Spencer books a flight for us—tomorrow early morning the plane takes off—and I buy another pair of comfortable clothing from the shops in the hotel's lobby to wear during the flight.

The next day, after almost twelve hours of the plane ride, we reach New York at noon. Instead of going to our places, we head to my mom's house, surprising her.

Mason and Savannah are already at her house. Turns out Savannah has been staying over at Mom's place in these past few days. Soon we all settled down in the living room area, with Spencer and I seated next to each other on the loveseat, Mom on the armchair near the fireplace, Mason across from Spencer on the other loveseat, and Savannah on the long couch, across from Mom.

One of the maids serves coffee for all to all of us and just as she scurries out, from over the brim of my cup, I start, "Fill us in with that breaking news." I sip my coffee.

"You've been paying Julia to stay quiet!" Savannah half shouts on Spencer's right, startling both of us.

Gaping, I turn to Spencer. He shrugs. "Money was what she wanted."

"Why didn't you tell any of us!" Mom complains from her seat.

"Because I'm a person with a fully developed brain. I thought-" Spencer hesitantly speaks, but Savannah cuts him off.

"No, you're not. She found footage from five years ago when Gracie kept showing up to your house, and you two leaving together in the morning." Savannah shakes her head, leaning into her seat. "Dad almost had a heart attack when he found out how much money you transferred to Julia."

"I know Julia. She never would've gotten out of my life if I hadn't done that."

"Yet, she leaked to footages," Savannah fires back.

I shrug, grabbing Spencer's hand and intertwining our fingers as he shoves his glasses up his nose. "I don't think it's that bad. Everyone would have found out eventually about us, especially now that we're together. They'll forget it in less than a month," I say. Spencer's fingers tighten ever slightly around mine, and he glances at me, his eyes glinting with adoration. My heart swells with joy and love as I hold his gaze.

"Nathan has been helping Julia all along," Mason states, his eyes darting to our hand with a glare before he focuses on me.

Surprised I stare at him. "Are you sure?"

He nods, crossing his arms.

I sigh and lift a shoulder. "I'll handle him later." Once my work is done with William and Benjamin.

"Also, William has sued you for defamation," Mason flatly says.

"What!" Spencer and I exclaim with shock in unison.

"For running off and ruining him and his family's reputation." Mason fixes a glare on Spencer as though it's his fault.

"That's unbelievable," I breathe out, placing the mug on the coffee table before leaning in and pinching the bridge of my nose.

"He is also demanding the money of breaching the contract," Mason adds.

I expel a sharp blow of air. Spencer's other hand envelopes our intertwined fingers, squeezing my hand gently.

"We'll figure something out," he says.

Mason scoff, "Oh really? Like what? That bastard father of yours is dead set on ruining us. He's been encouraging our shareholders and investors to call quit, and he threatened us if we don't pay him by tomorrow, he's going to block all of our accounts and shares and get what's his."

I gape at him. Shit! We'll go bankrupt!

"There's no way of fixing this mess. We're in this situation because of you and your asshole father, so stop acting like you give a fuck, because Rae might be fooled but I won't." Mason raises to his feet, waving his index finger at Spencer.

"It's not his fault and don't talk to him like that," I snap and stand up, glowering at him.

"Come on, Rae, don't bullshit me. If he was a fucking man, he never would have even touched you in the first place, let alone get you in the middle of this shitstorm."

"How dare you!" I shout, rage pumping in my veins. Worry trickles into my system, I don't dare to glance at Spencer. What if he changes his mind and leaves me?

Why did this idiot have to say that!

"That's enough! Both of you. Sit down and apologize to your sister, right now Mason," Mom barks, making him backtrack.

"I'm not saying anything wrong. Every time this asshole enters our life, everything goes to shit."

"If you don't quit talking shit about Spencer, we're going to have serious problems," I snarl.

Spencer grabs my wrist without standing up. "Let it go, Gracie, it doesn't matter, let him say what he wants to."

I turn to him, my mouth hanging agape, but his touch doesn't fail to soothe the anger and fear.

"Please sit down," he softly says.

I huff and sit down next to him, glaring at Mason.

"It doesn't matter?" Mason echoes with disbelief. "Of course, it doesn't matter! It's my sister's life that's being ruined by your father and brother, and not the other way around."

"William and Kristian can't do anything-"

"Dude, the fuck are you saying? He has fucking sued her. The other asshat is waiting to take his revenge on her for leaving him at the altar. You can't do shit except cause more problems and ruin my sister's life. If you gave a damn about her, you never should have let things get to this point, but no. You're a certified dickhead."

"Mason-" I open my mouth, ready to cuss him out, but Spencer's harsh voice cuts me off.

"I said I will fix it, it means I will fucking fix it," he growls. "Stop going on my nerves, there's only so much I can take for her before forgetting your Gracie's brother."

