Chapter 151
Grace's POV
When we finally broke apart, I was gasping, my legs unsteady. Alex's eyes were heavy-lidded, his breathing as ragged as mine.
"Mr. Morgan?"
We turned to see Lucas approaching, his expression carefully neutral despite having clearly witnessed our intimate moment.
"The car is ready," he said simply.
Alex nodded, then turned back to me, his hand sliding down to take mine. "Come on, baby. Let's go home."
I loved that endearment.
As we walked toward the car, I glanced back at the bar one last time. Through the windows, I could see the warm glow of the party continuing without us, people laughing and drinking as if nothing had happened.
In the backseat of the car, Alex pulled me close, his arm around my shoulders as Lucas drove us through the city streets.
"You know," I said softly, "you promised me you'd rest and take care of yourself."
Alex was quiet for a moment. "I know."
"So why were you here tonight?"
He turned to look at me, his expression vulnerable. "Because you weren't answering my calls. Because I went to your office and saw the lights were off. Because Sophia told me you were drinking and didn't want to go home."
"I thought maybe I'd done something wrong," he continued. "Something to push you away."
My heart clenched. "Alex, no. You haven't done anything wrong."
But even as I said it, I felt a stab of guilt. Because there was something I needed to ask him, something that had been eating at me since last night.
I took a deep breath, gathering my courage.
"Alex," I said carefully, "can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Is there... do you still have feelings for Violet?"
My question hung between us, the silence suffocating. Alex's entire body went rigid, his hands clenched into fists, and I could see his knuckles turning white.
"I heard you," I said quietly, my voice cutting through the tension. "Last night, when you were sleeping. You called out her name."
"Violet."
Alex's face went ashen. His breathing became shallow, and I could see the war raging behind his eyes. For a moment, I wondered if I'd made a terrible mistake bringing this up.
He had Lucas pull the car over to the side of the road, and we got out. The city lights cast shadows across his sharp features. When he finally spoke, his voice was steady but strained.
"Grace, I need you to understand something." He turned to face me fully, his blue eyes intense and unwavering. "My heart has only ever had room for one person. There's no such thing as 'letting go' because there was nothing to let go of."
I felt my breath catch. The raw honesty in his voice made my chest tight.
"Before I met you," he continued, his hand reaching for mine, "whatever I felt for her was already gone. It wasn't love, Grace. It was obligation. Childhood friendship. Family expectations." His thumb traced circles on my palm. "But with you? From the very first moment I saw you, I was completely captivated."
Relief flooded through me, but I wasn't finished yet. "Then why do you dream about her?"
"I don't know," he admitted, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe it's guilt. Maybe it's the weight of expectations I've carried for so long. But Grace, listen to me—" He cupped my face with both hands. "Whatever my subconscious does when I'm asleep, my heart belongs only to you. Only you."
I searched his eyes and found only sincerity. "I need you to promise me something."
"Anything."
"No more dreaming about her. I won't share you, Alex. Not even in your dreams."
Before I could finish speaking, his lips crashed against mine. The kiss was desperate, possessive, as if he was trying to erase every doubt from my mind. I melted into him, my hands gripping his shirt as he pressed me against the car.
"Mr. Morgan," Lucas's voice broke through the haze, and I heard him clear his throat awkwardly. In the rearview mirror, I saw his eyes quickly dart away, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Alex pulled back, breathing hard. "Let's go home, baby."
---
2:00 AM - Starport Central Hospital Emergency Room
Richard's POV
The world came back to me in fragments. Bright lights. The antiseptic smell of hospital corridors. Pain radiating from the back of my skull where they'd stitched me back together.
I tried to sit up, but my left leg screamed in protest. The doctor had mentioned a hairline fracture, though I barely remembered the conversation. Everything after midnight was a blur of violence and chaos.
"Mr. Harrison?" A police officer appeared beside my bed, notepad in hand. "Can you walk me through what happened at the Meridian Bar?"
I closed my eyes, forcing myself to remember. The bar. The scene with Grace. Being separated, until...
"They came out of nowhere," I said, my voice hoarse. "Six, maybe seven guys wearing ski masks. They just burst through the door and started swinging bottles, chairs, whatever they could grab."
The officer nodded. "Any idea why they might have targeted your group specifically?"
Targeted. The word hit me like a punch to the gut. This wasn't random. Someone had orchestrated this.
"I... no. We were just having an alumni gathering. We weren't causing trouble."
But even as I said it, doubt crept in. The attackers had moved with purpose. They'd known exactly where to find us.
The officer left, and I was alone with my thoughts and the steady beep of monitors. My phone had been destroyed in the attack, but I managed to borrow one from a nurse to call my mother.
After explaining everything to my mother and reassuring her, I stared at the ceiling tiles, trying to piece together who might want to hurt me. The list was shorter than I'd expected, but one name kept surfacing in my mind.
Grace.
No. That was impossible. Grace might hate me, but she wasn't capable of violence. Was she?