Page 50 of Stuck with the Billionaire Celebrity

Pain surges through my body like wildfire, fierce and all-consuming. I groan, blinking against the blinding white light cutting through my head. What happened?

My hands are pressed against cold metal, and my face is tilted into broken glass and dirt. I feel… numb.

And then it hits me.

Grace.

I bolt upright, too fast, too soon, the world spinning as my head explodes in sharp, unbearable pain. My hands press against my skull, but it doesn’t matter.

I need to find her. The memories of the crash flood back in pieces—the impact, the way the car spun, the sickening sound of metal being crushed like a tin can.

And Grace...

I scramble, eyes wide as I search for her, but my vision swims. I see shadows moving and people shouting, but nothing is clear. It’s chaos. An acrid smell of burnt rubber, gasoline, and blood is in the air.

“Grace!” I shout, but my voice is hoarse, like I’ve swallowed glass. Panic surges through me as I push myself off the ground,ignoring the searing pain in my side, and stumble forward. Where is she?

I see a familiar figure to my right, the dark outline of Grace’s body lying motionless on the ground. My chest seizes. I drop to my knees beside her, terrified to touch her.

"Grace..." I whisper. "Come on, sweetheart, open your eyes."

For a long, breathless moment, nothing happens. The world stands still. My heart pounds, the noise of it deafening in my ears, and the terror in my chest feels like it’s crushing me. Then, with a soft groan, her eyes flutter open.

"Grace?" I exhale sharply, my voice shaky with relief. "Hey, it’s okay. You're safe."

She blinks up at me, confused, her hand weakly reaching for mine. "Theo…?"

I cradleher face with both hands, running my thumb along her cheek to reassure her—and myself—that she's okay.

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m here. Are you hurt? Can you move?”

She winces, but after a moment, she nods. “I think so.”

I let out a shaky breath, relief flooding through me. She’s alive. She’s okay.

Before I can say anything else, Tad appears behind me, his face tight and worried. "Theo, we’ve got her secured. Security’s already on it, tracking the bastard. We’ll get him."

I nod, trying to focus through the throbbing pain in my skull. “Where is he?”

Tad’s jaw clenches, and he looks away for a second. “They lost him. He’s gone.”

Gone. How? How could they lose him?

“We’re taking this seriously, Theo,” Tad growls. “But if I’m being honest, I don’t think this guy’s after her physically. Notyet. I think he just wants her to know he can still get to her. He wants to scare her.”

I can feel the rage building in my chest, a storm I can’t control. “He’s already done more than enough. He ran into us, and you think that he doesn’t want to hurt her?”

Tad sighs. “We’re not going to let him get close again. We’ll beef up the security at the house. For now, let’s get both of you to the hospital.”

“I’m not going to a hospital,” I snap, shaking my head. “We’ll have the doctor come to the house, but I’m not leaving Grace alone.”

Tad doesn’t argue, and I know he understands. I don’t give a damn about the hospital. I need to make sure Grace is okay, and I need to be there for her.

I tried to give her something normal, something safe; this bastard takes it from her. It’s infuriating.

My driver is being helped up by another member of the security team, who is groaning but conscious, which is a relief. He waves me off when I ask if he’s okay, and I almost laugh at how stubborn he is.

Just like me.

---