Chapter 120

Seven years back,after Brandon first pulled Millie out from under Hayden's thumb, Hayden had played it safe for a while, intimidated by Brandon's real identity.But as the memory faded, his old arrogance crept back in, bolder with every passing month.

"You honestly think I'm clueless, Millie? Brandon never cared about you-he just wanted a little fun.Look at the Watson family. Look at yourself. Still pretending you're the Bennett family's princess?"Hayden sneered, his words dripping with contempt "Your family's gone. If I hadn't taken you and your mother in, you'd both be out begging in the rain.Don't ever forget that. From now on, you'll start handing over money to me-every singe month. Got it?"

Insult after insult, demand after demand-each one nastier than the last-had piled up, grinding her down.

Then came that storm-soaked afternoon, five years ago. She'd returned home to check on her mother,slipping inside only after confirming Hayden wasn't around. But the apartment was eerily empty. Her mother was gone.

That was when Hayden staggered through the doorway, breath heavy with alcohol, his voice slurred.

Millie sensed danger and instinctively tried to back away,but Hayden blocked her path and seized her arm in a bruising grip.

He started barking for cash, his voice sharp with impatience, but her royalties from the last single hadn't cleared yet.

"Hey, aren't you Brandon's girl now? Didn't you say he's head over heels for you? Make him give me the money then. Right now!"

"I told you already-I'm not going to beg him for your sake. I'll earn it myself, just give me-ah!"

She didn't get the chance to finish. Hayden's fist tangled in her hair, and he slammed her head into the door with brutal force.

A sudden rush of blood streamed down her forehead.

"Who do you think you're fooling?" he huffed derisively. "No money from Brandon? What are you doing then, selling yourself on the side?"

"I'm not!" Millie cried, fighting to break free.

Hayden forced her head down and spat in her face,his breath reeking of alcohol. "Still playing innocent for Brandon's sake? That's rich. It's been two years already-what, you're just his little simp?”

Millie thrashed wildly, gasping, "Let go of me!"

Hayden's hands clamped down harder.He slammed her head against the door, and then the floor-again and again, a dizzying rain of blows.

Summoning every ounce of strength, she twisted around and sank her teeth deep into his flesh. Hayden howled,jerking his hand away at last.

She broke free, scrambling across the floor on her elbows and knees, her vision swimming with blood.Everything blurred red. Blindly, she reached for her phone, fumbling for the emergency call-anything,anyone.

Hayden's fist shnot out, knocking the phone from her grip. "You fucking bitch! You dare bite me?" he spat face twisted with rage. "See if I don't beat you to death!"

He hurled a string of curses at her, voice echoing off the walls. "Last time, he swooped in and saved you.Where is he now, huh? Go on,call for Brandon-let's see if he comes running this time! Why are you crying now? Realized nobody's coming for you, haven't you?"

He crouched over her, breath hot and sour against her "The day your mother married me,you stopped being a Bennett. You're a Grant now. Don't even dream of getting away, Millie. Not in this lifetime."

The rain battered the windows, its roar swallowing her sobs as blood and tears streaked down her face.

Agony radiated through every inch of her body, so sharp and relentless she could hardly draw a breath.

Helplessness burned inside her, a poisonous self-loathing for her own weakness-she despised how powerless she was to fight back

Hayden,eyes blazing and reeking of alcohol, slammed her with a force that made her bones tremble.

For one terrifying moment, she truly believed she wouldn't survive.

Just before her vision faded to black, a shadow crashed through the door-someone familiar, voice thunderous with rage. "Hayden, I've warned you!"

Brandon's silhouette filled her blurry gaze-he'd come for her again.

Somehow, the desperate number she'd dialed had connected her to him. He'd stormed in, ripped Hayden away, and swept her into his arms.

Five years ago, that raining day, he had murmured into her ear, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Now, in the gentle hush of the seaside restaurant,Millie tried to steady herself with another sip of wine,the rim trembling faintly against her lip.

"He has every reason to laugh at my misery," she remarked quietly, setting her glass aside with a shaky breath. "He hates me that much."

A decade locked away.

