His Dangerous Love On Ice (Olivia and Zane) novel Chapter 121

Olive’s POV

I sat there, my hands clenched in my lap, waiting for Grayson to say something.

He leaned back in his chair, studying me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.

“They’re going to make trouble,” he said finally. “File complaints Hire lawyers. Try to find out who saved the company.”

“Will they find anything?” I asked quietly.

“No,” Grayson said. “Whoever orchestrated this was very careful. Very thorough. The kind of careful that comes from experience.”

My chest tightened.

“Grayson-”

“I know you went to him,” he said simply. “Two days ago. When you left in such a hurry.”

The words hit me like a physical blow.

I stared at him, unable to form a response.

“I had my men track you,” he continued, his tone still calm. Almost gentle. “I didn’t know what you were up to. You looked so distressed when you left. And they reported that a car came to pick you up. Zane’s car, I’m assuming.”

My throat went dry. “You had me followed?”

“I was worried,” Grayson said. “After everything with the company falling apart, after seeing how stressed you were-I needed to know you were safe. And when my men told me you went to see Zane Mercer…” He paused. “I knew what you were going to ask him.”

My chest tightened. “You knew?”

“I’ve known Zane’s family for decades, Olive. I know exactly what they’re capable of. What he’s capable of. And when my stepdaughter-who’s been dating him despite my initial objections-even though I approved of him afterwards but still… you suddenly runs to him in the middle of a crisis…” He leaned back in his chair. “It wasn’t hard to piece together.”

“You were against us being together,” I said quietly, remembering how he’d reacted when he first found out about Zane. “You said he was dangerous. That I should stay away from him.”

“I did say that,” Grayson acknowledged. “And I meant it. I still mean it, in some ways. But I also saw how happy you were. How alive you seemed. So I accepted it. For your sake.”

He paused, his expression darkening.

“And then this happened. The attack on my company. Williams Mercer trying to destroy everything I’d built. And I started questioning that acceptance. Started wondering if I’d made a mistake letting you get involved with that family.”

“But he saved you,” I whispered, no longer hiding it. “He saved the company.”

“He did,” Grayson agreed, nodding. My eyes widening slightly that he knew somehow Zane was involved amazed me. “And do you know what that tells me?”

I shook my head.

“It tells me that Zane Mercer destroyed his own father for you,” Grayson said quietly. “That he was willing to burn down his own family to protect mine. Because you asked him to.”

My eyes tinged, like tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused let them fall.

“Did you know he was going to do this?” Grayson asked. “Did you know he was planning something this big?”

“No,” I whispered. “He just said he’d handle it. I didn’t know-I didn’t think-”

“That he’d actually do it?” Grayson finished. “Or that he’d go this far?”

“Both,” I admitted.

Grayson nodded slowly, like that made sense to him.

“Olive, I need you to understand something,” he said. “What Zan did-saving this company-that wasn’t a favor. That wasn’t him being generous or noble. That was a statement.”

“A statement to who?”

“To everyone,” Grayson said. “To his father. To the business world. To you. He’s showing everyone exactly what he’s capable of. What he’s willing to do. And more importantly, who he’s willing to do it for.”

The words settled over me, heavy and inescapable.

“He destroyed his own father for you,” Grayson said quietly. “Do you understand what that means? Do you understand the kind of loyalty the kind of obsession-that requires?”

I did. That was the problem.

I understood it perfectly. And it terrified me.

“What am I supposed to do?” I asked, my voice breaking slightly.

“That depends,” Grayson said. “Are you in love with him?”

The question hung in the air between us.

I opened my mouth to deny it. To say no. To explain that it was just an arrangement. Just temporary. Just—

But I couldn’t.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify