005

Elara’s POV

“Oh Uncle Adam!” I heard Chloe scream before she jumped straight into my grandfather’s arms. I was still frozen in shock.

I hadn’t expected him to be here at all. I avoided his eyes by pressing closer into Rhett’s hold.

I could still see the disappointment and pain that used to live in them the day he asked me not to leave. Caught between my identity and Kane, I had chosen Kane without thinking.

Even though Grandpa never ordered me to cut myself off from the family, I did it anyway. After countless pleas for me to return, he finally told Adrian to let me know I was not allowed back home as a single woman. He had always believed my marriage would end in pieces. Back then I hadn’t even wanted to go home.

Kane looked flustered, but there was a strange ease between Rhett and Grandpa, as if Rhett wasn’t surprised by his presence at all.

“This is the father of my baby. He was supposed to get that project,” Chloe introduced, giving Kane room to speak.

“This can’t be your granddaughter. This is Elara, an orphan I made the mistake of marrying. And now, as if to spite me, she sneaked in here without an invitation with a commoner like my stepbrother.”

My eyes met Grandpa’s questioning ones. He seemed pleased to let me handle it.

“Yes, Uncle. You won’t believe that this slut had the guts to sneak into such a high-profile event,” Chloe cooed. I held back the urge to laugh at how foolish she sounded. What was it with these people and calling me a slut?

“I’m not the one who got pregnant by someone else’s husband,” I threw back.

“You can blame me, Elara. I never asked you to be barren,” Chloe mocked.

A sharp slap rang through the hall.

“Once again, how dare the both of you speak to my granddaughter that way?”

Two of Grandpa’s men forced Kane and Chloe down onto their knees.

“Uncle?” Chloe asked in confusion, only to be silenced by another slap.

“Listen to me carefully. I have watched you play god with my granddaughter’s life like it was a toy, but I will not allow this nonsense to continue any longer.”

Kane glanced at me while clutching Chloe’s hand, as if trying to make me understand that I was pushing him too far.

“I think you’re making a mistake. You can’t possibly want her here over me. I am Kane!”

I scoffed at his delusion. My grandfather threw his head back and laughed, clearly trying to process the stupidity of that statement.

“You’re the fool who married a woman without any proper investigation. You dared to turn her into a shell of herself because of your cheap ambitions? I’m furious I didn’t get rid of you when I had the chance.”

This was escalating faster than I wanted. I stretched out a hand, trying to calm things down.

“Grandpa, please just let them be. Now he knows I’m not the girl he can mess with. I believe he won’t attempt any more nonsense.”

Lies. I was enjoying every second of this, but I wanted to be the one to handle them both—slowly and painfully. I wanted to strip away whatever dignity they had left, the same way they had stripped mine.

“You don’t want him thrown out?” my grandfather asked, stunned.

I shook my head slightly and leaned further into Rhett’s arms, drawing warmth from him. His touch had a soothing effect, and I couldn’t help soaking in it.

“Don’t just let them off the hook like that. They need to pay,” Rhett whispered against my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

“What do you take me for, darling…” I whispered back. I could almost feel his smirk. Across from us, Chloe glared at me with a mixture of anger and denial, as if she still believed I had come to steal her place. I refused to give either of them the satisfaction they wanted.

“Hey, why didn’t anyone inform me that a party was going on?” Adrian’s cheerful voice cut through the tension, bringing a small moment of comic relief. He stopped a few feet away and focused on the cheating pair, smirking and giving a slight shake of his head in disappointment.

“Oohh, I don’t envy you. You touch Gramps’ beloved granddaughter and expect to walk away a free man? Hell no.” He hugged me sideways, and I smiled softly at his unwavering support. Not many siblings would welcome the prodigal daughter back so easily.

“You’re going to give a speech tonight. I forgot to give you a heads-up. I’m sorry,” he added quickly, before I could react.

“What?!” I whisper-yelled, eyes widening in horror at the complete lack of preparation.

He winked at me, then turned his attention back to the two still kneeling on the ground.

“Gramps, I think you should just kick them out. This isn’t the place. I saw Helena making a scene outside. I guess she was thrown out too?” he asked with a touch of bragging in his tone.

“You can’t just throw me out. I have to meet the CEO of Horizon Group,” Kane piped up in defiance.

I raised a brow. Maybe this was the perfect moment to reveal everything… or maybe not. Adrian and I exchanged glances, then looked at Grandpa, before all three of us turned our eyes on Kane.

“How dumb can you be?” Adrian mumbled under his breath, shaking his head in amusement.

“I can sue for humiliation. I’m a CEO for crying out loud!” Kane offered a pathetic comeback.

I chuckled. Was that really the best he could come up with? How had I never seen how weak he actually was?

“Oh, I would love to see you try,” I replied.

“I wasn’t talking to you. I need to leave now to meet the CEO of Horizon Group,” he insisted again.

Anger finally pushed the words out of me.

“I’m sorry to announce that the CEO of Horizon Group does not wish to meet you.”

He glared at me. “And how would you know that?”

With a proud smirk, I answered,

“Because I am the CEO.”