Claimed by Three Billionaires

Chapter 8 – Selene’s POV

I woke up feeling like the worst mother in the world, but luckily it was only seven in the morning and Theo was still sound asleep. Julian had carried me back to my room at some point during the night, and my baby was peacefully resting in his crib, just a few steps away. I didn’t waste time: I changed him, fed him, and rocked him… but my mind wasn’t really there.

I was still trapped in the memory of what I had allowed to happen between Julian and me. How could I? Julian had been cruel to me during my adolescence—my silent tormentor—and yet… I had opened my legs to him without a second thought.

When I finished feeding Theo, I decided to go find something to eat with my baby in my arms. But as soon as I crossed the doorway, one of the maids saw me and hurried over.

—“Ma’am, you shouldn’t be on your feet,” she said with alarm. “I’ll take care of bringing your breakfast to bed.”

I nodded. Maybe she was right; besides, I didn’t want to run into Julian in case he was still in the penthouse. What could I possibly say to him? So I went back to the bedroom and ate in silence, letting my mind drift. By then I was finally convinced that Nathan really had sent Julian to get me from the shelter. Julian had looked me in the eyes and sworn it… and after that, how could he be lying?

By almost noon, I’d made up my mind: I would go find Roxy. Something inside me whispered she was important, a friend I shouldn’t forget, someone who might help me understand what was happening to me. I just needed to ask the driver to take me to the shelter. But before I could call Julian to ask to borrow the car, a knock on the front door startled me.

Grayson.

The staff looked surprised, but they let him in without hesitation. I guessed that, being so close to Julian, it was normal for him to show up unannounced.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to sound polite. “Julian isn’t home.”

Grayson gave me a mischievous smile.

“I didn’t come to see Julian. Besides…” he stepped closer without waiting for an invitation, “…I can come and go whenever I want. Julian and I share everything.”

The way he emphasized those last words made me uneasy, though I couldn’t explain why.

“It’s not even noon,” I replied cautiously, trying to figure out what he was really doing here. “Don’t you have work or something?”

“I couldn’t help it, Selene. And besides, my businesses run perfectly fine without me,” he confessed, looking at me with a piercing intensity that unsettled me. “Last night, when I saw you… I couldn’t stop thinking about how long it’s been since we last saw each other. I want to talk to you, hear about your life these past years.”

I didn’t like his answer. My past wasn’t something I wanted to share.

“We’re not friends, Grayson,” I said firmly, trying not to sound rude after all he was Julian´s friend. “You shouldn’t be here if Julian isn’t.”

Grayson ignored what I said. His gaze shifted to Theo, sleeping in my arms.

“Are you always like this with him?” he asked, not softening the intensity in his voice or his eyes.

“He’s my son and he’s a baby. How else would I be?” I replied, uncomfortable.

“I thought that living here with Julian, you’d already have a couple of nannies to take care of him.”

“A pianist comes in the afternoons so Theo can listen to live classical music,” I explained. “But aside from that, I wouldn’t let anyone else take care of my son for me.”

“I understand,” he said calmly, though his assessing gaze made me tense.

I took a deep breath.

“Would you like me to offer you something while you wait for Julian?” I asked, knowing it wouldn’t be easy to get rid of him.

“Selene, I already told you—I didn’t come for him. I came to see you.” His tone was clear and firm.

Right then, the same maid who’d greeted him the night before entered with a drink for him. Grayson accepted it without even looking at her or saying thank you.

“They already know what I like. I come here often,” he said shamelessly.

I stared at him in disbelief. He was so brazen that, instinctively, I held Theo tighter against my chest.

“Well… you really are a very protective mom. Julian was right.”

I almost shot back something sarcastic about how Julian had been my worst nightmare in my teenage years and knew nothing about me as a mother, but I bit my tongue. After what had happened last night… Julian had become, whether I liked it or not, something more than just a tormentor from the past.

“What else did he say?” I asked quietly, lower than I’d intended. “What did you two talk about last night… about me?”

“Not much. But this morning, our conversation was more entertaining,” he replied lightly. “I came straight here to see you after that.”

“What?” I exclaimed, incredulous. “You came to see me because you two talked about me? You’re both insane.”

“Of course we’re crazy, Selene,” he said, and this time there was no mockery in his voice, only conviction. “Crazy about you. Didn’t you ever suspect it?”

His words hit me like a bucket of ice water. And in that stunned moment, I didn’t notice when Grayson stepped closer to Theo. Before I could react, he already had my son in his arms… and, surprisingly, Theo accepted him as if he were a familiar face.

“Looks like he likes me,” Grayson said with a half-smile, watching him.

“Give him to me,” I ordered sharply. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Grayson obeyed without protest. The moment he placed Theo back in my arms, I heard the front door open. Firm footsteps echoed through the foyer.

Julian.

He was holding flowers. And for an instant, I saw him differently. Not as the cruel boy from my youth, nor the dominant man from last night… but as someone impossible to ignore. Since when did Julian Lockhart look so dangerously handsome in the mornings? I didn’t know. But that image alone was enough to stir something deep inside my chest.