Page 110 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

“No, I don’t want to leave Julia here!” Sierra cried.

“She’d want you to get checked. We can’t do anything here anyway.” Luke wrapped his arm around Alicia and tugged her closer to him. “Come on, Ally. We need to go make a plan.

“I’ll go with you,” Kyle said, before glancing at his father. “Unless you need me at the hospital?”

Grant shook his head, his features twisting as he considered leaving Julia behind. He wanted to be in three places at once. He wanted to stay here with Julia, even if she didn’t know. He wanted to be with her, but he also wanted to keep tabs on the rescue effort for her.

But his daughter needed him. For hours, he’d wondered if he’d ever see her again, and now he held her in his arms. He was incredibly lucky to have her back. She could have easily died falling over the edge of that cliff. Or during the subsequent, daring rescue by Julia.

“Daddy, no,” Sierra said as he guided her back toward the vehicles.

“Come on, they’re right. We need to get you checked out. Think about how much better it’ll be if we know you’re okaywhen we see Julia again, right? Then we can spend all our time with her.”

“Okay,” she said with a sniffle. “Because she doesn’t hate me.”

“What?” he asked as they walked back to the car.

“I thought…I thought she hated me. But she said she didn’t. She said she’d never hate me. She told me she’d always be there for me. So, she’d better be okay.”

It warmed his heart to hear the words from his daughter. He imagined the heartfelt conversation while they waited to be rescued. Julia had reassured Sierra that their relationship would remain intact.

It made his heart ache even more for the woman he left behind in a cave. She’d spend those harrowing hours awaiting rescue reassuring his daughter. And now she sat alone.

Every step away from her broke his heart, but he tried to remain strong for Sierra. He couldn’t let on how upset he was or else it would frighten her. “If she promised she’d always be there for you, she’ll be okay. She wouldn’t dare go back on a promise to you.”

He kept his arm tight around her as they approached the edge of the trees. “She’d better not. She promised. No matter how mean I was, she said I wasn’t anything like Mom.”

“Like your mother? Why would she tell you that?”

“Because I…that’s how I felt this morning.”

He tilted his head as he helped her into the car before he slid in next to her. “What do you mean, baby?”

Sierra’s features pinched. “Mom followed me after I left this morning…”

“I know that.”

“And she said…that I’m…”

“You’re what, Sierra?”

“Mean and horrible and unlovable.” Sierra’s glance fell into her lap. “And that I’m worse than her.”

Grant wrapped an arm around her as he pulled her closer, one hand curling into a fist as fury burned inside him at Lydia. “That’s not true, Sierra.”

“I know,” she said as she snuggled closer to him. “Julia said it’s not true. She said I’m not like Mom even though I was mean to her so many times. I’m not going to be mean to her anymore, Daddy.”

“Oh, baby,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

“I promise. No more threatening to sue her, no more calling her arm candy. I’m going to be so nice to Julia, she’s going to get sick of it.”

“Honey, if she can tolerate Kyle, I think she’ll be fine with you.”

A few moments later, they arrived at the hospital. Within a few minutes, they were whisked to a cubicle, and tests were ordered. He sat alone, his mind recalling details of the nightmarish day.

From finding Julia missing to the argument to Sierra’s rescue, every horrid moment floated through his mind. His mind replayed the last words he’d harshly spoken to her. The memory stung, mingling with the fear gripping his heart. He wanted to go back into the woods and claw through the rocks to find her, to pull her out and make sure she was safe.

He wanted to tell her so many things, but he wondered if she’d want to hear them. Did it matter, though? The doubts cropped up once again in the quietness of the hospital room. She’d walked out on him. She’d told him they shouldn’t be married.