Page 39 of Believing in a Billionaire (Hearts and Holdings #7)

JULIA

J ulia’s heart sank as Grant spoke, refusing to look at her. It was obvious how much pain he felt over the situation with Harrington Global. He’d been carrying it with him for days. That explained almost everything. How distracted he’d been, how tense.

He hadn’t told her, but the reason for that became obvious as he leapt from the chair.

She sighed as she stared at the floor. Her mind not only vetted ideas regarding the stock buy-up but also the reason for all his secrecy.

I wanted things to be perfect for us.

She rose, pressing her hand against her forehead as she tried to figure out the best path forward on every front.

He grabbed her hands in his. “Julia, I can fix everything. I just need more time. I know things haven’t been what I promised, but–”

“No, Grant,” she said as she shook her head. This couldn’t continue between them. She had to stop it. “No more…contracts or time frames. No more contingencies. No more. This has to end.”

He stared at her, the strain of the past few days etched in every line of his face. “Julia...”

“Grant, we can’t keep going like this. It’s not healthy. And it’s not working.”

“I can make it work. That’s what I’m saying. It’ll be fine. I just need–”

“No.” She shook her head again. “It’s not working for you. You have been tense, stressed…”

“Well, yeah. Lydia is trying to steal my company. I just wanted to shield you from that. It’s not a crime.”

“But it’s not a marriage, either,” she answered, her voice soft.

Grant huffed out a breath, sliding his eyes closed.

She took a step closer to him, sliding her hands onto his shoulders. “Lydia is coming after us on every front. Now is not the time to keep secrets.”

“It wasn’t secret,” he grumbled.

She sighed as she bit her lower lip. “You kept it from me because you wanted to create this illusion of perfection.”

He opened his mouth to answer but she stopped him.

“But that’s the problem. And that’s why this…time frame and these contingencies can’t go on. Not anymore.”

He pressed his lips together, his jaw flexing as he didn’t like what he was hearing.

“We need to move forward together. United. Committed. For good. I love you, Grant. I don’t love a perfect version of you. I love you. I don’t want the illusion of a fairy tale marriage. I want honesty. I want a partnership.”

His features contorted, his eyebrows pinching together as he studied her. His eyes narrowed.

“What?” she asked.

“You…” He clamped his jaw closed again as he shook his head. “You constantly amaze me, Julia. I don’t know what to say.”

“How about you’re not going to hold things back from me anymore in this ridiculous attempt to create this fantasy world? When we were under contract, we faced everything together: scandals, storms, all of it together.”

“And I constantly worried you’d disappear from my life because of the turmoil.”

She shrugged. “But I didn’t. And I won’t. Grant, I’m not going anywhere. And I’m not going to fall to pieces over bad news.”

“This is…more than bad news. This is…a full-blown disaster that’s threatening to swallow everything I’ve built.”

Julia’s shoulders slumped. She cupped his cheek in her hand, offering him a slight smile. “Then we’ll face it together. I didn’t stay with you for your company or your money or the trips to Paris.”

“Hey, I thought you liked the trips to Paris.”

Her grin broadened. “I do, but only because they’re with you. I love you. I stayed for you.”

He let his eyes slide closed as he gently pressed his forehead against hers. His hand, warm and firm, enveloped hers, while the other arm encircled her waist, drawing her into a refuge of their making. “I don’t know how I got so lucky the day I met you, but it was the best day of my life.”

“Funny, I feel the same way.”

He squeezed her closer to him. “I don’t know how. Your life has been…chaos since you met me.”

She smiled at him, enjoying the measure of comfort their closeness brought to her after the difficult experience. “I don’t care, as long as we face it together.”

“I’m afraid we may be facing some difficult times together. I can’t see a way forward through this latest attack on the company.”

Julia’s brow furrowed as she considered it. “So, you need a way to stop her from buying so many shares?”

“Right. We were doing that ourselves, but we’re too far leveraged now. We’re not going to be able to outbuy her.” Grant sighed, the tension returning to his shoulders.

Her mind spun as she considered solutions, all of which she was certain he’d already vetted with his team. Before she could come to any conclusions, Dr. Gray appeared in the doorway.

