LOGINShare
Chapter 9: Strings Attached
publish date:
2025-12-13 10:59:10The morning sunlight bled through the blinds, sharp and uninviting. Julia Bailey’s coffee sat untouched, going cold beside the stack of unfinished reports.
Across the small kitchen table, Brandon was nursing a cut on his palm, wrapping it clumsily with a band-aid. The bruise on his jaw from last night hadn’t faded.
Julia finally broke the silence. “Why put yourself in danger like that? You could’ve lost your job.”
Brandon didn’t look up. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
“I’m serious.” Her voice was firm, but her eyes flickered with concern. “You stepped in for me again. What are you running from, Brandon?”
He gave a soft laugh—bitter, self-deprecating. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
He glanced at her, and for a moment she thought he might tell her. But then his jaw tightened. “It’s not your problem, Julia. Let it go.”
That only made her angrier. “You keep saying that like it’s supposed to make me stop caring!”
His eyes flashed. “Because caring gets people hurt.”
Julia froze. The air between them turned heavy.
He stood abruptly, grabbed his coat, and left before she could say another word.
===
Hours later, Julia was back at the office, forcing herself to focus on her screen when a familiar voice sent a chill down her spine.
“Bailey.”
She looked up. James Whitmore stood in the doorway of the small meeting room, crisp suit, calm eyes—too calm.
“Mr. Whitmore,” she greeted coolly. “If this is about the quarterly reports—”
“It’s about Brandon.”
Her stomach twisted. “What about him?”
James shut the door behind him and walked closer. “Why are you defending him?” His tone was measured, but his gaze burned. “You’ll only get dragged down with him.”
Julia crossed her arms. “Dragged down from what, exactly? Working hard? Paying rent? Trying to survive?”
“You don’t understand how deep this goes.”
“I understand enough,” she snapped. “He’s trying to rebuild his life, and all you do is chain him to a family that despises him.”
James’s mask cracked. His jaw flexed. “You think this is about family pride?”
“Isn’t it always?”
For a moment, he said nothing—just studied her with that unnerving lawyer calm. Then, quietly, he said, “He wasn’t disowned for arrogance, Julia. He was cut off for betrayal.”
Julia blinked. “Betrayal? What do you mean?”
James hesitated, then shook his head. “That’s not for you to know.”
“Then why tell me anything at all?” she challenged.
He stepped closer. “Because you’re getting too close. And when the truth comes out, I don’t want to see you ruined with him.”
Julia’s pulse quickened, but she didn’t back away. “You’re protecting him by threatening me?”
“By warning you.” His voice dropped lower. “Stay out of this, Julia—or you’ll regret it.”
He turned and left, leaving the faint scent of cologne and danger behind him.
Julia stood frozen, the word betrayal echoing in her head.
When she returned to her desk, Brandon wasn’t there. His chair was empty, his locker half-open.
A ripple of unease ran through her.
She rushed to the lobby—and that’s when she saw them.
Through the glass wall, James was standing face to face with Brandon near the exit. Their voices were low but tense, the kind that carried history.
Julia ducked behind a column, watching.
“Your father’s already asking questions,” James hissed. “You think hiding in a janitor’s uniform fools anyone?”
“I’m not hiding,” Brandon shot back. “I’m working.”
James scoffed. “Working? You call this a life? You’ve thrown everything away.”
“Better that than living as his puppet!”
“Then stop dragging her into your mess!”
Julia’s breath caught.
Brandon’s fists clenched. “Leave Julia out of this.”
“Too late,” James said coldly. “She’s already in the crossfire.”
Brandon’s expression darkened. “You touch her, I’ll—”
“Careful,” James interrupted smoothly. “You don’t have the power to threaten anyone anymore.”
Brandon glared at him, then turned away sharply, shoving past the glass doors into the rain.
Julia hesitated only a second before running after him.
===
Outside, the downpour hit hard—cold needles against her skin. She spotted him halfway down the street, walking fast, head bowed.
“Brandon!” she shouted, chasing him. “Wait!”
He didn’t slow.
She grabbed his arm, spinning him around. “What the hell was that about? Why are you letting him talk to you like that?”
He yanked his arm free, rain dripping down his face. “Because he’s right!”
