They Rejected Me—Then I Married The Billionaire They Feared Chapter 07
When my father first brought the three of them onto the Grant estate, Adrian was the one who insisted on keeping the name Shaw.
My father never forced them to change it.
Only now, standing there, did Adrian seem to catch up to what that meant. He looked at my face—really looked—for the first time in a long time.
I didn’t look away.
Once, I couldn’t meet his eyes without something eager and pleading in mine. Now I just felt tired.
Felix squeezed my hand, the pad of his thumb pressing gently against my knuckle.
Adrian’s throat moved. His voice dropped.
“You’re really going to marry him?”
“Adrian Shaw.”
My father’s voice cut in from behind me.
He crossed the floor and stopped at my side. His face was frighteningly cold.
“Who gave you the right to corner my daughter at her own engagement party?”
Adrian’s spine went rigid.
In front of my father, he had always been that half-step less certain.
“I apologize, Mr. Grant.”
I watched him bow his head, and this time I didn’t rush in to smooth it over the way I used to.
I used to tell him my father was hard on him because he thought highly of him. That in the Grant house, he was no less than anyone else—that one day he’d hold more power than I ever would.
I said those things a hundred times. None of them ever weighed as much as a single “I understand how hard this is for you” from Sienna’s lips.
Adrian was quiet for a few seconds, then reached for a flute of champagne.
“Tonight is Evelyn’s birthday. And her engagement. I was out of line just now.”
He turned back to me, and there was something in his eyes I couldn’t name.
“Happy birthday.”
Felix lifted his hand and stopped the glass mid-air.
“She doesn’t drink. I’ll take it for her.”
He took the flute and drained it in one swallow.
Adrian went a shade paler.
He must have remembered the way it used to be.
At every gala, every time someone tried to force a drink on him, I was the one who stepped in and took it. Later, when my stomach seized so badly I ended up crouched over a bathroom sink, all he did was send an assistant with a glass of water.
Now, someone had taken the drink for me.
Adrian took a step back and pulled his mouth into something that was almost a smile, but not quite.
“Congratulations to you both.”
Then he turned and walked away.
This time, I didn’t call him back.
Once the party thinned out, Felix looked up at me.
“So the future Mrs. Hale isn’t taking me home tonight?”
I blinked.
“What?”
He watched me for a moment, and his voice dropped a little.
“You don’t want to? I know—the whole city thinks I’m a cripple in a chair. It’s fair enough if you’re put off.”
That didn’t sound anything like the Felix people whispered about.
“I’m not put off,” I said quickly. “You came all the way across the city. Of course you should stay with us tonight.”
His assistant discreetly turned his head away, as if he couldn’t bear to watch his boss milk the moment any longer.
Felix took my hand.
“Truly? You don’t mind?”
My eyes dropped to his legs. I nodded. Then, without meaning to, my gaze drifted a little higher.
My face went hot.
Felix arched a brow.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing.” I looked away instantly. “I was just going to say—if we want children someday, we could always use medical assistance.”
Felix’s fingers tightened around mine.
“Why would we need medical assistance?”
My mouth opened. Nothing came out.
He sighed softly.
“When it comes to having children, I’d much rather do it the usual way.”
My head snapped up.
What was he saying?
Felix planted his hands on the arms of the wheelchair and slowly stood up.
At his full height, he was much taller than me. His shadow fell over me completely.
He pulled me gently into his arms.
“The accident damaged my legs. They’ve been mostly healed for years. The chair is just convenient—and it makes people underestimate me. Everything else is a rumor.”
A chill traced down my spine.
If he’d been faking weakness this whole time, he was more dangerous than I’d imagined.
If he wanted to swallow Grant Group whole, I might have just handed myself over to the wolf.
Felix looked down at me.
“Cold? If you’re cold, we can go.”
I nodded, my head still spinning.
He smiled, then reached into his pocket and drew out a slim crystal bracelet, sliding it onto my wrist.
The moment I saw it clearly, my breath caught.
“You were the one who saved me back then?”