Chapter 13
Then Adrian reached for Grace’s uninjured hand. “I don’t want gratitude from you,” he said. “And I don’t want you to feel trapped by what I gave you or what happened at the mill.”
“What do you want?”
“The chance to become someone you could choose freely.”
Grace’s eyes filled with tears. “That may take time.”
“I have spent most of my life rushing toward the wrong things.” He brought her hand to his lips. “I can wait for the right one.”
When Grace was discharged, Adrian waited outside the hospital with Lily. A black sedan stood at the curb, but Grace did not enter it immediately.
“Where are you taking us?”
“Home.”
“The staff wing?”
Adrian shook his head. “The main house.”
Grace stared at him. “Adrian, I work for you.”
“Not anymore.”
“I need a job.”
“You will have one, after you recover, wherever you choose. Dr. Brooks told me you were studying nursing before Lily was born.”
Grace looked away. “That was a long time ago.”
“The community college still exists.”
“So do tuition bills.”
“They offer scholarships.”
She gave him a suspicious look. “A scholarship funded by whom?”
“An anonymous foundation.”
“Adrian.”
“It was anonymous until this conversation.”
Despite herself, Grace laughed.
He became serious. “Move into the main house as family. Not as staff. Finish your degree. Build a life that does not depend on me.”
“And if that life takes us away?”
Pain crossed his face, but he answered honestly. “Then I will help you pack.”
May you like
That was the moment Grace believed him. Not when he promised protection. Not when he offered money. But when the most powerful man she had ever known gave her the freedom to leave him.
She took his hand. “We’ll move into the main house.”
