Bullied and Dumped, But She Won in the End (Adriana) novel Chapter 399

Chapter 399 Lift Her Up

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Curtis smiled fondly and walked over to lightly smack Adriana on the butt. “Breakfast. Don’t you have to go to the office?” He leaned closer, his voice casual as if it weren’t a big deal. “About that project the Barton Group’s been coordinating with Windway Group, I had Ronan reach out. Their director agreed to meet with you one–on–one for a meal.”

Adriana shot up onto her knees, her eyes lighting up with surprise.

Curtis was supposed to be dead and hidden in the shadows, but he had never stopped paying attention to her. Big things, small things–he caught them all. He wasn’t just protecting her. He was building her up, pushing her higher, shaping her into someone who could stand on her own and still belong at the top.

‘Curtis, you’re amazing!” Adriana looped her arms around his neck and grinned. “How did you know I’ve been stressed about the Windway Group deal?”

Windway Group had always been Justin’s area of expertise. That was why the Barton executives feared Justin, and why they wanted Adriana to marry him. Justin had negotiated so many key partnerships himself, and they were terrified that if he ever walked away, the partners would walk with him.

Curtis kissed the top of her head. “Take a guess.”

Justin told you, didn’t he?” Adriana said, as if she’d known all along. Justin’s public falling out with her had been deliberate. A performance.

Curtis nodded. “Yeah.” His tone stayed steady. “I told you before, real love isn’t about spoiling someone. It’s lifting them up. Justin hinks the same way. If he stays with the Barton Group, they’ll always fear him, not you. You need your own stage. You need a chance to prove yourself. That’s the only way you’ll truly win people over in the group.”

Adriana pressed her face into his chest, her nose stinging. “Justin and I barely know each other. We’re not even close. And yet, he’s still doing all this for me, quietly.”

“He’s repaying your grandfather,” Curtis said, patting her back. “He knows what it means to repay a debt. That’s the life he’s chosen.” Then his voice softened. “Come on. Eat your breakfast. If you skip it, your stomach’s going to act up again.”

Adriana made a small, stubborn sound and clung to him tighter, refusing to let go. She wanted him to carry her there.

Curtis obliged, hauling her into the bathroom so she could wash up. Adriana brushed her teeth, still trying to cling to him as if she couldn’t bear to be even a second apart. She really didn’t want to be apart from him.

For the thousandth time, she was grateful that Matthew had let her go back then if he hadn’t, she might never have met Curtis.

Kelsey was still standing outside Justin’s door at his place.

She had shown up at the same time every day for days, waiting and hoping that Justin would finally agree to see het. He was hent only way out now

Chandler was at the end of the road. He might have deep ties to Mister, but a useless piece gets thrown away eventually Kelsey knew she was just another piece to him in his eyes, even his own daughter was a toul Once she stopped being useful, he would kick her aside without a second thought. She couldn’t afford to lose, not now

Chandler had told her three days. If she couldn’t convince Justin to join forces with them, she could pack up and return Bellevarne, never to embarrass him again

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11:13 am DD

Chapter 399 Lift Her Up

Kelsey stared at the message, her fingers shaking around her phone.

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Because of Adriana, she had become a joke in the industry. Because she was a discarded Barton, people who used to flatter her now acted like they couldn’t wait to grind her into the dirt.

Rage tightened her chest as she clenched her hands. Above, heavy, low clouds gathered. Rain started to fall.

Nathan told her to leave. She didn’t move.

In that moment, she saw herself as a child again. Chandler was an illegitimate son that no one respected. Worse yet, he was the product of something ugly that people whispered about. Just like Curtis had said, Kelsey’s childhood had been lived like a rat in a gutter. That was why she’d grown sharp–edged. Why she’d learned to do whatever it took..

She was born in the slums. When she was little, Chandler was always gone, wrapped up in his own schemes. Her mother treated her like a nuisance and was too busy gambling to care. The older kids in the alley could beat her to tears, and no one ever came out to protect her.

She’d still been kind back then. She saved her leftovers for an old man with no family. She collected scrap and sold it in secret, saving the coins just to buy a cheap plastic hair clip she liked.

She believed she would grow up and earn her way out of that stinking place.

Then fate shifted. When she was in her teens, Chandler somehow got Jeremy to tolerate him, at least for a while.

On the day a Barton luxury car rolled into the narrow slum alley, Kelsey was trying to shield a little white stray from being beaten to death by the local kids. She’d been injured herself, holding the trembling, filthy animal against her chest, when she looked up.

Chandler stood there in a tailored suit, polished and imposing. He looked like he belonged on magazine covers instead of in that alley Kelsey could only stare, stunned, at the man who suddenly embodied power.

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