The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress
Chapter 98

Grayson POV

She loves me. I was floating on that high, only to be promptly brought back to earth by the sound of my cell phone ringing in the early hours of the morning. I rushed to grab it, heading out of the bedroom so that Flair would not be disturbed after a restless night of tossing and turning in her sleep. The nightmares she suffered had caused her to cry out and occasionally whimper, leaving me to comfort and soothe her as best I could only for it to happen again. "Who is it?" I hissed, before glancing at the caller ID and sighing.

"Who do you think" the voice said grumpily "I call you to make sure you and your wife are okay and this is the greeting I get?"

"Grandfather," I said with as much patience as I could muster "I was planning on phoning you later. Do you have any idea how early it is in the morning?"

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been? If it wasn't for Mr Grant keeping me in the loop, I wouldn't know if either you or Flair were alive right now" he blustered.

"That's an exaggeration, I sent you a text yesterday" I growled "And what exactly is your relationship with Mr Grant?" "None of your business," Grandfather said calmly "How is Flair?" his voice was genuinely concerned. "Not good" I chose not to elaborate.

"If there's anything either you or Flair needs..."

"I'll let you know Grandfather," I said, glancing back towards the bedroom where Flair was still sleeping "but for now we're fine."

"I look forward to the press statement the two of you make," he said gravely "Give my best to Flair."

He hung up. I sighed and put my phone away, heading back into the bedroom just as Flair sat upright, looking slightly panicked. "Flair, it's okay" I soothed, as she relaxed slightly upon seeing me "I'm right here," I said quietly.

She nodded and then got out of bed, walking quickly into the adjoining bathroom to do her business. I heard the shower start and waited patiently for her to come back into the bedroom. When she did, I sucked in a breath as I took in how prominent the bruises were on her and how much they had darkened.

She began to get dressed. She had a suitcase full of clothes as did I, courtesy of Timothy. I took my turn with the shower next and then the two of us headed towards the dining room, where Knox, lan, and her father were patiently waiting for us to surface. "Darling, good morning" Mr Grant greeted his daughter, placing a kiss on her cheek and stepping back "Take a seat and have something to eat" he urged, as her brothers sat down, and I pulled her chair out for her.

I seated Flair and then myself while the maids began to place an assortment of foods in front of us to help ourselves to. I watched my wife grab a chocolate chip muffin and begin to slowly nibble on it. "Don't worry it's all vegan" her father said indulgently "I know how you eat" he added.

Knox and lan looked slightly disgruntled by that fact as they chose a muffin and began to eat it. I grabbed a slice of toast and began to spread some jam on it.To avoid an incomplete reading experience, visit Jobn'i'b.com. "Toda you'll have to make some sort of statement to the press," Mr. Grant said, eyeing both of us "the official story is that an unhappy ex-client of yours kidnaped Flair and was subsequently found and retrieved by a special unit of armed forces. Can everybody remember that?" he asked seriously. Flair nodded slowly, still nibbling on her muffin. "What happens after?" I asked, concerned.

Mr Grant looked at his daughter "That remains to be seen and is entirely up to Flair" he said as she looked at him "You are both welcome to remain here for as long as you like, we would enjoy the company" he suggested.

Flair played with the cutlery near her hand. "I want to go home," she said quietly, her eyes on her plate. Silence. Knox and lan shot each other sidelong glances. "Do you think you're ready for that?" lan asked calmly.

"I miss Roscoe," Flair said with a hitch in her breath "and I want to go home with my husband."

Mr Grant looked weary "If Flair wants to go home, then by all means we should respect her wishes. However" he paused and I glanced at him "what happened to her will not occur under our watch again. I have postponed the party" he began and Flair began to shake her head "because I suspect that it's not the best idea to have you come out at this point in time."

"There will never be a good time for me to come out," Flair said hoarsely "It would be foolish to postpone it for a huge amount of time. It's better to get it over and done with."

"Flair, you've just been kidnapped for heaven's sake. Give yourself some time to adjust. Ian and Know will still be the CEOs of the company, that's not going to change. Besides" her father said impatiently "I want to increase security for the party and go over every inch of our plans."

