell her about Helena’s call. My father in the hospital and the board of Ashborne Holdings scrambling.
Her hand flies to her mouth. “Grayson, I’m so sorry.” She steps closer. “Are you OK?”
I let out a short, humorless breath. “I don’t know. I hate him, Flic. I’ve spent years wishing he’d retire. Or die. He’s the worst of humanity.” My voice falters. I can’t quite say the rest.
Flic continues when I can’t. “But he’s still your father.”
And that’s the problem. Because no matter how much damage he’s done, my life has been shaped by trying to clean up his messes and atone for him. It’s ingrained in me now, whether I want the responsibility or not.
“You need to go to New York,” she says.
It’s not a question. It’s a statement, and I nod.
A part of me wonders if I should’ve raced to the airport the second Helena called me. But it’s not my father’s bedside I’m rushing to. It’s his company. And it can wait an extra hour for me to do this right.
“I can come—” she starts.
I shake my head before she can finish. “You need to be here with your family,” I say.
“And you need to be with yours. I’m fine, Grayson. Go. Call me when you can. If everything is OK here, I can join you tomorrow, or call me when you’re back.”
The word “back” slices through me. “Flic.” I say her name the way I do in the mornings, low and soft, like it belongs to me.
Like she belongs to me. I swallow down the hurt, hating myself for what I’m about to do to her.
“The board of Ashborne Holdings are holding an emergency meeting tomorrow,” I say.
“They plan to appoint me as the new CEO.”
Her eyes widen. Shock first. Then understanding.
I wish I could explain it better, untangle the mess in my head, but I’m still reeling.
My father being forced at last to step away.
I’m being asked to take over. It’s exactly what I’ve spent years preparing for.
Dreaming about. A chance to dismantle everything the Ashborne name has stood for.
“They want me to be in New York permanently,” I say. “The vote is tomorrow, but it’s a sure thing. I can’t be CEO of Ashborne Holdings from here. I need to be there full-time. At least for the foreseeable future.”
“You’ll get to change the company from within, just like you always wanted.” Her voice is small.
It’s all I can do to nod as the hope fades from her eyes, replaced with a hurt she’s trying so hard not to show.
It almost breaks me. And maybe I can never regret what we’ve had these past weeks, but I hate how much I’m hurting her.
I hate that it feels like I’m breaking her heart right alongside my own.
“What does that mean for us?” she asks.
“I don’t have all the answers,” I say honestly as my chest feels like it’s cracking wide open.
“But I can’t turn down this chance. Ashborne Holdings has spent decades destroying companies and people’s livelihoods.
It’s my legacy, and one I’ve always wanted desperately to change.
This is my chance to do that.” I gesture helplessly around us.
“And this is your home. I can’t ask you to leave that.
Your life is here, Flic. We said we wouldn’t ask each other to change, remember? ”
I brace myself for the fight. For her to tell me I don’t have to save everyone. That I don’t have to do this. Don’t have to take on this burden just because it’s in my family name.
Instead, she nods. “I understand.”
The words devastate me more than anger ever could. She’s still standing by my side, having my back even as I break her heart.
Fuck, I love her.
But I keep those words in, because they’re not fair to say now. This is bigger than me. Bigger than us. I have to go.
A painful silence stretches between us, then footsteps echo down the corridor and Dylan appears, his face drawn but determined.
Flic is already moving to follow him. “Do what you have to do, Grayson,” she says softly. “It’s OK. I don’t need you.”
The words feel like a wrecking ball to the last pieces of my heart.
Then she turns and walks back toward her family, leaving me standing there with the life I was building in Denver unraveling in real time.
A future that was just within reach now in tatters.
A life with this fierce, funny, beautiful woman, almost mine.
And now I don’t know where I belong. Denver or New York. My family’s past or my own future. Her or everyone else. I don’t know anymore. I just know I have to do the right thing.