Chapter 75 Chapter Seventy-five
Chapter 75 Chapter Seventy-five
Bella
“You know what?” I said, pushing my chair back and rising to my feet. My voice shook, but I forced back the tremor in it. “I need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
I needed air. I needed a moment away from their poisonous stares and venomous words before I completely broke down in front of everyone.
Marjorie didn’t even look up from the menu as she lazily pointed at something for the waiter.
“Yeah, seems like the best idea,” she said coldly. “Taking a shit might help you lose some of that waist so you can look trimmer for the rest of the night.”
Linda giggled beside her like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard.
“Just don’t forget to wash your hands after,” she added sweetly. The humiliation burned through me like acid.
Before I could even take a step, Gray who had barely settled into his seat shot back up. The chair scraped loudly against the floor as he stood, his entire body radiating pure rage.
“How dare you?” There was no filter in his voice, the disgust and disappointment was crystal clear.
“How dare any of you speak to her like that?”
The entire table went silent. Gray’s eyes darkened as he glared at Marjorie and Linda, his hand clenched into a fist at his side.
“You sit here in your overpriced clothes and fake smiles, throwing insults at her like you’re better than her? You’re nothing. Nothing.” His voice rose with every word. “She’s worth a thousand of you all combined.”
“Gray!” Chris hissed, finally finding his voice. “That’s enough.”
“No. It’s not enough,” Gray snarled, turning his glare on his father. “You let them talk to her like that? In front of you? She’s going to be your stepdaughter and you sit there like a fucking coward while they insult her?”
My mother looked mortified. Her face was pale, paler than that of Snow White.
Marjorie leaned back in her seat, her lips curled in disgust. “Well, isn’t this touching. The family psychopath defending his little stepsister. Or should I say… something else?”
The implication hung heavily in the air. Gray took a dangerous step forward, and for a terrifying second, I thought he was going to flip the entire table. He really looked like he was going to do it.
I grabbed his arm quickly. “Gray… please.”
He looked down at me, his eyes softening just slightly when they met mine. But the fury was still there, burning, uncontrollable.
He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear so only I could hear. “Red, you’re the only reason I haven’t flipped this entire table upside down. I can’t look at you and not melt. But tell me… do you like these people?”
For years, I had bent over backwards trying to please everyone. I let my mother pull my strings just so I could feel loved and worthy.
I had forgotten how to stand up for myself. Forgotten who I really was. But not tonight. I didn’t have to stay here and endure their insults.
I didn’t have to shrink myself to fit into their cruel little box.
“No,” I said loudly, my voice ringing clear across the table. “I don’t like them. They’ve made it very clear I’m not welcome here. So I’ll take my leave.”
Saying it out loud in front of them emboldened me.
Gray’s eyes lit up with something fierce and proud, like he had been waiting for me to say those words for a very long time.
“Bella doesn’t feel comfortable here,” he announced. “So I’m taking her home.”
My mother shot up from her seat, but Gray pinned her with a cold, warning glare that made her freeze.
“Rising to bully her into staying?” he asked her in a low drawl. “Your pinch marks are still visible on her arms. Maybe you should learn how to be a mother first.”
He didn’t wait for anyone to respond. He took my hand gently but firmly and led me away from the table, away from their shocked faces.
“Don’t look back, babe,” he murmured as we walked out. “I need you to be strong. I’m right here beside you, so you have nothing to worry about. Do you trust me?”
I turned to meet his eyes. “Yes, Gray. I trust you.”
“I’m taking you home because you look like you’ve had more than enough of these people for one night.”
Gray was so thoughtful it almost hurt. He could read my expressions so perfectly, like he had studied every little detail of me. Leaving with him felt like the best decision I had made all night.
While Gray texted one of the drivers, I glanced around the elegant surroundings, watching rich people filter in and out of Le Clair de Lune.
I still didn’t understand why the CEO chose that name. It sounded so stiff and pretentious.
“Great. The drivers aren’t picking up or responding to my texts. My father must have told them not to indulge me. No big deal, I’ll just—”
I stopped listening to the rest of what Gray was saying. Because across the road, on the balcony of the private dance studio, I saw my father.
He was standing there, staring straight at me. When our eyes met, he lifted his hand and waved.
My brain went into overdrive. I couldn’t let Gray see him. I couldn’t let him come over. Not while the stupid family dinner was still going on inside.
If he walked in there right now, everything would explode. I quickly grabbed Gray’s arm. He turned to me instantly, concern flashing across his face.
“Are you okay? Are you cold?” I nodded a little too vigorously. “Yes. Can we please go home?”
“Our ride will be here in one minute. I got the closest one.” He spotted the car and nodded. “There he is. Come on, let’s get you warm.”
A sleek black Audi pulled up a few yards away. I practically tripped over my heels in my rush to get us moving.
The moment we were safely inside the car, I pulled out my phone with trembling fingers and texted my mother.
Me: Dad is on the balcony of the dance studio across the road. You need to leave that dinner.
I expected her to reply immediately. She was always so obsessed with getting rid of whatever that might stand in the way of the wedding, so when I got her reply, I was bewildered.
Mum: “I will disown you if you keep behaving like this. Never mention your father to me again.”
She thought I was just trying to sabotage her perfect night. She had no idea how terribly wrong things were about to go.