Grayson Pierce and Eloise Caldwell novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Echoes Of The Past

As soon as the dinner was over, Eloise left in a hurry without even saying goodbye to Beckett. Only when she was in the taxi did she finally let her feelings show on her face.

She had just moved to Ekloland and hadn’t found her own place yet, so for now, she was staying with her old school friend, Juliette Reed.

Juliette had quit her job recently, so she was free to look after Eloise’s child, Noah Caldwell, for a few days. Eloise hadn’t had time to get Noah enrolled in preschool yet.

It was already ten at night when Eloise got back to Juliette’s. As soon as Eloise walked in, Juliette said, “Noah’s asleep. He was such a good boy tonight. He washed up and went to bed all by himself. Didn’t need me for a thing.”

Thinking of her son, Eloise managed a soft smile and said, “Thank you so much for this, Juliette.”

Eloise had just started at the head office and was buried in work, leaving her almost no time for her son these days. Juliette had been the one watching over him.

Juliette waved a hand. “Don’t be silly. We’re friends, and you need help right now. Of course I’ll help you look after your son,” she said.

Eloise knew Juliette was kind-hearted. She had helped Eloise a lot over the years.

Juliette could tell Eloise was in a bad mood. She pulled Eloise over to the sofa and said, “Alright, tell me what’s wrong. Is someone giving you trouble at work?”

Eloise shook her head.

“Then what is it?” Juliette asked, worried.

The dinner had drained the last of Eloise’s energy. Tired and worn out, she leaned her head on Juliette’s shoulder to rest. “Juliette,” she said quietly, “I saw Grayson today.”

“What?” Juliette’s eyes went wide. She turned around so fast that Eloise, caught off guard, slipped and fell right into her lap.

Juliette pulled Eloise back up. “Did I hear that right? You saw Grayson?” she asked.

Eloise nodded.

Juliette’s voice was tense with disbelief. “You’re sure it was really him? A living, breathing person?” Eloise had spent five years looking for this ex-boyfriend without finding a single trace. Juliette had almost thought he was dead.

Eloise sat there, looking utterly deflated. “Yeah. It was him.”

Juliette was quiet for a moment, and then asked, “Did you explain everything to him? Did you tell him about Noah?”

Eloise shook her head.

Juliette frowned. ‘Something is clearly very wrong. Eloise has spent five years looking for Grayson. Two things have kept her going all this time: raising Noah and finding Grayson.

‘Finding him should have made her so happy. But instead, she looks completely lost, without a drop of joy on her face.’

Juliette’s expression grew serious. “Is Grayson married?” she asked.

Eloise shook her head again. She had heard Grayson wasn’t married.

“Does he have a girlfriend, then?” Juliette asked again.

Eloise honestly didn’t know. “I didn’t ask,” she said truthfully. Besides, she didn’t feel she had the right to ask him that.

“Juliette,” Eloise went on quietly, “I only found out today how rich Grayson’s family really is.”

“How rich?” Juliette asked.

“Super rich. The absolute elite,” Eloise replied.

“But I thought you said his family ran a small business?” Juliette was confused.

“I know. That’s what Grayson told me back then. I believed him at the time,” Eloise explained.

“Why would he lie to you?” Juliette was full of questions now.

“He was hiding his identity to train at the company branch. The place I worked at right after college was his family’s business,” Eloise said.

“You were his girlfriend. You were together for so long, and he kept something that big from you?” Juliette was upset by Grayson’s behavior.

Eloise gave a bitter smile. “He was probably testing me. Using it as a chance to see what I was really like.”

“Damn it. What kind of test is that? If he’d told you the truth back then, you two would never have broken up.” Juliette was so angry she started to swear.

A sharp pain twisted in Eloise’s chest. Juliette’s heart ached for Eloise too. She knew better than anyone how hard these past five years had been for Eloise.

That year, Eloise had come to Ekloland, heavily pregnant, begging Juliette to help find Grayson, because Grayson had once said he was from Ekloland.

Eloise would wander the streets for hours every day, hoping she might run into him. Juliette couldn’t stop Eloise, so she had asked all her friends to keep an eye out too.

Now it all made sense to Juliette. ‘We’ve been from two completely different worlds. No wonder none of my friends had ever heard of him. If I’d known how rich his family was back then, I would have asked that person. He might have known.’

Back then, every morning, Eloise would get up, eat breakfast, and head straight out to roam the streets. Juliette had to work and couldn’t go with her.

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