Tempted By My Ex’s Brother-In-Law - Chapter 52: Chapter 52
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Aria’s POV
My hand was shaking, sweat slicking the phone.
“No. That can’t be true.” I said automatically. “He might hate that I ran from him, but he’d never hurt my family. He wouldn’t go that far. That’s… that’s not who he is.”
“Are you seriously still defending him?!” May’s voice broke with disbelief. “Three days ago, a group of soldiers charged into the nursing home and dragged your grandmother out. In front of everyone! That poor old lady—she had no idea what was going on. She just kept asking where you were as they wheeled her away…”
I slapped a hand over my mouth. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
Oh no. Grandma.
“The doctors and I tried to stop them, and you know what they said? That it was your fault. That your grandmother didn’t deserve good care or decent meds. That you should’ve never crossed Alpha Grayson or his family. And get this—the one leading them was Beta Harold! Tell me—who else but the Alpha can order the Beta around?”
She was right.
In a pack, only the Alpha gives orders to the Beta.
So it had to be Grayson. He’s punishing me for escaping.
I clutched the bed sheets, my tears falling onto my fists.
I couldn’t believe it.
I worked so hard to give my only family a good life. And now, the one hurting her the most turned out to be me.
“So where are you now?” I asked, my voice choked.
“We’re still in the hospital. They’ve locked us in like prisoners. Your grandma had another session last night. I pounded on the door for help, but no one came…Aria, they’re going to kill her if you don’t do something!”
“No. No. I won’t let that happen.” I bit down my tongue hard until I tasted blood.
“You need to figure something out. Fast. I bribed a guy on the meal shift just to get this phone. I may not get another chance to call you. You need to get us out before your grandma’s time runs out.”
“I know. I know.” I pressed the phone tighter against my ear, as if that would bring me closer to them. “I’m so sorry, May, for everything I put you through… Please, please take care of her. I’m begging you.”
“I will. But I can only do so much. So be quick.”
She hung up.
I wiped my face with my sleeve, barely catching my breath before Mrs. Jones came back into the room.
“Finished your call?”
I nodded and handed the phone back. “I called the hospital. They said my grandmother is doing well. Alpha Grayson hasn’t made things hard for her, has he?”
“Of course not,” she replied with a smile. “Once he learned she was at a nursing home, he personally made sure that she be looked after with the best services and medical attention. You have nothing to worry about.”
Lies.
Blatant, disgusting lies.
Seriously, these rich people. They really think the rest of us are just idiots waiting to be played.
“I need to speak to Alpha Grayson,” I told her.
She looked reluctant. “That… might not be possible. The Alpha’s been very busy lately, I’m not sure he’ll have time—”
“He had time to send helicopters and a fleet to corner our ship. He had time to show up in person with a gun to drag me back. And now he doesn’t have time to see me? Or is he just too much of a coward to face me?”
She was stunned by my sharp tone, and she gave me a strained look. “Please don’t provoke him, Aria.”
“I won’t. Just pass on my request.”
She sighed and nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
As soon as she left, I started pacing around the room. I couldn’t even sit still with all the anxiety boiling in my blood.
Those bastards.
How dare they touch my grandmother?! Uhh I hated them so much! Every single one of them!
I’d swallowed it down when Delilah and Jace stole everything I worked for. I’d swallowed it again when Grayson chose to protect his family over me.
But they crossed a line messing with my family.
May said time was running out—I knew it. Grandma’s condition wasn’t good, and she couldn’t survive long in that kind of place, especially without proper care or medication.
I thought about calling the police. But how fucking ironic. The ones doing this basically owned law enforcement.
And I was locked in this very room myself. What could I possibly do for them?
I walked slowly to the window and looked down.
Fuck I was at least ten floors up. I wasn’t sure my wolf could survive a fall from that height. She wasn’t that strong…
“Thinking of escape again?”
A cold voice sliced through the air behind me.
I whipped around.
He stood in the doorway, staring at me with a detached, icy look. He wore a black coat, sharp and sleek, and the color made him look cold and pale—like winter itself had walked into the room.
“Jumping out of a window isn’t a great plan,” he said, stepping in and closing the door behind him. “You’d break both your legs.”
His gray eyes swept over me.
“You look better, Aria.”
My wolf growled at him in fury. Every instinct told me to grab the vase and smash it into his perfect, arrogant face.
But I held it back.
Not now.
I needed him to work with me.
“I’ve fully recovered,” I said evenly.
“Good. And Jones said you wanted to see me?” His face was unreadable.
“Yes. Because you haven’t given me a chance to explain since dragging me back… and I think I deserve that much.” I took a deep breath and continue, “I didn’t plan to run away with Zane. After Delilah’s party, I felt awful. So Zane offered to take me out to chill out and I said yes. That’s all it was.”
He let out a cold laugh. “So he never offered to take you away from me?”
That Zane did say. So I wasn’t going to answer that. “Even if you hadn’t come for us, I would’ve come back. You completely overreacted! So I’m asking you—please, stop punishing Zane. Stop punishing my family!”
He suddenly closed the distance between us, his eyes blazing with rage.