Julia flinched.
“You don’t know what I’ve done,” he said hoarsely. “You don’t know what I cost my family.”
“Then tell me!”
“I can’t!”
“Why not?!”
“Because you’ll hate me too!” he roared.
Thunder cracked overhead. For a heartbeat, neither spoke.
Then he stepped closer, his voice raw. “Why do you care so much, Julia? Why do you keep chasing after me when you should’ve run the other way?”
She opened her mouth, but no words came.
He stared at her, waiting—hoping—for an answer that never came.
Finally, he shook his head, rainwater tracing the edge of his jaw. “That’s what I thought.”
And then he turned and walked away, disappearing into the storm.
Julia stood in the rain, soaked and trembling, her heart thudding painfully in her chest.
She wanted to call after him—to demand the truth—but her voice wouldn’t come.
Because somewhere deep inside, she already knew the real answer to his question.
She cared. Too much.
Latest chapter
Falling for the Disgraced Heir Chapter 200: We Learned to Dance in It
The rain is light, almost hesitant, the kind that feels like an afterthought rather than a storm. It drifts down in thin silver lines, blurring the edges of the street and softening the sharpness of the world. Julia steps beneath the awning and lifts her face just enough to feel the cool mist brush her skin.For the first time, it doesn’t feel like a warning.Brandon stands beside her, close enough that their shoulders nearly touch. Close enough that she’s aware of the heat of him even as the air cools. The city around them is quieter than it has been in years—no sirens, no reporters, no tension humming beneath every sound. Just rain, breath, and the steady presence of someone who stayed.She exhales. “Is this really it?”He turns his head slightly. “What do you mean?”“All of it,” she says. “The trials. The fallout. The waiting for something else to explode.” Her fingers curl against the edge of her coat. “Does it ever end?”The question has lived in her for years. It’s shaped her ch
Falling for the Disgraced Heir Chapter 199: What We Keep
Julia stands at the bedroom window long after the rain has softened into mist, watching the garden lights blur and steady again, blur and steady, like breath learning a new rhythm. The house is quiet in a way it has never been before—not emptied, not abandoned, but finally unbraced.Behind her, Brandon closes the door without a sound.She doesn’t turn. “I used to think silence meant something bad was about to happen.”“I know,” he says gently. “You listened for impact.”She nods once. The truth of it settles heavy in her chest. “Now it feels like… standing on the edge of something beautiful and waiting for it to disappear.”He moves closer, slow, deliberate, as if approaching a wild thing that might spook if handled too quickly. “You don’t trust the calm.”“I don’t trust myself inside it,” she admits. “I don’t know who I am when I’m not fighting.”Brandon stops just behind her. Not touching yet. Letting the space speak first. “You’re the same woman who survived the fight,” he says. “T
Falling for the Disgraced Heir Chapter 198: The Rain That Stayed
The rain has already soaked through Arthur’s jacket by the time he finds Sophia on the terrace, standing beneath a bare tree with no umbrella, as if she’d decided not to negotiate with the weather at all.“Sophia,” he says, breath catching—not from the cold, but from the sight of her turning toward him, hair darkened by rain, eyes too steady for how much he’s about to risk.She doesn’t move to greet him. “You’re late.”“I know.” He stops a few feet away, rain threading down his jaw, pooling at his collar. “I needed to be sure I wasn’t saying this just because everything else finally stopped.”Her mouth curves, not quite a smile. “Timing has always been your enemy.”“And my excuse,” he admits. “That’s why I’m here now. Before I lose the nerve again.”The rain thickens, drumming softly around them. Arthur feels the familiar instinct to retreat—to wait for better conditions, clearer signs—but something in her stillness tells him there will never be a perfect moment. Only chosen ones.“I’
Falling for the Disgraced Heir Chapter 197: Under Separate Umbrellas
