Chapter 105: ♥ ︎

Elaine looked again at the information she had in her hands. It had arrived that morning, and she didn't like anything she had learned. The elegant office, with wooden shelves, the smell of expensive cigars, and enriching literature, reminded her that she needed to return to New York as soon as possible.

"Are you ready to go, dear?" The British accent of the older man pulled her out of her thoughts. She smiled fakely and nodded, leaving the printed emails from her investigator on the desk. She stood up and leaned toward him.

"Very ready, darling," she said, then winked playfully. "When we get back, I'll make up for this morning."

"Sounds perfect. You disappeared, and that worried me."

"A meeting with an old friend. You wouldn't understand how time flies when women get together for breakfast. You know, gossip about the monarchy." They both chuckled and then headed to dinner.

During dinner, Elaine was distracted, thinking about everything that had happened to get her to that moment. Sitting at the table with a group of monarchy enthusiasts debating politics and economic topics she didn't understand. Since she had started a "serious relationship" with Stan, she couldn't stop thinking that coming to London wasn't the best part of her plans. Yes, she needed to leave and distance herself from her own daughter, but now she had learned that Jack hadn't stopped searching for her whereabouts. Her ex-fiancé, Jamie, was still lurking in the shadows. And, of course, when she found out about the stabbing of her daughter's current partner, she became more alert because of his ex-fiancée, whom she called a "crazy psycho." She let out a long sigh but then tensed up again when those thoughts returned: "remorse" from the past. The way she used her own blood to take advantage of the fetishes of wealthy men, all for money, the trauma she had left in her own daughter, and to top it off, that indestructible iron wall Emma had built between them when she unknowingly handed her over to her real father for ten million dollars. Ten million, of which only two were left. And she had to cling to her last chance: Stanley Grant. A billionaire who had fallen in love with her at first sight, something impossible and illogical to her, but it was a golden ticket she couldn't waste at that auction of ancient relics where she had spent a couple of million.

"Jamie," "Jack," "crazy psycho" swirled in her head, making her distracted. She needed to find out what Jamie wanted and why he was following Emma. Wasn't everything supposed to be over between them? Should she call to warn her about him?

"Dear," she heard the whisper near her ear. Elaine turned to her partner and smiled.

"Yes, darling?" She waited for him to say something more, but he shook his head with a smile, a sign that he wanted to leave. "Fine, I'll call for the car." Grant's hand rested on hers to stop her.

"I'll call it. You can start saying goodbye to our friends." Stan hated these dinners, but he only attended to show off the mature beauty he had by his side after parading in front of his friends with young women who were only interested in money. Elaine was different to him. He had never enjoyed sex as much as he did with her, and he appreciated that she had her own fortune and wasn't after him for his money, unlike the others.

Elaine said her goodbyes briefly without prolonging the farewells with the guests. She heard a couple of invitations to watch tennis, others to have tea, but Elaine didn't confirm anything to anyone; she just thanked them and smiled. Her cheeks were already hurting from pretending to smile politely. She caught up with Stanley at the mansion's entrance while putting on her gloves to ward off the biting cold.

"Ready?" Stan asked when he saw her arrive at his side. Elaine nodded. "I hate the cold," she murmured.

"I know, we have that in common," she complained, wrapping her coat tighter around her chest.

Upon returning to the mansion where she was temporarily staying with Stan, he had offered many times for her to stay and live with him, but she always refused. Why? She didn't even know herself. She didn't want to feel tied to anyone. Especially now, when for the first time she didn't know where she belonged. She had nothing but ghosts swirling around in her life, starting to torment her after so many years.

"What were you reading before I came into the office?" Stan wanted to know, as he didn't stop caressing her knuckles and then the diamond ring he had given her a few days ago.

"A report."

"About your daughter?" he inquired.

"Yes. She's pregnant. I request reports on her condition constantly to know how the baby is doing," she cleared her throat. Saying it out loud made her sound like an exemplary mother who cares for her family, but she was far from that.

"Oh, you'll be a grandmother. And a beautiful grandmother. How many months is she?" Stan asked, now leaving kisses on the inside of her wrist, causing chills in her, something new.

"Almost seven months." Stan raised his eyebrows, stopping what he was doing.

"Wow, almost three months until she's a mother. Will you be at your grandchild's birth?" Stan smiled at her.

"Granddaughter," Elaine whispered, turning her gaze to the window. The streetlights passed by quickly, and she sighed and shook her head. "Emma and I don't talk," then she looked at him, "But I keep tabs from a distance without her knowing."

"I know you have issues between you two. I don't know what they are because you haven't given details, and the little I know is that she's your only daughter... Can't you resolve it?" Elaine shook her head without looking him in the eyes. "I would've loved to be a father. But it will have to be in another life. In this one, it wasn't possible." Nostalgia washed over him; his late wife had wanted so much to be a mother, but Stan was sterile.

"I'll be there in a few days," she looked at him, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise at those words.

"Why?" he wanted to know. "Has something happened?" Elaine was the type who only talked about what she was willing to give to others, no more, no less, but always with an advantage in her favor.

"I want to see a property. I want to gift it to my granddaughter. I want her to grow up in a place away from the city's noise." Stan was moved.

"Oh, dear, leave it to me. I can talk to my contacts in New York and get the best property." Elaine shook her head.

"I want it to fit my budget." Stan smiled broadly.

"Leave it to me. Let this old man buy it for you so you can give it to your granddaughter. Okay?" Elaine narrowed her eyes.

"And what if one day you leave me, then regret it and take it back? No, no, it's better if I use my own money."

"No, no, no, although I don't think that day will come, I would never take back what I've given you, dear, so accept another of my gifts. Besides, it's nothing to me." He took her index finger and ran it over his lips, and she tensed at the gesture.

"I don't know," she turned her gaze to the window and suppressed a smile that wanted to appear on her lips. "Let me think about it," she returned her gaze to him, "Okay?"

"There's nothing to think about, dear, count on that house."