Chapter Seventeen

The next morning, Grace woke and blinked several times before looking around. When she noticed Robert’s side of the bed empty, it saddened her for a moment, but she wouldn’t let it bother her right then.

She groaned when she rolled out of bed and had to steady herself on the edge of the mattress before walking into the bathroom. After a hot shower that helped her muscles relax, she made her way down the stairs when she heard voices from Robert’s office.

She walked that way to say hello but stopped when she heard her name. The door was barely open, but it was enough to hear everything.

“What are you going to tell Grace?” Channing said.

“Nothing. She doesn’t need to know anything,” Robert said.

“You don’t think she should know that her father is trying to take her back home and has threatened Hannah?”

Robert sighed. “No. I’ve got security around the place, so he can’t get to either of them.”

“What about the fact that you married her to protect her, so he can’t try to say he’s her guardian and tell everyone about the depression story he made up?”

She heard Robert grunt.

They were silent for a minute before Channing spoke up again. “After her father is taken care of, will you stay married to her?”

Grace’s stomach hurt, and her limbs shook while she was waiting for his reply.

“Right now, I just want to concentrate on keeping them safe. I’ll worry about it all later,” Robert said.

Grace covered her mouth with her hands and ran to her room, locking herself in. The devastation was more than she could handle. From the very beginning, she had known there were things she hadn’t been told, but she didn’t know how bad it was. The fact that Hannah could get hurt because of her terrified her. That, mixed with the desolation that her marriage wasn’t real, was enough to make her cry out.

Sobs tore from her throat as she slid to the floor in the bathroom. The crying seemed to go on forever, and at times made her gag. She was finally able to get physical control over herself but emotionally, things were chaotic.

She knew Hannah would be awake soon, and Grace didn’t want the little girl to see her the way she looked. After washing her face well, she sat on the mattress, trying to come up with a plan that would protect Hannah. That’s all that mattered now. Later, Grace could cry all she wanted.

What was she going to do? She had been so close to being part of the family, but now she knew better. God, she hated her father. Why in the world would he want her back?

The thoughts were getting jumbled in her mind, and she needed to be in the kitchen soon. Grace looked at herself in the mirror. The swelling was gone, and the redness faded but it was the look in her eyes that caught her attention.

She had always been able to hide her emotions from her father, and now she had to hide them from everyone until she knew what she was going to do.

Besides Taylor giving her a few concerned looks, Grace hid her anguish well. Hannah helped tremendously, keeping her mind off her life, but it also reminded Grace that just being with the little girl was putting her in danger.

Most of the day had passed before she saw Robert. She and Hannah were watching a movie when he walked into the family room.

Grace was startled when Hannah squealed and ran to her father. As she watched the two together, she couldn’t help but notice their extreme love for each other.

Robert set the girl on her feet and then looked her way. Instantly, she saw him scowl. He held out a hand. “Come with me,” he said.

Grace looked at Hannah.

“She’s fine,” Robert said.

Reluctantly, Grace stood and took his hand. He led her down the hallway and into his office and let go of her hand. When she heard the door shut, she turned around.

Robert stood in front of the door with his arms crossed. She waited for him to say something, and with every tick of the clock, her anxiety rose.

“Taylor came to me and told me you looked sad and the first glance I saw of you, I agree. I know you have that wall built between us again, and I won’t have it.”

She waited for more.

“Did I hurt you last night?”

She could feel her face burn as she shook her head.

“So, what happened to make you sad? Are you upset that we made love last night?” Robert asked.

That question took her by surprise. “No.”

“Then what is it?”

Grace looked down, and her nails dug into her palms so hard she felt the skin break and blood start to ooze. “I want to go home.”

They were both surprised by her outburst, and Grace sighed. She hadn’t meant to blurt that out.

“But this is your home now.”

Grace looked away.

“Grace, look at me,” he growled. “What is going on?”

“Nothing, really. At least nothing you have to worry about.”

His eyebrows rose. “Really?”

God, she was saying this all wrong, but she hadn’t time to come up with a plan before he found her. “I w-want to go back with my father.”

From the look on his face, you would think she’d smacked him.

“Why in the fuck would you do that?” he yelled. “Remember how he treated you?”

Hell, that wasn’t something she’d ever forget, but she’d rather deal with that than know she was putting Hannah in danger and making his life miserable because he had to marry her.

Grace stood mute.

Robert walked over to her and grasped her shoulders. “You’re going to tell me what the hell is going on.”

Grace shook her head. “It’s best this way. I think I’ve disrupted your life more than you’re telling me, and the fact you were gone so much made me think you thought you made a mistake.”

“There’s no mistake, Sweetheart. I wanted to marry you.”

“Maybe, but not for the right reasons,” she said.

“What are you getting at?”

The phone rang behind her when she opened her mouth. She saw Robert look at it and scowl.

“Fuck, I have to take this, but I’m warning you that I’ll want answers to my questions later.”

Grace nodded. She wasn’t going to stay around for them, but he didn’t need to know that. She turned and walked out.

She made it to her old bedroom, where she started to pack the clothes she brought with her when she noticed the blood she had on her palms. She washed her hands, but a few of the deep cuts kept oozing.

When she got the bleeding mostly under control, she started to make notes for each of them. She called to the kitchen and asked Taylor if she could watch Hannah because Grace didn’t feel well.

“Of course. Please tell me if you need anything. I’ll come and check on you later,” Taylor said.

“No, that’s fine. It’s just a bad headache.”

“All right, but you can call me anytime.”

Grace blinked back her tears and sniffed. “Thank you. You’ve been the friend I’ve always dreamed of.”

“I treasure our friendship, too,” Taylor told her, making her feel even worse.

When she got off the phone, she reminded herself she was doing this to protect them, and that was more important than anything.

Grace read over each of the notes. She wrote an apology to Taylor because she would have to watch Hannah again while Robert found another nanny.

Hannah’s letter said that Grace had to go home and help her family, and if there were a way, she’d come visit her.

Robert’s was the hardest. She thanked him for his sacrifice, but it wasn’t worth it if her presence put Hannah in danger. She’d never forgive herself if Hannah got hurt because of her. She thanked him for the time she got to spend with them. She wanted to say so much about how she felt about him, but it just might complicate everything.

She slipped off the wedding ring and set it on Robert’s letter. She looked around one more time before she lifted her suitcase.

Grace made sure to go out the door to the garages. She looked around and didn’t see any of the security Robert talked about.

From there, she could walk to the street. Only when she was away from the house would she find a private place to call her father to come get her.

She looked around once more, turned, and left.