It wasn't just the beating-five years back, Brandon had pieced together every crime Hayden ever committed and handed it all to the police. He made sure Hayden paid for everything, right down to orchestrating Hayden's divorce from Nicole.

Only after that had Millie finally clawed her way out of hell.

"So, what is this?" she asked, searching Brandon's face across the candlelit table. "Did you bring me here just to walk down memory lane?"

He met her gaze, eyes lingering on the faint redness along her lashes.

Brandon shook his head slowly.

"I just picked this place at random," he answered, his voice low.

Millie gave a small nod, swallowing down the ache in her chest.

"If we're done here, maybe we should just call it a night," she said, her voice steady but quiet. "You wanted dinner-we had dinner. You wanted Ari here -she's here. What else could you possibly want from me now?"

Outside, the sky had deepened to a deep sapphire blue, the darkness pressing against the restaurant's windows.

Brandon hesitated, and then looked right at her."Would you dance with me?" he asked softly, his gaze gentle and oddly vulnerable.

Millie looked enchanting in the dim light, her eyes still rimmed red, hair drawn back in a loose bun that made her seem even more delicate.

But to Brandon, none of that mattered-what he saw was the girl she'd once been, barefoot in the yard,laughing without fear.

That long-ago summer still haunted him. He'd been the outsider, lurking on the fringes, watching the Bennetts through windows and half-open doors,hungry for even a scrap of the happiness they shared.

All these years later, he wanted just one more memory with her.

"Just like when you were little," Brandon murmured.

He switched on the music-something slow and sweet -and stepped closer,holding out his hand.

Millie hesitated, her gaze falling to his outstretched hand as a quiet ache filled her chest.

Memories of her parents flooded back-her father's gentle laugh, her mother's warm embrace.

In those days, the Bennett family stood at the very top of Crobert's social pyramid. James Bennett had been the favorite to claim the city's elusive fourth seat of power, their family's future bright and boundless.

Back then, the world seemed to revolve around the three of them, cocooned in happiness that felt unbreakable.

She used to believe their little family would always stay untouched.

Her parents' love had been the envy of all Crobert.But fate tore them apart-her father lost far too soon,and her mother left to weather hardship alone.

She still remembered the day she went to Nicole,desperately hoping for her help to adopt Ari. Millie had tried calling Nicole "Mom," reaching for a connection that simply wasn't there. Nicole refused, holding herself at arm's length.

Year after year, Nicole seemed to slip further away,her warmth replaced by a polite chill.

Maybe, for Nicole, there was a different story-a truth Millie had never been meant to know.

"Millie?" Brandon's voice drifted to her, low and hesitant.

Millie blinked, pushing aside her memories, and let her fingers slip into his outstretched hand. He steadied her as she rose to her feet.

He drew her close, guiding her into the soft,measured rhythm of a waltz.

The music wrapped around them, its gentle current blurring the world beyond the circle of his arms.

His hand pressed lightly at her waist, steering her with practiced ease, each movement threaded with subtle grace.

Leaning down, Brandon murmured close to her ear,"There's so much I never got to choose. But all those choices-right or wrong-somehow brought us here."

She tilted her chin, meeting his gaze, finding a vulnerability there that unsettled her.

"I know you're angry," he went on, his words almost a sigh. "Angry at the way I wrecked our marriage.Angry that I wouldn't leave Vivian's side. Angry that Babette took aim at the people your family once trusted."

He paused, his breath brushing against her cheek ashe pressed on. "Millie, in five months, everything will be the same as it always was. We'll go right back-like none of this ever happened. Just like before."

The final notes of the waltz faded, leaving them suspended in silence.

Millie slipped her hands from his and retreated a step,deliberately placing distance between their bodies.

He hesitated, clearly wanting to say more, but she turned away, refusing to look back at him.

Just like before? There was no going back-not after everything.

Some wounds never healed. Some hearts, once shattered, stayed that way forever.

Taking a controlled breath, she declared, her voice sharp and unwavering, "Tomorrow morning, nine o'clock. Bring the receipt and every document we'll need. I'll see you at the courthouse."