“That ship was one mile from crossing continent lines. One more mile and I’d lost you forever. That’s not fucking overreacting!”
“I told you I’d come back! Don’t you trust me at all?!”
His hand came up and cupped my cheek. His palm was so hot that it burned against my skin.
“Do you deserve my trust, Aria?” His voice was low and lethal. “I asked you to transfer to another branch to stop causing drama—you didn’t. I told you to come home—you defied me and showed up at that damn party with Zane. I gave you one last chance to walk back to me and you took a bullet for him instead. Everything you’ve done—it screams fucking betrayal!”
I found myself shaking. From head to toe.
If he wasn’t holding me up by my neck, I would’ve collapsed.
“So you think I’m a traitor then. And traitors need to be punished?” I gasped. “My grandmother and May… that was you, wasn’t it?!”
“They’re the only people you care about,” he said coldly.
That’s it. He admitted it.
He was the one who hurt them.
I screamed and launched at him, my wolf snapping. I sank my teeth into his shoulder, hard.
His eyes flared with shock and rage. He seized my arm. But to my horror, the bite I just gave him had begun to heal right in front of my eyes.
Fuck. Fuck he and his strong wolf!
“You want to fucking kill me? For Zane?” he growled at my ear. “But don’t you forget I’m your Alpha! You can’t hurt me.”
Tears of anger streamed down my face. “So what? Only you get to hurt me then? Just because I’m poor and weak and you get to tramp over me however you want?!”
He cursed and roared toward the door. “Doctor! Where the fuck is the doctor?!”
I struggled, clawing at him. “I want to end this goddamn contract! I’m done! Leave me and my family alone!”
“No fucking way,” he snapped, slamming me onto the bed. “I decide when this ends.”
The door burst open, and the doctor rushed in, holding a sedative. I screamed and begged, but they still jabbed the needle into me. They made me felt like a fucking animal.
Tears spilled again as the world went blurry. I stared up at him and whispered, “Please… don’t hurt them…”
But his voice was cold and heartless. “We’ll talk when you’ve calmed down.”
Fuck. Him.
This time they didn’t knock me out completely.
Just left me woozy, dazed on the bed.
Soon night fell. Another day had gone waste. And my grandma was still out there suffering.
The door creaked open again. A nurse walked in, wearing a mask and holding meds.
“More sedatives?” I said weakly. “Why don’t you just knock me out completely?”
She didn’t answer.
She locked the door, then stepped to my bedside.
“Miss Collins?” she whispered, leaning in. “I work for Mr. Elrod. He sent me to find you.”
My hand was shaking, sweat slicking the phone.
“No. That can’t be true.” I said automatically. “He might hate that I ran from him, but he’d never hurt my family. He wouldn’t go that far. That’s… that’s not who he is.”
“Are you seriously still defending him?!” May’s voice broke with disbelief. “Three days ago, a group of soldiers charged into the nursing home and dragged your grandmother out. In front of everyone! That poor old lady—she had no idea what was going on. She just kept asking where you were as they wheeled her away…”
I slapped a hand over my mouth. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
Oh no. Grandma.
“The doctors and I tried to stop them, and you know what they said? That it was your fault. That your grandmother didn’t deserve good care or decent meds. That you should’ve never crossed Alpha Grayson or his family. And get this—the one leading them was Beta Harold! Tell me—who else but the Alpha can order the Beta around?”
She was right.
In a pack, only the Alpha gives orders to the Beta.
So it had to be Grayson. He’s punishing me for escaping.
I clutched the bed sheets, my tears falling onto my fists.
I couldn’t believe it.
I worked so hard to give my only family a good life. And now, the one hurting her the most turned out to be me.
“So where are you now?” I asked, my voice choked.
“We’re still in the hospital. They’ve locked us in like prisoners. Your grandma had another session last night. I pounded on the door for help, but no one came…Aria, they’re going to kill her if you don’t do something!”
“No. No. I won’t let that happen.” I bit down my tongue hard until I tasted blood.
“You need to figure something out. Fast. I bribed a guy on the meal shift just to get this phone. I may not get another chance to call you. You need to get us out before your grandma’s time runs out.”
“I know. I know.” I pressed the phone tighter against my ear, as if that would bring me closer to them. “I’m so sorry, May, for everything I put you through… Please, please take care of her. I’m begging you.”
“I will. But I can only do so much. So be quick.”
She hung up.
I wiped my face with my sleeve, barely catching my breath before Mrs. Jones came back into the room.
“Finished your call?”
I nodded and handed the phone back. “I called the hospital. They said my grandmother is doing well. Alpha Grayson hasn’t made things hard for her, has he?”
“Of course not,” she replied with a smile. “Once he learned she was at a nursing home, he personally made sure that she be looked after with the best services and medical attention. You have nothing to worry about.”
Lies.
Blatant, disgusting lies.
Seriously, these rich people. They really think the rest of us are just idiots waiting to be played.
“I need to speak to Alpha Grayson,” I told her.
She looked reluctant. “That… might not be possible. The Alpha’s been very busy lately, I’m not sure he’ll have time—”
“He had time to send helicopters and a fleet to corner our ship. He had time to show up in person with a gun to drag me back. And now he doesn’t have time to see me? Or is he just too much of a coward to face me?”
