Page 146 of Chandelier Enthralled
The same one that Jewel was trying to sniff out.
I nodded. “It’s time.”
She studied my face. “You’re sharing it with me.”
“Yes.”
Willa pushed up onto her knees, her face flushed. “Why me?”
I reached for her hand and pulled her back down to sit beside me. “You need a story to propel your career. I need my truth to be revealed with compassion.”
“Greyson, I don’t think I’m the right person—”
“You’re exactly the right person, Willa.”
“Only if you’re sure.”
“My secret can’t be tied to shame, only to love—the quiet strength of my mother. A heartfelt truth that honors her with grace. Not for the scandal it elicits, but for the beauty of her. Her unwavering dignity. I want to honor a woman whose life was courageous and deeply human. She deserves her truth to be handled with care. Not as a spectacle, but with the same sincerity she lived by.”
“The woman in that photo frame, she wasn’t your mom?” Willa asked.
“No.”
“She wasn’t around when you were young?” Willa’s eyes watered, her empathy reflected in her fraught expression. She had deduced that from the lack of photos.
“My mom didn’t abandon me,” I said. “She protected me.”
“Was that house hers?”
“Yes, for me, it became both a sanctuary and a curse.”
“Your childhood home.”
“I grew up there, but under pretense.”
Listening intently, Willa’s hand reached for mine and gave it a squeeze. “The middle-aged couple in the photo?”
“Guardians.”
“You have no photos of her displayed.” Willa drew in a sharp breath. “Because that would reveal her to anyone visiting.”
“Exactly.”
“I sensed something in that photo,” she admitted. “The distance between you and your guardians. Am I right?”
“Ed and Oakley Grantchester. They were kind. Even gave me their name. Took good care of me. But they were paid to do it.”
She cringed. “They adopted you?”
“No. They just had power of attorney.”
A look of realization crossed her face. “I have to be honest with you, Greyson.”
“Okay.”
“My cubicle is next to Chloe’s. The journalist who tried to seduce you.”
“That’s no coincidence.”
