I CAME BACK TO MAKE YOU PAY

Grace’s POV

The alarm woke me exactly at eight in the morning. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling reminded me once again that I was now in a completely new environment—one I had never imagined I’d ever set foot in.

I had talked with Chase until three in the morning. He told me about the pain of losing his sister and wife. His life story was heartbreaking—tragic, even.

He had suffered since childhood, been betrayed by many, and carried grief so heavy that it made sense why he was known as one of the wealthiest yet most private men. There were even rumors that the owner of MCorrs dabbled in the dark arts, which explained why he rarely appeared in public.

At just forty years old, he’d lived a long and winding road. His kindness only made me admire him more—especially since last night, he said he wanted to see my work ethic. If I proved myself, he’d place me as the head of one of his company branches.

Maybe this time, fate really was trying to give me a new story.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts, followed by Chase’s voice.

“You up, Grace?”

I quickly got out of bed and opened the door. Chase was already dressed in a suit, exuding an air of power.

“Good morning, my rescuer!”

Chase chuckled. “You’re exaggerating! Anyway, I have a meeting and probably won’t be back until three this afternoon. So, I’m leaving my card with you—someone will take you shopping for tonight’s event.”

He handed me a black card. Was he insane?

“You sure?” I asked.

“Of course—why not? Buy whatever you want. I know you have your own style.”

He took my hand, placed the card in it, and winked.

“I’m off. Oh, and get yourself a phone too—you don’t have one, right?”

I only nodded slowly, letting out a long sigh. I knew there were good people in the world, but someone this good was rare.

Chase walked away as his phone rang, quickening his pace to answer it.

I watched him until the sound of his footsteps faded.

Being in the right hands could really make all the pain fade away. I had almost forgotten that last night had been one of the worst nights of my life.

“Hey.”

A woman’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. I turned to see a woman in a brown dress with wavy hair walking toward me, smiling warmly.

“Hey…” I replied awkwardly.

“You must be Grace? I’m Riley! I’ll be taking you shopping today. I’m Chase’s assistant!”

Riley kissed me warmly on the cheek. From her manner and energy, she seemed like a naturally friendly person who could adapt anywhere.

“Oh, you’re ready?! Are we leaving now?”

“You could say that. You can get ready first. Actually, I asked Chase if I could take you out for breakfast this morning at the café where we usually eat. Chase said he had work, so that’s why I came this early—because I wanted to take you!”

“Ah, okay! In that case, I’ll take a shower right away! Wait in my room, or would you rather wait somewhere else?”

Riley gently patted my shoulder. “Take your time, I’ll wait in the living room downstairs. By the way, do you have clothes to wear today?”

“Um, yes! Chase left me some clothes to use.”

“Good! Those must be from his late wife. Alright then, I’ll wait downstairs!”

Riley walked away, and I quickly went into the room. I immediately grabbed a few outfits Chase had given me last night—

A nude-colored dress, a blue blouse, a brown skirt, a gray T-shirt, and a pair of jeans. Were all of these… really from his late wife?

I wasn’t sure. Honestly, it didn’t matter, but… it still felt a little strange.

My mind had a bad habit of dwelling on little things that could’ve been ignored. Luckily, I was able to keep myself in check and went straight into the bathroom.

I’m usually the type who takes quite a while in the shower. But this time, I tried to hurry so Riley wouldn’t have to wait too long.

It worked. In less than fifteen minutes, I was already coming down the stairs to meet Riley.

Hunter used to always get annoyed when I took too long to get ready.

“Hey, have you been waiting long?” I asked.

Riley immediately stood up and shook her head. “Of course not. Let’s go! I’m already pretty hungry.”

“Okay. By the way, did you bring a car? Or should we take a taxi?”

“Of course I brought my car, don’t worry! I don’t like taking public transport either.”

Her answer actually surprised me a little. Behind her friendly demeanor, she seemed a bit… arrogant.

But I guess that’s understandable—living in an elite circle like Chase’s, it’s not uncommon.

Even women like Scarlett and Eleanor could suddenly transform into people who acted as if they’d never known hardship.

“Good morning, Miss Riley, Miss Grace!”

Two guards greeted us as we got into the car. Riley looked cool as she started the engine of the sleek black luxury sedan.

“So, we haven’t talked much. But I’m sure Chase thought long and hard before deciding to bring you into his home,” Riley said casually.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re new, Grace! Chase may be kind, but he’s not the type to easily trust someone—let alone bring a woman into his grand estate. Even I, as his personal assistant, only set foot in that house for the first time two years ago! And I’ve been working for him for four years.”

From the way she said it, it seemed Chase hadn’t told her the full details about how we met.

“Yeah, I’m lucky Chase helped me,” I replied.

Riley gave me a curious look, raising one eyebrow. She studied me for a moment before shrugging. “Yeah, you don’t seem like a bad person.”

I let out an awkward laugh at her statement. Would her opinion change if I told her the whole truth?

“I always tell Chase not to be careless when choosing women—too many people just want to take advantage of his wealth. Sometimes, he even gets annoyed with me. Oh, by the way, we’re almost there,” Riley said.

“Really? That wasn’t too far.”

“Yup, there’s the café.”

Riley pointed to a café on the left, with a large parking lot. But my eyes were drawn to a car that had just pulled in—right in front of us.

That car looked very familiar. It was Hunter’s.

We parked next to each other. My heart rate began to rise as I kept my gaze fixed on that car.

The anger I thought I’d let go of slowly started to resurface as the car door opened.

And out stepped that couple—Hunter and Eleanor!