She was stunned by my sharp tone, and she gave me a strained look. “Please don’t provoke him, Aria.”
“I won’t. Just pass on my request.”
She sighed and nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
As soon as she left, I started pacing around the room. I couldn’t even sit still with all the anxiety boiling in my blood.
Those bastards.
How dare they touch my grandmother?! Uhh I hated them so much! Every single one of them!
I’d swallowed it down when Delilah and Jace stole everything I worked for. I’d swallowed it again when Grayson chose to protect his family over me.
But they crossed a line messing with my family.
May said time was running out—I knew it. Grandma’s condition wasn’t good, and she couldn’t survive long in that kind of place, especially without proper care or medication.
I thought about calling the police. But how fucking ironic. The ones doing this basically owned law enforcement.
And I was locked in this very room myself. What could I possibly do for them?
I walked slowly to the window and looked down.
Fuck I was at least ten floors up. I wasn’t sure my wolf could survive a fall from that height. She wasn’t that strong…
“Thinking of escape again?”
A cold voice sliced through the air behind me.
I whipped around.
He stood in the doorway, staring at me with a detached, icy look. He wore a black coat, sharp and sleek, and the color made him look cold and pale—like winter itself had walked into the room.
“Jumping out of a window isn’t a great plan,” he said, stepping in and closing the door behind him. “You’d break both your legs.”
His gray eyes swept over me.
“You look better, Aria.”
My wolf growled at him in fury. Every instinct told me to grab the vase and smash it into his perfect, arrogant face.
But I held it back.
Not now.
I needed him to work with me.
“I’ve fully recovered,” I said evenly.
“Good. And Jones said you wanted to see me?” His face was unreadable.
“Yes. Because you haven’t given me a chance to explain since dragging me back… and I think I deserve that much.” I took a deep breath and continue, “I didn’t plan to run away with Zane. After Delilah’s party, I felt awful. So Zane offered to take me out to chill out and I said yes. That’s all it was.”
He let out a cold laugh. “So he never offered to take you away from me?”
That Zane did say. So I wasn’t going to answer that. “Even if you hadn’t come for us, I would’ve come back. You completely overreacted! So I’m asking you—please, stop punishing Zane. Stop punishing my family!”
He suddenly closed the distance between us, his eyes blazing with rage.
“That ship was one mile from crossing continent lines. One more mile and I’d lost you forever. That’s not fucking overreacting!”
“I told you I’d come back! Don’t you trust me at all?!”
His hand came up and cupped my cheek. His palm was so hot that it burned against my skin.
“Do you deserve my trust, Aria?” His voice was low and lethal. “I asked you to transfer to another branch to stop causing drama—you didn’t. I told you to come home—you defied me and showed up at that damn party with Zane. I gave you one last chance to walk back to me and you took a bullet for him instead. Everything you’ve done—it screams fucking betrayal!”
I found myself shaking. From head to toe.
If he wasn’t holding me up by my neck, I would’ve collapsed.
“So you think I’m a traitor then. And traitors need to be punished?” I gasped. “My grandmother and May… that was you, wasn’t it?!”
“They’re the only people you care about,” he said coldly.
That’s it. He admitted it.
He was the one who hurt them.
I screamed and launched at him, my wolf snapping. I sank my teeth into his shoulder, hard.
His eyes flared with shock and rage. He seized my arm. But to my horror, the bite I just gave him had begun to heal right in front of my eyes.
Fuck. Fuck he and his strong wolf!
“You want to fucking kill me? For Zane?” he growled at my ear. “But don’t you forget I’m your Alpha! You can’t hurt me.”
Tears of anger streamed down my face. “So what? Only you get to hurt me then? Just because I’m poor and weak and you get to tramp over me however you want?!”
He cursed and roared toward the door. “Doctor! Where the fuck is the doctor?!”
I struggled, clawing at him. “I want to end this goddamn contract! I’m done! Leave me and my family alone!”
“No fucking way,” he snapped, slamming me onto the bed. “I decide when this ends.”
The door burst open, and the doctor rushed in, holding a sedative. I screamed and begged, but they still jabbed the needle into me. They made me felt like a fucking animal.
Tears spilled again as the world went blurry. I stared up at him and whispered, “Please… don’t hurt them…”
But his voice was cold and heartless. “We’ll talk when you’ve calmed down.”
Fuck. Him.
This time they didn’t knock me out completely.
Just left me woozy, dazed on the bed.
Soon night fell. Another day had gone waste. And my grandma was still out there suffering.
The door creaked open again. A nurse walked in, wearing a mask and holding meds.
“More sedatives?” I said weakly. “Why don’t you just knock me out completely?”
She didn’t answer.
She locked the door, then stepped to my bedside.
“Miss Collins?” she whispered, leaning in. “I work for Mr. Elrod. He sent me to find you.”
End of Tempted By My Ex’s Brother-In-Law Chapter 52. Continue reading Chapter 53 or return to Tempted By My Ex’s Brother-In-Law book page.