He tugged the mask from his face, offering them a tight-lipped smile.

Julia’s stomach dropped as she studied his features, searching for any clue on Kyle’s condition. Her muscles stiffened as she stepped back from Grant but kept a firm hold of his hand. Her heart thudded against her ribs. “How is he?”

Dr. Gray let his gaze slide to the floor before he snapped it up to them. “He’s okay. He’s going to make it.”

Julia sucked in a breath as tears of relief stung her eyes. She pressed a hand to her chest before she twisted to pull Grant into a hug.

“Thank God,” he whispered as he held her close.

Julia pulled away from him again, her arms still lingering around his neck. “Can we see him?”

“Yes. He’s still asleep, and he probably will be for a while. But you can see him. We repaired an internal bleed. You found him just in time. If he had gone much longer, we would be having a different conversation.”

“Will he have any long-term complications?”

Dr. Gray shrugged as he shook his head. “I doubt it. He’s young and healthy. We’ll monitor him here, but I see nothing that would prevent a full recovery.”

“That’s good. That’s really good news,” Julia said.

Dr. Gray smiled at her. “They’re moving him to a room now, someone will let you know when he’s there.”

“Thank you,” Grant said, shaking the man’s hand.

The doctor left them alone again, and Julia threw her arms around Grant’s neck in a tight hug.

“Wow, that’s a relief,” she said when she pulled back and wiped at the happy tears that had fallen to her cheeks.

“Julia…” Grant grabbed her hands, his eyes falling on them. “I don’t know what to say, but thank you for finding him. I never should have doubted you.”

“It’s okay,” she answered. “It’s not like the evidence was obvious. But speaking of thanking people, I really need to call Alex. If it wouldn’t have been for him, we’d never have found Kyle that quickly.”

“Okay. Hey, if you’re okay, I was going to find Sierra and tell her.”

“Yes, absolutely. I’ll be okay,” she said with a smile.

He took a step toward the door before he shook his head. “Wait a second. I forgot something.”

“What?” she asked as she glanced up from her phone.

“This.” He pulled her closer and kissed her. “I can’t tell you how much I love you.”

“That was a start,” she said with a smile. “Now, go find Sierra before she gets mad at you for not telling her about her brother.”

“I still can’t believe she’s finally accepted him,” Grant said with a laugh.

“This family is really coming together.”

“Not a moment too soon. We’re going to need each other. I’ll be back soon.”

She watched him leave, a warmth spreading through her chest despite the chill of the hospital.

Pressing the call button next to Alex’s name, Julia felt a surge of gratitude for the chaotic, beautiful life they’d built together.

Despite the shadow of Lydia’s threats, their love had become an unbreakable bond, a beacon guiding them through the storm.

“Hey, kid, any news?”

She smiled at the honest edge of concern in his voice. “He’s okay. He’s going to be okay.”

The words spilled from her lips as relief coursed through her again.

“Fantastic news. I’m so glad.”

“So am I.” Julia heaved a sigh of relief. “Alex, we couldn’t have done this without you. I can’t thank you enough. If you wouldn’t have kept digging, we never would have found him in time…”

Her words stopped as the memory of what they’d just lived through shot through her mind along with the emotions she’d experienced.

“We found him, kid. We found him.”

“Thanks to you,” she said.

“And you. Something about the way you sounded when you called about his phone just didn’t sit right with me. There was just something in your voice.”

Julia’s lips pressed together as her features pinched. “Well, if you hadn’t jumped all over this, we’d likely have been facing a far worse scenario.”

“Glad to do my part.”

“Again, I don’t know how I can repay you–”

“Kid, don’t worry about that now. You go take care of Mini-Grant and the rest of your family. We’ll talk when things are less stressed.”

“Thanks, Alex,” she answered as the tension in her shoulders eased.

“Anytime, kid. Anytime. Now, go give the Grantling a high five from me.”

A nurse appeared in the doorway, offering Julia a wave. She smiled at her, waving back before she held up a finger. “I will. Oh, hey, Alex…I’m really sorry, I have another question for you, but I’m just heading in to see Kyle. Mind if I text you later?”

