Grace’s POV

The alarm woke me exactly at eight in the morning. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling reminded me once again that I was now in a completely new environment—one I had never imagined I’d ever set foot in.

I had talked with Chase until three in the morning. He told me about the pain of losing his sister and wife. His life story was heartbreaking—tragic, even.

He had suffered since childhood, been betrayed by many, and carried grief so heavy that it made sense why he was known as one of the wealthiest yet most private men. There were even rumors that the owner of MCorrs dabbled in the dark arts, which explained why he rarely appeared in public.

At just forty years old, he’d lived a long and winding road. His kindness only made me admire him more—especially since last night, he said he wanted to see my work ethic. If I proved myself, he’d place me as the head of one of his company branches.

Maybe this time, fate really was trying to give me a new story.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts, followed by Chase’s voice.

“You up, Grace?”

I quickly got out of bed and opened the door. Chase was already dressed in a suit, exuding an air of power.

“Good morning, my rescuer!”

Chase chuckled. “You’re exaggerating! Anyway, I have a meeting and probably won’t be back until three this afternoon. So, I’m leaving my card with you—someone will take you shopping for tonight’s event.”

He handed me a black card. Was he insane?

“You sure?” I asked.

“Of course—why not? Buy whatever you want. I know you have your own style.”

He took my hand, placed the card in it, and winked.

“I’m off. Oh, and get yourself a phone too—you don’t have one, right?”

I only nodded slowly, letting out a long sigh. I knew there were good people in the world, but someone this good was rare.

Chase walked away as his phone rang, quickening his pace to answer it.

I watched him until the sound of his footsteps faded.

Being in the right hands could really make all the pain fade away. I had almost forgotten that last night had been one of the worst nights of my life.

“Hey.”

A woman’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. I turned to see a woman in a brown dress with wavy hair walking toward me, smiling warmly.

“Hey…” I replied awkwardly.

“You must be Grace? I’m Riley! I’ll be taking you shopping today. I’m Chase’s assistant!”

Riley kissed me warmly on the cheek. From her manner and energy, she seemed like a naturally friendly person who could adapt anywhere.

“Oh, you’re ready?! Are we leaving now?”

“You could say that. You can get ready first. Actually, I asked Chase if I could take you out for breakfast this morning at the café where we usually eat. Chase said he had work, so that’s why I came this early—because I wanted to take you!”

“Ah, okay! In that case, I’ll take a shower right away! Wait in my room, or would you rather wait somewhere else?”

Riley gently patted my shoulder. “Take your time, I’ll wait in the living room downstairs. By the way, do you have clothes to wear today?”

“Um, yes! Chase left me some clothes to use.”

“Good! Those must be from his late wife. Alright then, I’ll wait downstairs!”

Riley walked away, and I quickly went into the room. I immediately grabbed a few outfits Chase had given me last night—

A nude-colored dress, a blue blouse, a brown skirt, a gray T-shirt, and a pair of jeans. Were all of these… really from his late wife?

I wasn’t sure. Honestly, it didn’t matter, but… it still felt a little strange.

My mind had a bad habit of dwelling on little things that could’ve been ignored. Luckily, I was able to keep myself in check and went straight into the bathroom.

I’m usually the type who takes quite a while in the shower. But this time, I tried to hurry so Riley wouldn’t have to wait too long.

It worked. In less than fifteen minutes, I was already coming down the stairs to meet Riley.

Hunter used to always get annoyed when I took too long to get ready.

“Hey, have you been waiting long?” I asked.

Riley immediately stood up and shook her head. “Of course not. Let’s go! I’m already pretty hungry.”

“Okay. By the way, did you bring a car? Or should we take a taxi?”

“Of course I brought my car, don’t worry! I don’t like taking public transport either.”

Her answer actually surprised me a little. Behind her friendly demeanor, she seemed a bit… arrogant.

But I guess that’s understandable—living in an elite circle like Chase’s, it’s not uncommon.

Even women like Scarlett and Eleanor could suddenly transform into people who acted as if they’d never known hardship.

“Good morning, Miss Riley, Miss Grace!”

Two guards greeted us as we got into the car. Riley looked cool as she started the engine of the sleek black luxury sedan.

“So, we haven’t talked much. But I’m sure Chase thought long and hard before deciding to bring you into his home,” Riley said casually.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re new, Grace! Chase may be kind, but he’s not the type to easily trust someone—let alone bring a woman into his grand estate. Even I, as his personal assistant, only set foot in that house for the first time two years ago! And I’ve been working for him for four years.”

From the way she said it, it seemed Chase hadn’t told her the full details about how we met.

“Yeah, I’m lucky Chase helped me,” I replied.

Riley gave me a curious look, raising one eyebrow. She studied me for a moment before shrugging. “Yeah, you don’t seem like a bad person.”

