REDEEMING THE OUTCAST SON OF A BILLIONAIRE

avy as he stared at Anita's name on the screen. For three years, she had been his anchor, the only person he believed truly u

he call button. The phone rang once. T

, her tone clipped

him at the sound of her voice. "Thank God you p

e other end, long enoug

nally said, her voice devoid of the w

ained quickly, his words tumbli

rrupted, her tone sh

m like a punch t

luntly. "The fact is, you've been cut off. Everyone knows you'r

ighten. "Anita, listen t

e continued, her voice growing co

ispered, his voic

you because you had money, connections, and a future. Now you

ected rejection from others, but Anita? She was supposed to be di

he said, his

for a moment, Adrian thought she might s

she said flatly.

ne wen

he'd just heard. The woman he had trusted, the woman he had imagined spend

ps just closure, Adrian decided to go to Anita'

ht was thick and still. The grand estate, once a place h

ate, only to be met

drian said, his voice fi

nce before one of them spo

s brows furrowing. "I'm

y. "Miss Anita has given strict instruc

eaded. "Just let me talk to her. Fiv

uard said, unmoved.

l I see her," Adrian

m. "If you don't leave, we'll have to push y

ut he couldn't bring himself to leave entirely. Instead, he found a spot across the stree

rs drag

ping Anita might come out, that she might see him and change her mind. But the

g from the long night. He stared at the mansion one

o one

, each step heavier than the

side was a welcome reprieve from the biting chill of the early morning. The air smelled

s body heavy with exhaustion. For a moment, he simply sat ther

kly when he saw the waitress f

ce. She looked like she hadn't had a moment's rest, her apron

sked, her tone neut

ndering if I could get something to

anced around the diner, ensuring her manager wasn't watching, an

with a plate of scrambled eggs,

ting it down in front

ed up at he

, her voice firm but not hars

aid quietly, his voic

the diner. She was constantly in motion, refilling coffee, taking orders, and clea

atch her breath, Adrian seiz

ng his hand slightly

le, crossing her arms. "

to thank you again. And to ask why you are st

ing slightly against the booth. "

asked, genui

en she sighed. "I need the money. My grandmother's sick, and her

ck. "You're working this

ly family I've got. She raised me, so

a concern, where problems could be solved with a swipe of a card or a phone call. Seeing Grace's realit

id quietly. "That

ile. "It is, but that's life. You do what

attend to another table. He realized how sheltered he had been, ho

e the bubble of wealth and privilege h

moment to breathe, and Adrian watched her with a growing sense of res

y his table again,

g this? I mean, you could probably

Easier doesn't pay the bills. And

e life chasing pleasure and avoiding hardship. Grace, on the ot

nch crowd thinned out. Grace untied her apron, folded it neatly, and approached Adrian, who was still si

Grace said, standin

us rich families always went to chill out. He knew word and spread out but he still had access to a VIP room in the club so he found a way to sneak in, he was rather found by a hostile team waiting to humil

ghingstock among the very circles he had once ruled. The humiliation he endured at the club replayed in his mind like a bad dream, the sneers, the mocking laug

, "You're lucky someone bailed you out.

at his weary mind. Who would do such a thing? Certainly not anyone from his old life. They were all too eager to see him suffer. Co

unsure of where to go. His bruised body yearned for rest, a

m a distance. But what sent a sharp pang through Adrian's chest was the figure in the passenger seat. Anita. Her laugh, carefree and radiant, echoed faintly in th

car made a deliberate loop and drove past him again, there was no mistaking it. This time, Anita glanced in his direction, her gaze locking

ning and calculated, knew exactly how to twist the knife deeper into Adrian's already battered spirit. Adrian clenched his fists, his