"Very well, Mason, if you're done sit or leave, I'm done seeing acting like a thug. And thank you, Spencer, but we can manage it," Mom says first looking and Mason and then turning to Spencer.

"I'm not saying you can't, I just want to make everything easier, and I know William's ways... I have a better shot at negotiating something with him than the rest of you."

"Any news on Benjamin?" I ask, hoping to defuse the tension as Mason flumps down on the sofa.

"No, he's still in hiding, no one knows anything about his whereabouts," Mason grumbles.

I purse my lips and nod.

"The cops have stationed men around our houses... I was hoping if you'd stay here with me too, it'd be better, security-wise," Mom says.

"Sure."

"Don't worry, everything will work out... I can talk to Kristian if you want," Savannah offers. "I don't know what to say, but we can figure something out."

A smile cracks on my face as I turn to her. "Thanks."

She grins at me.

Spencer releases his exhale in a sharp blow of air. "Alright then, I'll see you later tonight, okay?" Spencer gets to his feet.

"You're leaving?" I ask, surprised, ignoring the jab of slight disappointment and worry.

He nods. "Yeah, I got a couple of things I need to get to."

"Come back for dinner, we'll be waiting for you," Mom says with a smile.

"Thank you, Kathryn," Spencer gratefully replies as I get to my feet and we head out of the living room.

"Where are you going?" I ask once we reach the front door, out of everyone's view and earshot.

He sighs and faces me. "To William."

"Spencer, you don't have to-" I start but he grabs my hand, locking his eyes with mine.

"No, I want to. He crossed a line with suing you and getting rid of your business assets."

"I don't want you to fight with him because of me. He's your dad-"

"He was barely a part of my life ever since I turned four, he's never been a good father. Our relationship was never like yours with your dad. Let me handle him my way and don't worry about other things."

I nibble my bottom lip as I glance down at our joined hands. "I'm sorry about the things Mason said," I mumble.

His arm wraps around my waist as he lifts my chin with his index finger. "I don't blame him. In fact, I understand his worries... maybe if I was in his shoes I would've reacted worse. Don't worry about these things, okay?"

Feebly I nod, gazing into his deep eyes. "Just don't let the stuff he said get to you," I whisper.

"Gracie," he softly says, leaning down to me.

"You'll come back to me, right?" my voice quivers as I search his features.

"Gracie, sweetheart, how can you even think that?" He kisses my forehead as he cups my cheek. Lowering himself to my eye level he continues in a gentle tone, "I love you, and I'm never leaving you again. Nothing or no one can make me leave my sunshine again. You're my life, Gracie. No words are going to affect me as long as I have you by my side and know that you want me in your life." He pecks my lips. "I love you," he murmurs, resting his forehead on mine.

I release a deep shaky breath, my heart swelling and fluttering at his words as butterflies go crazy in my stomach. I nod as cling to him. "Please be careful, Benjamin is still out there."

A corner of his mouth twitches upwards. "Don't worry about me, love. Just try not to miss me too much, and I'll be back before dinner, okay?"

I bite my bottom lip, finally a relieved smile threatening to spill over my face. "I won't even notice you're gone," I playfully say back.

"You cruel woman." He feigns hurt before enfolding me in his arms and kissing me deeply, passionately. The ground slips from underneath me and I lose myself to his touch.

All of this, Spencer and I, his confession of love, me admitting my feelings for him, and being able to freely express ourselves to each other all feel surreal. I'm scared it's a cruel dream and when I have to wake up, it'll shatter my heart.

With every single fiber in my body, I hope it's real and I wish upon every star that it lasts.

Breathless, I pull away. "I love you, Spencer."

"I love you more, my crazy sunshine," he whispers back, making me grin like an idiot as he kisses my forehead again before leaving.

For long moments I stay rooted to the spot, watching him climb into his car and drive off. For some unknown reason, unease settles at the pit of my stomach as I feel someone watching me but spot no one.

❦ ♥︎ ❦

Who expected William to go so extreme? xD 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, hit that star button if you did, and comment your thoughts!

Aaaahhhh I'm so happy XD Today was the last day of classes and I have 1 assignment left to submit before becoming completely free! I've been counting down for this holiday ever since my classes started :")

So, about the next chapter, it's going to be in Spencer's POV. However, I have not started writing it, and I'm guessing my assignment is going to take about 2-3 hrs to complete, then the chapter will take about another 2-3 hrs, and it's already 2 am over here xD so do the math, I can't stay awake longer than 6, so yeah there's a 50-50 chance you'll get another update in the following 4 hours. If you didn't get an update in 4-5 hrs, it means we're going for 12-14hrs from now.

Well, that's about it. Thank you so much for reading this chapter. 

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading ♡♡♡