I let out an awkward laugh at her statement. Would her opinion change if I told her the whole truth?

“I always tell Chase not to be careless when choosing women—too many people just want to take advantage of his wealth. Sometimes, he even gets annoyed with me. Oh, by the way, we’re almost there,” Riley said.

“Really? That wasn’t too far.”

“Yup, there’s the café.”

Riley pointed to a café on the left, with a large parking lot. But my eyes were drawn to a car that had just pulled in—right in front of us.

That car looked very familiar. It was Hunter’s.

We parked next to each other. My heart rate began to rise as I kept my gaze fixed on that car.

The anger I thought I’d let go of slowly started to resurface as the car door opened.

And out stepped that couple—Hunter and Eleanor!

Chase’s POV

I’ve never been a fan of working with undisciplined people. Take this morning for example—the business partner I was supposed to meet for a major project suddenly postponed the meeting just fifteen minutes before, even though he had already arrived late in the first place.

Fortunately, I was in a good mood, so I let it slide. Honestly, I could’ve canceled a project worth hundreds of millions of dollars without suffering any loss on my side.

Thinking about it now, maybe there’s a reason I ended up with free time this morning—to keep Grace company. After all, she’s not in the best condition emotionally.

Riley isn’t exactly the type who can comfort someone. If Grace continued to be haunted by her disappointment and acted recklessly like she did last night, I was sure Riley would’ve just let her be.

And my suspicion was confirmed the moment I saw four adults facing off in the parking lot of the New Wave Café. Two of them were Riley and Grace, both with tense expressions.

I immediately parked my car and ran toward them.

“You shameless tramp!”

The woman standing in front of Grace was about to slap her, but I moved faster and caught her hand mid-air.

“Ah, Chase!” Riley exclaimed.

The woman yanked her hand away angrily. “Who the hell are you?! Stay out of this!”

“I should be asking you—who are you? And why are you trying to hurt my girlfriend?”

I glanced at Grace, who looked utterly shocked. Actually, it wasn’t just her—Riley and the other two strangers were also staring at me with the same wide-eyed expression.

“What?! Your girlfriend?! What did she pay you to get involved in this slut’s drama?! She just got dumped by her fiancé, and suddenly she’s got an older man? You must be getting paid with her body, huh?!”

I simply chuckled and shook my head, then turned my gaze to the man beside her.

Let me guess—they were probably Grace’s ex-fiancé and the stepsister she had told me about last night.

"I hope you can teach your girlfriend some manners. I consider this matter settled. But if there’s another commotion, I won’t hesitate to report it to the police!"

I immediately urged Grace to leave with me, my arm still wrapped around her shoulders.

"Calm down. I’m sorry if I spoke that way. I just wanted to protect you."

Grace only nodded. I led her upstairs to where the VIP room was.

"Sit here for a moment. I need to use the restroom."

Her expression still looked shocked, and again, she nodded without saying a word. I headed down to the first floor toward the restroom, but halfway down the stairs, Riley appeared beside me.

"Did you mean what you said?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don’t play dumb, Mr. Chase! You just said you’re Grace’s boyfriend. Is that true?!"

I stopped and looked at Riley. His eyes were filled with worry and jealousy. Riley had been dropping hints for a long time that he was interested in me, but I couldn’t—falling in love with him was out of the question.

His personality simply wasn’t compatible with mine if we were to be partners, especially since he had a past of being involved with two partners at the same time. I hated betrayal.

"You’ve worked with me for a long time, yet you still don’t recognize my way of stopping a conflict? I’d rather pretend than dirty my hands—or my mouth—on people who thrive on drama."

Riley closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. Then he smiled wide and clasped his hands together in front of me.

"Forgive me! Thank goodness! I thought you were actually in a relationship with some random woman with an unclear background! I still don’t understand why she was suddenly attacked in the parking lot earlier!"

"Your only job, Riley, is to accompany her shopping—not dig into her background. Got it?"

"Yeah, but I also have the right to look out for her. I don’t want my awesome boss falling for the wrong woman! By the way, can I take her to my friend’s boutique? Their clothes aren’t too expensive. I forgot to tell you where I was taking her earlier!"

"No need. Let her choose wherever she wants. I’ve already given her my black card."

I didn’t want the conversation with Riley to drag on any longer, so I left him there, his face still in shock.

His controlling nature—and the assumption that he could have me—was another reason I was even less interested in Riley. Physically, he was perfect: a former professional model.

But when I reached the restroom door, I was met with a pair of sharp, furious eyes. Hunter was standing there, glaring at me with pure anger.

I simply nodded and walked past him, but the moment I entered, my body was suddenly shoved hard by Hunter, almost making me fall.

