Please Me Daddy (Gracie) novel Chapter 209

Miss Grace, are you okay?

Grace

I leaned back against the chair and lifted a hand to my neck, rubbing slowly as I tried to ease the dull ache that had settled there after an entire day of meetings, documents, and conversations that never seemed to end.

My body felt heady.

Across the desk, my secretary looked up at me and smiled gently, her expression warm and understanding.

“You must be tired,” she said softly. “You’ve been working nonstop for the past few days. Not only are you handling things as the head of the PR department, you’ve also been personally involved in company matters. Anyone would be exhausted.”

I lifted my eyes to look at her properly.

Linda really was beautiful, not in a sharp or intimidating way, but in a calm, elegant manner that made people feel at ease around her. Just a few days ago, my mother had personally introduced her to me, explaining that Linda had been her secretary for years and that she trusted her completely. She said she wanted someone experienced by my side, someone who could guide me and make things easier while I settled into my role. And she had been right, Linda was professional, efficient, and never

once made me feel small or inexperienced.

I nodded slightly and exhaled.

“Yes,” I admitted, my voice quieter than usual. “There’s a lot to do, and I don’t want to leave everything to my mom. Ryan is focused on the hospital, Theodore is busy with his career, and no one really has the time to help her. The PR department isn’t overwhelming, so I should at least take some of the burden off her shoulders.”

Linda’s smile deepened. “Mrs. Jones would be very happy if she heard you say that. She’s always in a good mood whenever you talk about her or spend time with her. You know that, right? Even when she’s stressed or angry, she softens immediately when it comes to you.”

I looked at her, and I knew she was right. My mother always listened to me as if nothing else in the world mattered, as if I were the most important thing in her life. Even on days when she was clearly overwhelmed, she never rushed me, never dismissed my words. Sometimes it felt unreal, like I was living inside a dream I had never dared to imagine as a child.

A small smile curved on my lips as I leaned back again. I was more comfortable now, more at ease with my family than I had ever thought possible. They treated me so well that it almost scared me sometimes. All my life, I had wanted a family that loved me without conditions, without hidden expectations, and I never expected to receive this kind of warmth and attention from my mother and brothers. Yet here I was, living it.

Ever since the day I announced that I was the true heiress, I had started working immediately, throwing myself into responsibilities without giving myself time to rest. And ever since then, Katherine had completely disappeared. No one had

heard from her. It was as if she had vanished from the face of the earth.

She had taken her expensive bags and clothes, stolen money from my mother, and left without a trace. After Ryan investigated further, he discovered the truth, that Katherine had known everything from the very beginning. She had known what her mother did. She knew who I really was.

She hadn’t paid attention to me all those years because she believed no one would ever uncover the truth. If it weren’t for her interest in Apollo, she probably would have continued ignoring me entirely. That interest was the only reason she had entered the company in the first place. And the moment she realized that the Jones family knew about me, and that her own involvement would soon be exposed, she ran, disappearing before they could catch her.

I didn’t really care about where Katherine was now or what would happen to her. That wasn’t my concern anymore. The only reason her existence still lingered in my thoughts was because of my mother.

I could see the hurt she tried so hard to hide. It felt like, if Katherine hadn’t been involved in any of this, my mother would have still loved her as her own child. Maybe that was why she blamed herself for everything that had happened to me, and for trusting the wrong people.

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Miss Grace are you okay?

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I could see the guilt in her eyes every time she looked at me, but if anything, she was a victim too. She was deceived, and forced to raise another woman’s child while her own daughter was lost somewhere in the world, growing up alone, unloved, and

unwanted.

Just thinking about it made my chest feel tight. She must have gone through hell all those years, desperately searching for her child, blaming herself for something that was never her fault to begin with. My hand slowly moved to my stomach, resting there unconsciously, and for a brief moment, a terrifying thought crossed my mind.

If it were me… if I were the one who lost my child like that, I didn’t even know if I would survive it.

“Miss Grace, are you okay?” Linda’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up at her and realized she had been watching me for a while now, worry written clearly on her face.

I nodded lightly and forced a small smile. “I’m okay,” I said, before adding. “Have you booked an appointment for me at the hospital?”

Linda nodded immediately. “Yes, I have. But… it’s not really my place to ask,” she hesitated, then continued carefully, “why can’t you just meet Mr. Ryan for a checkup if you’re not feeling well? He’s one of the best doctors’ in the country.”

I shook my head almost instantly. “No.”

“No?” Linda repeated, surprised.

I sighed softly. “If my family finds out I’m not feeling well over something like dizziness and slight morning sickness, they’ll completely overreact. You know how they are.”

Linda paused for a second, then nodded in understanding. “Ah, you’re right. I don’t even want to imagine it. You’d probably be wheeled out of here.”

I couldn’t help it, I smiled. “Exactly.”

I stood up from my chair and stretched, feeling the stiffness in my body ease just a little. “Can you cancel my afternoon appointment, please?”

Linda raised an eyebrow. “The doctor’s appointment is tomorrow, Miss Grace.”

I walked over to the coat hanger, took my black coat, and slipped it over my white dress. Standing in front of the mirror, I let my hair down, adjusted it slightly, and applied a thin layer of lip gloss. Behind me, realization slowly dawned on Linda’s face.

“Oh,” she said, a knowing smile appearing. “You’re not going to the doctor. You’re going to see the man who comes here every evening to pick you up.”

I didn’t even bother denying it.

Ever since I started working at the Jones Group, Apollo came every single evening to pick me up.

During the day, I was surrounded by my mother and Theodore, buried in work and responsibilities, barely having a moment to breathe. But no matter how busy I was, no matter how late it got, Apollo always came. He never complained, never rushed me. He would take me home when I was half–asleep, change my clothes for me, help me bathe, and then hold me close until t drifted into sleep in his arms.

In a world that had always demanded too much from me, he was the only place where I could finally rest.

Our relationship had grown so close that we no longer needed words to understand each other. A single look and small gesture was enough. And this time, I was the one making an effort to create space for him in my schedule, no matter how busy things became. I wanted to see him.

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