Page 78 of My Grumpy Billionaire Protector

I open and close my mouth several times. “Fine.”

With that, he spins on his heels and leaves. I look over at Hayes and Felix, who both gave me blank looks before turning their backs on me. Slowly, I walk over to the door and close it. I drop to my hands and knees and start to collect the bits and pieces of plaster.

Soon, Riley finds me and pulls me to my feet.

“Hayes and Felix called me. Why don’t you wait for someone to come and take care of that?”

I squirm and step out of her reach. “No, thank you. I can take care of this myself.”

“Evie, I—”

“I can’t stay like this, Riley,” I murmur, a lump rising in the back of my throat. “I shouldn’t have to. There has to be a way out of here.”

“We’re still in the middle of negotiations—”

I jump to my feet and spin around to face her. “You know that’s not what I meant. I don’t even know that they are going to let me go once the negotiations are complete. How are they going to guarantee that my grandfather stays cooperative when I’m back home?”

Riley sighs. “I don’t know, Evie. I wish I could tell you what you wanted to hear, but I don’t have the answers.”

“You do have a way out.”

Riley pales. “Evie. I can’t. You know I can’t. Do you know what they would do to me or my family if they found out?”

I reach for her hands and take both of them in mine. “You’re the one who said that Isaiah is not going to take things too far. What’s the worst he can do?”

“Isaiah won’t take it too far when it comes to outsiders, but when it comes to betrayal, it’s something they can all agree on.”

I drop Riley’s hands and release a deep, shaky breath. “So that’s it then? I’m just stuck here until someone decides I’m not.”

“I know it’s been a while, but it could be a lot worse.”

“A lot worse than what? Being at home in my apartment? Being in the classroom and knowing I’ll see my friends afterward?”

“You are going to get out of here soon,” Riley maintains, her bright eyes turning soft. “I can try to find out about the negotiations for you.”

I stare at her. “No, if you get in trouble, that’ll be on me, and I don’t want that for you. I know we’re not exactly friends, Riley, but you’re as close as I’m going to get to that in here.”

“For what it’s worth, you too.” Riley straightens her back and tucks her hair behind her ears. “I’m going to send someone up to take care of this mess.”

Once she is gone, I run to the door and press my ear there. Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard enough whispered mentions of my grandfather to know something is happening. His name is being tossed around too often for it to be a coincidence, but whenever I come into the room, everyone stops talking.

Even Riley no longer shares information with me, though I suspect it is because they are keeping her out of the loop and not out of malice. Everyone in the house knows that a strange sort of friendship has blossomed between us, and I am certain Isaiah knows as well. There is little that happens in the main house without his knowledge, except perhaps mine and Shane’s activities.

Unless he knows about those too and thinks he can use them against me. Already, I’ve been threatened with a newspaper article that has the ability to tarnish my mom’s legacy and all of the hard work she’s done. For her sake, I’ve maintained appearances, particularly during our daily video calls.

As far as my mom is concerned, I am being treated well.

Even my grandfather seemed unconcerned with my treatment.

Between the two of them, they put on a happy and cheerful front, but there is something forced and contrived about the whole thing. From the way the two of them dress to the clipped and measured tone my grandfather uses to answer, there is something unraveling on their end too. Unfortunately, neither Sienna nor TJ know anything, and Dinah rarely shows up for the calls.

Hopefully, their silence means it is going to end soon.

Please just let it be over. I just want to go home.

A week later, after a series of failed investigation attempts, I am no closer to having any answers. So, I escape to my room earlier than usual and sit in between the covers with the TV blaring in the background. While I try to focus, my mind races with possibilities, going through each scenario at length before pushing it away.

Sometime later, I drift off to sleep. The TV has gone silent, and the rest of the world slowly melts away. When I wake up, my room is pitch black, and my heart is thundering against my ribcage. I push my hair out of my eyes and peer into the darkness, wondering what it is that has woken me up. Out of the corner of my eye, I realize the door to my room is left ajar.

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