Chapter 6
“You already did.”
“No. I mean properly.”
Emily folded her arms.
“If you're about to offer me money, don't.”
“I was.”
“I don't want it.”
“You gave away your dinner.”
“So?”
“You work three jobs.”
“Sometimes.”
“You could use it.”
Her expression changed.
“That's exactly why I don't want it.”
Adrian frowned.
Emily looked him directly in the eyes.
“If you pay me, then yesterday becomes a transaction. I don't want that. I helped you because I thought you needed help.”
Adrian felt something inside him shift.
He nodded.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“No money.”
“Good.”
“But I owe you.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Emily shook her head.
“Then do it for somebody else.”
That sentence followed Adrian all the way home.
At 11:17 that morning, the front gates of the Mercer estate opened.
Security guards stared as a dirty, unshaven man in ruined tuxedo pants walked up the driveway.
His mother saw him first.
Eleanor Mercer ran down the front steps.
Adrian had not seen his mother run in twenty years.
She slapped him.
Then she pulled him into her arms.
“Don't you ever do that to me again.”
Adrian held her tightly.
“I’m sorry.”
His father stood in the doorway.
Graham looked ten years older.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Then Graham said, “Inside.”
The next six hours were exactly what Adrian had expected.
Lawyers.
Doctors.
Security.
Board members.
Publicists.
Questions.
By evening, only his father remained in the study.
Graham poured whiskey.
“You embarrassed this family.”
Adrian sat opposite him.
“I know.”
“You endangered the company.”
“I know.”
“You humiliated Vanessa.”
“I know.”
“And?”
“And I’m still not marrying her.”
Graham's jaw tightened.
“The Caldwell merger—”
“Is dead.”
“You don't get to make that decision emotionally.”
“I made it months ago emotionally. I just didn't have the courage to say it.”
“You're willing to throw away billions?”
Adrian leaned forward.
“No. I'm refusing to marry someone for billions.”
Graham stared at him.
“Your grandfather built this company.”
“And I'm not selling my life to preserve a deal he never asked for.”
“You think you discovered wisdom sleeping on sidewalks for two nights?”
“No.”
Adrian paused.
“But I discovered perspective.”
The next morning, Mercer Global released a statement confirming Adrian was safe.
No explanation was provided for his disappearance.
Vanessa demanded a private meeting.
Adrian agreed.
She arrived wearing black.
“You destroyed me,” she said.
“I embarrassed you publicly. And I’m sorry for that.”