004

Greyson did not answer her immediately.

He leaned back against the pillows, careful with the movement, his jaw tightening slightly as pain reminded him of his condition. Ava noticed it. The way he hid discomfort out of habit, not pride. The way his eyes stayed sharp even while his body lagged behind.

An important man, she thought. Or at least a man used to being in control.

“An offer,” he repeated finally, like he was tasting the word. “From a stranger who pulled me out of a wreck.”

“Yes.”

“That’s not how my nights usually go.”

“Mine either.”

That earned her a brief look. Curiosity. He shifted his gaze to the door, then back to her, as if silently calculating how much privacy he truly had.

“You said you overheard a conversation,” he said. “That tells me you were eavesdropping.”

“I was waiting for my own results,” Ava replied. “Hospitals are good places for people to say things they don’t want said out loud.”

He studied her more closely now. Her bruised cheek. The way she stood, favoring one side. The quiet exhaustion she was no longer bothering to hide.

“And what exactly do you think you heard?”

“That you have a year,” she said simply. “And that if certain things are not settled before then, everything you built will fall into the wrong hands.”

Silence.

Greyson’s fingers curled slowly against the blanket. When he spoke again, his voice was calm, but there was steel beneath it.

“You’re very confident for someone who doesn’t know what she’s stepping into.”

Ava shrugged lightly, the movement careful. “Confidence comes easier when you’ve already lost everything.”

That made him pause.

“You said that twice now,” he noted. “Lost everything.”

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she walked closer to the window and looked out at the city lights below. The view was impressive.

“I was married,” she said finally. “For ten years.”

Greyson didn’t interrupt.

“My mother had worked for them for years before she died of stomach cancer. I guess all the stress and pressure had finally caught up to her. After she was gone, they took me in.”

Naive me thought it was out of sympathy, that they cared… but now I see it was just another way to make sure I carried on what she started”

“I gave them everything I had,” she continued. “my time. Loyalty. Work. I let them turn me into something small because I thought that was the cost of belonging.”

She turned back to him. “Tonight, they decided I was no longer useful.”

He absorbed that quietly. “So this offer is about revenge.”

“No, It’s about survival,” Ava corrected. “Revenge is just a side effect.”

Greyson let out a slow breath. “You still haven’t told me what you want.”

Ava walked back toward his bed, stopping a few steps away. Close enough to be heard clearly. Far enough not to intrude.

“You need time,” she said. “You need stability. You need someone who can protect what you leave behind.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And you think that someone is you.”

“I think,” Ava replied evenly, “that I am someone who understands what it means to be underestimated. I think I am someone who knows how families destroy people quietly. And I think you need someone who is not already tied to your world.”

Greyson’s gaze sharpened. “You’re asking to be brought into it.”

“Yes.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I don’t want your money,” she said. “And I don’t want your sympathy.”

That caught his attention.

“I want a position,” Ava continued. “One that makes me untouchable to the people who discarded me. One that gives me protection, visibility, and leverage.”

“And in return?”

She held his gaze. “In return, you get what you need.”

He was quiet for a long time after that.

“You’re careful with your words,” Greyson said eventually. “You haven’t still said what that is yet.”

“Not here,” Ava replied. “And not without knowing you’re really listening.”

He studied her for several seconds. Not as a patient now, but as a businessman.

“You know,” he said slowly, “most people would’ve started this conversation with desperation.”

“I’ve had enough of that.”

“Most people would be asking for money.”

“Like i said earlier, I don’t need yours.”

He exhaled softly. “You’re either very brave or very reckless.”

“Probably both.”

That almost made him smile.

“Let’s assume,” he said, “that I entertain this. Let’s assume I don’t call security and ask them to escort you out.”

Ava didn’t react.

“What makes you think,” he continued, “that I don’t already have people handling what you think you can offer?”

“Because,” Ava said, “if you did, you wouldn’t be lying in this bed worried about your legacy, Your empire, you wouldn’t be worried about those who you know are ready to take your position.”

The room went still.

Greyson’s eyes hardened, the warmth draining out of them. “You really were listening.”

“I told you.”

He shifted again, wincing slightly this time. “You’re playing a dangerous game.”

“So are you,” Ava replied. “The difference is, I know what it feels like to be disposable. I won’t make that mistake twice.”

He watched her like she was a puzzle he hadn’t decided whether to solve or destroy.

“Say I agree to hear you out,” he said finally. “Say I give you one conversation. One.”

“That’s all I need.”

“And after that?”

Ava didn’t hesitate. “You’ll understand why I was worth surviving for.”

Silence stretched again, but it felt different now. Charged.

Greyson looked away briefly, toward the window, then back at her. “You’re injured. Exhausted. And you’re standing in my hospital room talking about leverage like you haven’t just been hit by a car.”

She met his gaze steadily. “I’ve been hit by worse.”

Something shifted then. More like interest.

“Come back tomorrow,” he said. “When we’re both thinking clearly.”

Ava nodded once. “Ok then, I will.”

She turned to leave, then paused at the door.

“For what it’s worth,” she added, without turning around, “I didn’t save you because I needed you.”

Greyson’s voice followed her. “Then why did you?”

She glanced back, her expression unreadable.

“Because I wasn’t ready to watch someone else lose everything tonight.”

And then she left.

Greyson lay back against the pillows, staring at the closed door long after she was gone. Smirking faintly

This was the Opportunity Ava was waiting for.

For the first time since her marriage ended, Ava walked out into the hallway knowing one thing with absolute certainty.

She was no longer asking for a place in someone else’s world.

She was about to carve one out herself.

Ava had spent the night at a small hotel not far from the hospital. She didn’t sleep much. Every time she closed her eyes, memories of the Donovans, the results, Scarlett pretending to be pregnant…looped over and over. By the time morning came, she was restless, her mind buzzing. She dressed simply, pulling on something practical.

The VIP room Greyson stayed in was quiet when she arrived. She paused just outside the door, taking a deep breath, feeling her pulse in her throat. She was about to knock when she heard voices. Two voices, one familiar, controlled and deliberate, the other sharp, entitled, challenging.

It was Liam, Greyson’s stepbrother

She recognized him immediately. The arrogance, the impatience, the way he spoke as if the world should obey him, it all matched the rumors she’d read. And Greyson. His voice was firm, calm, and precise. The contrast between them was almost jarring.

“You’re not listening,” Liam said, his tone biting. “This accident yesterday…don’t you get it? It’s a warning. You should step aside. Let someone else handle it before it’s too late. You can’t protect this position forever.”

“I survived,” Greyson said evenly. “That doesn’t change anything. My position, my company, my decisions…they aren’t yours to control. And I won’t give them up because you say so.”

“You survived, yes,” Liam shot back, voice rising slightly. “Lucky to be alive, maybe. But it doesn’t make you invincible. You’re fragile. You’re slow. You need to stop pretending otherwise.”

“I base my decisions on facts,” Greyson said firmly. “On what I can control. Not on accidents or warnings. Your opinion doesn’t change that.”

“You think surviving the crash makes you untouchable?” Liam snapped. “It doesn’t. It proves nothing. It’s a chance to see what’s real. Step aside, Greyson. Accept reality before it’s too late.”

Ava pressed herself against the wall, careful not to make a sound. Every word told her everything she needed to know. Greyson was unwavering, focused, refusing to yield even an inch while Liam was impatient, aggressive, reckless. Ava adjusted slightly, planning to leave without being noticed, knowing she had learned what she needed for now.

Then the door swung open.