Humiliated by His Fiancée, He Begged Me to Stay

Chapter 7

My heart lurched.

This was my first time facing Adrian in his cutthroat, profit-driven mode, and I couldn't help feeling dazed.

Adrian hadn't always been part of the Graves family. Like me, he'd once been just an ordinary person.

When the Graves family came for him, they looked at me with nothing but contempt.

He pushed back against them at every turn. Even when they dangled the inheritance in front of him, he refused to give in.

"If you want me back, learn to respect my girlfriend first."

Late at night, when the world was quiet, he would pull me into his arms and press gentle kisses to my cheek.

"Every moment with you is a happy one."

Even years later, I still think about that scene sometimes.

If only time could have frozen right there.

Everyone wants to live in a dream. I'm no exception.

I snapped back to the present and met Adrian's gaze with a slight nod. "I understand, Mr. Graves. I let my emotions get the better of me earlier."

My parents' company debt had drained every connection we had, and we still couldn't scrape together enough to fix things.

On New Year's Eve, wave after wave of creditors crowded our living room, our bedrooms, even the doorway. They smoked, they cracked sunflower seeds between their teeth, and they screamed at us to pay up.

We smiled through it all.

"Mr. Johnson, we're so sorry. Just give us a little more time. A few more months, and we'll pay you back everything."

But the people demanding payment had employees of their own to support and families to feed. They had no choice but to get tough.

As the family member most likely to secure the money, what was a little swallowed pride?

Adrian watched me. He saw the way my body trembled as the fear of being hounded by debt collectors consumed me. His hand lifted slightly, then fell back down.

Like some savior descending from on high, he said coldly, "Don't let it happen again."

"Thank you."

I turned and left.

Behind me, Ethan rushed out of the office and caught up to me, breathing hard. He grinned and said, "Ms. Cole, the CEO asked me to drive you home."

He looked me in the eye, then added, "He insisted."

"Then thank him for me." I didn't want my earlier recklessness to jeopardize the contract, so I accepted the gesture.

I followed Ethan to the underground parking garage and got in the car. That's when I saw Adrian and Chloe walking toward us. The same Adrian who had always been arrogant and self-absorbed now carefully opened the car door for Chloe, his hand shielding her head from the roof.

My breath caught in my throat. A heavy weight pressed down on my chest.

Beside me, Ethan fumbled for words, stammering something about it not meaning anything.

I stared at Adrian's car. I didn't tell Ethan to drive until they had driven away.

In the window's reflection, my eyes glistened with unshed tears. Three months ago, when the Graves Corporation first contacted me, I had fooled myself into thinking Adrian was behind it. That he regretted what he'd done and wanted to make things right.

But fate was as cruel as ever. Nothing had changed.

At least this way, I hadn't betrayed anyone but my past self.

The car stopped outside the apartment the company had arranged for me. I dragged my exhausted body into the elevator and fished my keys from my bag, watching numbly as the floor numbers climbed to twelve.

The doors slid open.

I saw Adrian, his face dark and stormy.

"Mr. Graves?" I stared at him in disbelief. What was the president of the mighty Graves Corporation doing in a company apartment building?

He fixed his gaze on me and pulled a cigarette from his pocket.

I couldn't help stepping back. He lit it, took a drag, and looked at me.

"What are you doing here?"