The rain begins before the cars even stop, fine and persistent, blurring the edges of the driveway as umbrellas open one by one like cautious declarations.Julia stands beneath the awning, fingers curled around the stem of her glass, watching her parents arrive from opposite directions. Her mother steps out first, posture composed, eyes already scanning for exits. Her father follows minutes later, slower, shoulders tight beneath his coat. They do not look at each other.Neither does she ask them to.“Everyone’s here,” Brandon murmurs beside her.His voice is low, steady—an anchor. She doesn’t look at him yet, only nods as her breath fogs the cool air. The space between her parents feels louder than the rain, filled with years of sentences never finished.“Do you want me to—” Brandon starts.“No,” she says gently. “Let them come to it themselves.”He watches her for a beat, then nods. “I’ll stay close.”They step forward together, not hand in hand yet, but aligned. The gathering is sma
Falling for the Disgraced Heir Chapter 196: The Celebration That Isn’t a Wedding
The dress hangs from the wardrobe door, pale fabric catching the early light, and Julia feels the weight of it before she ever touches it.“It doesn’t have to mean anything,” Brandon says quietly from behind her. “Only what you decide.”She doesn’t turn right away. Outside, the sky is low and bruised with rain that hasn’t fallen yet. The house is still, holding its breath. This was supposed to be simple—a private vow renewal, no announcements, no spectacle. A promise reclaimed, not performed.Yet her chest tightens anyway.“I know,” she says. “That’s what scares me.”He steps closer, not touching her yet. The space between them hums, familiar and new all at once. “Talk to me.”Julia exhales slowly. “Every time I’ve stood in a dress like that,” she says, nodding toward the fabric, “it was because someone expected me to become something. A wife. A symbol. Proof that everything broken before had been fixed.”“And this time?” Brandon asks.“This time there’s nothing to fix.” Her voice wav
Falling for the Disgraced Heir Chapter 195: Readiness
The meeting ends with the quiet scrape of chairs and the soft click of a folder closing—no raised voices, no catharsis, no apology brave enough to matter.Julia stands when it’s done, smoothing her coat out of habit more than need. The man across the table offers a polite nod, the kind reserved for transactions that have reached their natural conclusion. No reconciliation. No attempt to soften what was never meant to heal.“Then we’re finished,” he says.“Yes,” Julia replies, steady. “We are.”She doesn’t wait for anything else. She turns, walks toward the door, and only when her hand closes around the handle does she feel it—the ache of finality settling low and slow in her chest. An ending without witnesses. An ending that offers no applause.The hallway outside is empty, fluorescent lights humming softly. Brandon straightens from where he’s been leaning against the wall, attention sharpening the moment he sees her face.“Done?” he asks.“Yes.”“That was… quiet.”She exhales, almost
Falling for the Disgraced Heir Chapter 54: Dinner for Three
The clatter of cutlery was too loud. Too sharp. Every sound felt like judgment thrown across the dining table. Julia sat between her mother’s rigid poise and Brandon’s calm, rain-dampened presence, aware that one wrong breath could shatter the fragile p
Falling for the Disgraced Heir Chapter 53: Two Worlds Collide
Julia stepped outside before she could talk herself out of it. The cold night air wrapped around her, sharp enough to sting. Brandon stood beneath the lone streetlamp like he’d been carved out of shadow and stubbornness, rain dripping from the ends of his hai
Falling for the Disgraced Heir Chapter 52: Arthur’s Smile, Her Mother’s Plan
Julia froze in the doorway, her pulse echoing in her ears. Arthur hadn’t changed at all. The same clean lines of his tailored suit, the same polished hair, the same careful smile that never reached his eyes. Time had only sharpened him into everything her mot
Falling for the Disgraced Heir Chapter 50: When the Rain Falls
Rain pattered against the windowpane, soft and steady—the same rhythm that had marked every turning point between them. The air was cool, perfumed with petrichor and the faint scent of instant coffee left forgotten on the counter. Julia stood at the window, w
You may also like
Sir Ares, Goodnight!
Yan An1.1M viewsA Life Debt Repaid
Cheng Xiaocheng1.1M viewsDear Ex-Wife, You Are MINE!
Cerise R. Wood650.2K viewsThe Trap Of Ace
Eva Zahan1.0M viewsRevenge After Divorce: All Men Want Her
Adelina Beston436 viewsMarried to my Cold BILLIONAIRE Boss
Fire28 viewsThe Hockey Star And The Widow He Shouldn't Love
Wright97 viewsTHE BILLIONAIRE'S REGRET
Joan W. Tendergrass 208 views