"How dare you humiliate my girlfriend!" Hunter shouted.

I immediately turned to face him, seeing him about to throw a punch, but I quickly blocked it.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I didn’t humiliate your girlfriend! She was the one who acted disrespectfully toward my girlfriend, Grace."

"Don’t say that name!"

Hunter swung again, but once more, I blocked him. I grabbed his fist, and his face flushed with pain from my strong grip.

"I already told you—I don’t want to resort to violence. So I suggest you stop acting like a fool and stay away from Grace. If you have a problem, say it to me directly. Understand?"

"Argh!" Hunter screamed in pain when I shoved his hand away. He then pointed at me without saying another word and stormed out of the restroom.

His nasty, arrogant attitude left me with no hesitation about ordering the CEO of his company to fire him immediately.

"Mr. Chase, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes. Remove Hunter Cole from the company today. No exceptions. I want confirmation as soon as possible!"

Grace’s POV

I was still sitting frozen on the VIP lounge sofa trying to calm my breathing. It had felt heavy since what happened in the parking lot. My hands were still shaking a little. I wasn’t sure if it was from anger, humiliation or the pain that still hadn’t fully gone away.

The door opened softly.

Riley came in first followed by a waiter pushing a trolley with breakfast. The smell of coffee and toast filled the room. It was a contrast to my still messy thoughts.

The waiter put plate after plate on the table. There were scrambled eggs, toast with melting butter, fresh fruit and two cups of coffee. Everything looked neat and fancy.

“Thank you " I said softly to the waiter.

He smiled politely before leaving. Riley and I were alone now.

Riley stood for a moment looking at me with an expression I couldn’t quite understand. There was concern there. Also something else. Something that felt like judgment.

“Are you okay?" he finally asked. "After meeting your stepsister and your ex-fiancé?”

I stiffened.

I hated the way those words sounded. Stepsister. Ex-fiancé.

They made it sound like those two people still mattered to me.

“Stop saying that " I said flatly.

Riley looked a bit surprised.

“I mean they’re not important to me " I continued, staring at the coffee cup in front of me. "They made their choices. And I made mine.”

though deep down I knew that wasn’t entirely true. The pain was still there. The wound was still open.

Suddenly the door opened again.

Chase walked in with steps. His confident aura immediately filled the room. He looked relaxed like nothing had happened a minute ago.

“What Grace said is true," he stated bluntly. "So stop talking about people who don’t matter.”

His tone was calm but firm. It left no room for argument.

I turned to look at him. There was something about the way he defended me that made my chest feel warm and uncomfortable at the time. I wasn’t used to being protected like this.

Riley didn’t look pleased. His jaw tightened a bit. His smile seemed forced.

“Fine," he said shortly. "In that case I’ll excuse myself. I have something to take care of.”

He turned quickly before I could read his expression any further.

The VIP room fell silent again after Riley’s footsteps faded away. The only sound was the clink of the spoon I moved across the plate. I hadn’t actually touched the food.

Chase pulled out the chair across from me without asking. His movements were calm and controlled as always. He took off his jacket. Hung it on the back of the chair. Then he poured coffee into his cup like he was already used to being in my space.

“Do you want me to call him back?" he asked lightly, like he could read my thoughts.

I shook my head slowly. "No need.”

He nodded, then began spreading butter on his toast with movements. It was a contrast to my messy emotions.

“You’re shaking," he said suddenly.

I looked down. I realized my fingers were still trembling slightly as I held the cup. "Just leftover adrenaline," I replied quickly.

Chase fell silent for a moment studying me with a gaze that was too sharp to ignore. "Did he touch you?”

The question caught my breath. He didn’t mention a name. I knew exactly who he meant.

“I can handle it," I answered shortly.

“That’s not an answer.”

I looked up. "What kind of answer do you want?”

“I want to know if you’re okay," he replied flatly. His voice was lower than before. More personal.

I took a breath. "He just tried to talk. Like usual. With that tone like I still owed him an explanation.”

“And your stepsister?”

I let out a humorless laugh. "Oh she enjoyed the show. As always.”

Chase set down his knife. "You don’t have to face them ”

“I’ve been doing it for years " I shot back. Maybe too quickly.

He leaned back looking at me intently. "That doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it.”

His words lingered in the air. They were warm but also frightening. I had learned that relying on someone else would only make me fall harder.

“I’m not fragile " I said softly.

“I never said you were," he replied. "You’re strong. Too strong, maybe. To the point you forget you’re human too.”

I fell silent.

He pushed the plate of toast toward me. "Eat. You haven’t touched anything.”

I stared at the scrambled eggs. Thin steam was still rising. The soft scent of butter should have been comforting. My stomach felt empty for reasons that had nothing to do with hunger.

“Are you always like this?" I suddenly asked.

“Like what?”