“Absolutely, kid. We’ll talk soon.”

They said their goodbyes as Julia rose and crossed to the nurse. “Mrs. Harrington, Dr. Carter is in room ten. You can head in any time.”

“Thank you,” Julia said as she followed the woman into the hall.

Grant rounded the corner with Sierra in tow. She hurried forward to wrap Julia in a hug. “Daddy told me Kyle’s going to be okay.”

“Yes, and we can see him now.”

“I told Daddy how brave you were,” Sierra said as she slid her arm through Julia’s.

“You, too,” Julia said with a grin as they wandered down the hall to Kyle’s room.

The quiet beeping of the heart monitor greeted them as they entered. A pale Kyle lay motionless, still bruised but his wounds cleaned.

Julia slid her hand into Grant’s as they entered. His features pinched as he stared at his son. “I should have taken it more seriously.”

She leaned into his arm and squeezed his shoulder. “He’s okay, Grant.”

Sierra stomped her way over to the bed and glanced down at him. “I’m totally going to be nicer to him. I’m not going to call him crazy anymore.”

Julia smiled at her as they sidled to the bed. “I think that’s a good idea. Kyle really wants to be accepted.”

Grant scrubbed his face before he wrapped an arm around Julia. “I’m going to do my best with him. Even though he’s sometimes maddening.”

“He’s going to need all of us. Lydia said some awful things that I’m certain he believed.”

“Like the stuff she said to me?” Sierra asked.

Julia nodded as she reached across the bed for her stepdaughter’s hand. “Yeah, just like that. She’s not a nice person. Not at all.”

“She really enjoys torturing people,” Sierra said, her gaze falling on her half-brother. She slipped her hand into his. “Well, she’s not going to hurt anybody else on my watch.”

Julia smiled at the sentiment as she took Kyle’s hand, too.

His eyelids fluttered open before he squeezed them closed again, wincing.

“Kyle?” Julia asked, gently pressing a hand against his cheek.

“Julia?” he asked, his voice hoarse. He let his eyes slowly open again before he slid them toward her.

“I’m here, Kyle. You’re okay. You’re in the hospital.”

His gaze shifted to Grant next to Julia before they moved to Sierra. “Everyone’s here?”

Julia nodded as she squeezed his hand. “Everyone’s here.”

“Am I dead?” Kyle’s voice was weak, his eyes searching Julia’s.

“No,” she said with a chuckle, a smile warming her face despite the tears. “We’re all here with you and you’re alive.”

Sierra bobbed her head. “Julia made sure of that. She totally pulled that guy away from you before he killed you.”

“And we are not going to let anything else happen to you,” Grant assured him. “You’re coming to Harrington House when you get out of the hospital. And…we’re going to work on our relationship, son.”

Kyle’s eyebrows knitted as he shifted his gaze to Julia, a flicker of vulnerability passing through his eyes. “Are you sure I’m alive?”

She grinned at him. “Yes, I’m sure. We are all very glad you’re okay.”

“Me too,” he answered. “Though I’m sort of…weirded out by everyone being here.”

“Get used to it. We’re family,” Sierra said. “And we Harringtons stick together.”

“That’s right, we do,” Grant said as he reached across for Sierra’s hand while sliding his other into Julia’s.

“And we’re going to have to keep sticking together. We need to protect each other from Lydia. She’s not going to stop until we stop her.”

“This needs to end,” Sierra said.

“It will. I’m not letting Lydia take any more from this family,” Grant answered.

“Then we’ll work together to stop her,” Julia said as she squeezed both Kyle and Grant’s hands. “We’re a team.”

She smiled at Grant, the weight of their journey, the battles they’d fought and the ones that still loomed, tying them together.

She flicked her gaze to Sierra and Kyle, a surge of warmth rushing through her.

They were no longer just family by name but by a loving bond, forged through trials and unwavering support.

They’d weathered storms and stood against tides that sought to rip them apart. They’d find a way to defeat Lydia. Together, they could face anything.

Julia’s admitted her feelings, but can their love survive the final knife from Lydia?