In other words, he wasn't taking any chances with his daughter or his son's safety. Flair bit her lip looking frustrated but said nothing. Knox tried to relieve the tension in the air "Think about it Flair, it's not the end of the world. Why are you in such a hurry to come out now anyway? I thought you hated the limelight?"

"I just want to get it over and done with," Flair said listlessly.

"Exactly, you should be excited about revealing yourself, not see it as a chore or obligation," lan said sadly.

"Postpone the party by a week or so but that's it. I don't want to drag it out. Please" Flair said almost begging "I don't want something else being held over my head."

Her father looked at her reluctantly. "We'll keep the same date then," he said decisively "but only if you agree to the security protocols we put in place. I have to ask" he paused and glanced between us "Are you and Grayson having problems or are you staying together?"

"We're staying together" I snapped "I love your daughter and there's no way I'm about to walk away from her now when she needs me the most."

I reached over and grabbed Flair's hand, holding it tightly, glaring at her father "I made a vow to Flair and I'm going to keep it. For better or worse, she is my wife and until she states otherwise, she's going to stay that way."

Knox gave lan an approving look. Mr Grant looked astounded. Flair's eyes sparkled as she clung to my hand. "Then I have no reason to be worried about you two presenting a united front," Mr Grant said amiably "As a father, it warms my heart to see how much you two care for each other. If your mother could see this, she would be proud of you Flair and she would have loved you Grayson as a son-in-law."

Flair was quiet. Her brothers smirked. "Don't get a big head, Grayson, we could still make you disappear if we wanted to" warned Knox teasingly.

A loud banging noise had Flair screaming out loud and covering her head with her hands while the rest of us looked toward the source of the noise. A maid had dropped a serving tray and it had hit the ground with a heavy thud. I quickly patted Flair's hand. "It's okay, it's just something hitting the floor" I whispered as she reopened her eyes and blinked at me.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Grant" blabbered the maid, looking extremely apologetic "It slipped from my fingers, I didn't mean to..." she trailed off.

"It's fine Contessa," Mr Grant said warmly, waving a dismissive hand at the maid as she bent down and retrieved the tray "We're all a little skittish that's all."

"Sorry," Flair whispered, looking shamefaced.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. Your reaction is perfectly normal" I told her gruffly.

She was still shaking. Her body was trembling. I could see the pained expression on Mr. Grant's face and the upset look on lan and Knox's.

"I just, I thought" Flair continued to whisper, her voice shaking.

"It's fine Flair. You don't have to explain" I soothed, rubbing her shoulder "Honey it's okay. How about you have some coffee" I said, pushing her mug in front of her "and take some deep breaths. I'm not intending to go back to work until after the party" I added "We'll see how it goes and for now, I say we take each day as it comes."

Flair nodded miserably and took a sip of her drink. I could see the liquid sloshing as her hand jerked. "The press will be at yours in about thirty minutes," Mr. Grant said apologetically as lan and Knox stood up to go and prepare for the day, their food lying half-eaten on their plates "I couldn't hold them off for much longer. The story is already difficult enough with the mess the boys left behind" he added in a low voice "and keeping it from hitting the newspapers has been troubling. With this statement, everybody should be satisfied and the rumors of what happened should stop."

"Or they'll keep hounding Flair for interviews" Knox objected "And why is the press being so bothersome? What's to say they'll leave Flair alone after this?"

"Trust me it won't be a problem," Mr Grant said sharply and the boys fell silent, each of them turning to smile at their sister. "Good luck today Flair," Knox said, pausing and walking over to kiss her on the cheek "I love you," he told her softly.

lan came over and hugged her "I love you. Be safe" he whispered.

Her father looked on the verge of tears as he came over and hugged her, before shaking my hand "Safe journey back home and I'll have somebody keeping an eye on the press in case they get out of hand" he said thickly "I trust you to take care of her Grayson" he added as Flair bit her lip "don't make me regret it."