Wealth Without Him Rising from Betrayal (Grace Wilson) novel Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“I’ve texted you the restaurant numbers,” she finally answered, infuriating calm. “Hope you feel better soon.”

The line went dead. I stared at my phone in disbelief. She’d hung up on me. On ME!

Fine. If she wanted to play hardball, I could do better. Now I needed my mother to help with my performance.

Richard’s POV

51%

In the early evening, just as I finished dinner with Laura, my phone vibrated insistently in my pocket. My mother’s name flashed on the screen. I stepped slightly away from the table and answered.

“Mother, I was just about to-

“Richard, it’s Jason!” Her voice was panicked, immediately putting me on high alert. “He’s collapsed! The doctor is on his way, but you need to

come home immediately!”

My stomach dropped. “What happened? Is he conscious?” I asked urgently already calculating the fastest route home in my mind.

“It’s his blood sugar-he hadn’t eaten all day,” Mother explained frantically “Grace refused to come home and cook for him, he waited and

waited until he just… collapsed in the kitchen!”

My thoughts raced, trying to process this information. Grace refused? That didn’t sound like her. But Jason…

“I’ll be right there,” I said, ending the call. I turned to Laura. “Darling, you take Emma home, I have a family emergency.”

She nodded understandingly. As I walked to my car, I tried to make sense of it all. Grace had always been reliable, considerate. Respectful to

my family. This didn’t seem like her at all.

The atmosphere in the living room was suffocating, the air heavy with the scent of Mother’s expensive lilies and her even more pungent

perfume. She was pacing back and forth on the carpet, her heels sinking deep into the soft fabric before springing back up with each step. She

looked like a lioness that had been poked with a stick.

“I spent years grooming Jason for the Ivy League,” she hissed, her voice trembling with rage. She stopped pacing and pointed a manicured finger at me. “And your… wife… has the nerve to refuse his nutritional needs? The night before his interview prep? Richard, this is deliberate

sabotage. Pure sabotage.”

I loosened my tie, feeling the stress of the day pressing down on me like a concrete vest. “Mother, maybe she got tied up with work. The IPO

preparations are-”

“Work?” Mother scoffed, clutching her pearl necklace-a sure sign she was genuinely angry. “Playing with those little perfume bottles? Jason

needs proper nutrition before such an important day. That woman you married seems to have forgotten her place in this family!”

I sighed, not bothering to hide it this time. Mother had never fully accepted Grace, always finding reasons to pick faults. But refusing to help

Jason was odd for Grace; she had always been accommodating.

O

1/2

11:55 Mon, Feb 23

Chapter 10

I’ll call her, I said, pulling out my phone.

Mother nodded approvingly. “Remind her where her loyalty should lie.”

The call connected after three rings.

“Where are you?” I didn’t bother masking my annoyance. “Mother says Jasen nearly had a hypoglycemic attack because you wouldn’t come home to prepare his meal.”

A slight pause. “I am currently discussing a partnership with a client.”

I checked my watch. It was nearly 8:00 PM. What kind of client meets this late? “When will you be finished?”

51%

“Hard to say. We are finalizing the terms of cooperation.” Her voice was steady. “I left money for Jason so he could order whatever he wanted.”

“That’s not the point,” I said, forcing my voice to soften. “Send me the address. When you’re done, I’ll pick you up and take you home to apologize to Mom. Let’s try to keep the peace.”

She quickly sent an address. It was an hour’s drive away. Without thinking too much about it, I set off immediately.

Comments

LIKE

Write Comments

« SHARE

2/2

11:55 Mon, Feb 23.

Wealth Without Him: Rising from Betrayal

Chapter 11

Grace’s POV

51%

As I hung up the phone, the corners of my mouth began to curve upward.

The address I gave him was random. In reality, I was having dinner with Charles.

“So, Charles said, a knowing smile playing on his lips. “Richard is giving you trouble again?”

I nodded, placing my phone face down on the table. “He seems very unhappy that I didn’t act as a servant for his brother tonight.”

Charles chuckled, a low, dry sound. “You know, this just proves what I told you. The Harrisons… they don’t see you as a wife. They don’t even

see you as a partner. They only see cheap labor. A glorified housekeeper who just happens to help them balance their books.

“I know,” I said, the bitterness in my mouth tasting metallic. “I was blind for two years, Uncle Charles. I’m not blind anymore.”

Charles leaned forward, his expression turning serious. “Good. Because you need that clarity. The Wilson Family Foundation Annual Gala is

coming up. It will be the perfect stage for your debut.”

I nodded, already planning tomorrow in my head.

“Is it going well with Alex?” Charles asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“We’ve met once, and things went fairly well,” I said with an awkward smile.

Richard’s POV

I navigated through the evening traffic, heading toward Fifth Avenue. The address Grace had given me led to a high-end shopping district- lined with luxury boutiques, but devoid of any restaurants suitable for client meetings.

I parked the car and waited. I sent a text but got no reply. Perhaps their meeting hadn’t ended yet.

Exhaustion weighed heavily on me. It had been non-stop today-accompanying Laura to the doctor, handling work remotely, and now this situation with Grace.

Tinned back in the seat, reconsidering my approach. After all, Grace worked hard for the Harrison Group. The rejection from the Morgan

had hit us hard, and she had been staying up late looking for alternative partners. Maybe I was being too harsh.

nother and Jason could be difficult. Grace was right to prioritize saving our company over making pasta. When she arrived, I would apologize.

As I waited, my eyelids grew heavy…

The shrill ringing of my phone startled me awake. The clock on the dashboard read 1:13 AM. I fumbled for my phone, still groggy.

O

1/3

11:55 Mon, Feb 23 AA M

Chapter 11

“Richard?” Laura’s voice was tense. ‘Why aren’t you back yet? Did something happen?”

I blinked rapidly, looking around. I was still parked on Fifth Avenue. Grace had never appeared.

“Richard? Are you listening? Laura’s voice came again.

“Yes, sorry. Just finishing up some work,” I said, rubbing my face to clear the fog from my mind. I’ll be home soon.”

I started the car, checking my phone again for messages from Grace. Nothing. I dialed her number-it went straight to voicemail.

51%

The realization hit me: I had been stood up. Grace had made me wait in an empty shopping district for hours while she was… where exactly?

As 1 pulled away from the curb, my concern shifted into anger.

I stormed through the front door and headed straight for Grace’s bedroom Before I could reach it, Laura appeared in the hallway, her blonde hair loose over her shoulders.

“Richard, what are you doing?” she asked, standing between me and Graces door. “That’s Grace’s room!”

Her words snapped me back to reality. 3:00 AM was not the time for family drama, but I would demand an explanation tomorrow.

“Come, Laura whispered softly, guiding me toward our bedroom. “Tell me what happened.”

Sitting on the edge of our bed, I recounted everything: Mother’s theatrics Jason’s complaints, and Grace’s unprecedented defiance.

“She’s never done this before,” I admitted, running a hand through my hair. “I feel… I don’t know, caught off guard.”

Laura sat beside me, her expression thoughtful. “Women get arrogant when they are spoiled. You’ve been too good to Grace.”

“She’s not that kind of person,’ I insisted.

Laura studied my face, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Richard… you haven’t actually fallen in love with Grace, have you?*

I looked at her sharply. “If I had feelings for her, would I have married you and had Emma?”

The question hung in the air between us, unanswered.

The next morning, I stood in front of Grace’s door again. Just as I was about to enter, my phone rang. Grace’s name flashed on the screen.

“You didn’t come home last night?”

“Good morning.” Her voice was infuriatingly calm. “I stayed at a hotel. After a long meeting yesterday, I needed some peace.”

“We need to talk about yesterday.”

“Actually, I want to take a few days off,” she said.

2/3

111

O

<