I shake my head. “No matter how I do it, it won’t be pretty. I’m sorry for dragging you into this and subjecting you to whatever hateful things my father spews at me.”
“Noah,” she sighs, cupping my cheek. “I wish you’d stop apologising. I may not be your real girlfriend, but I amyour friend, and I love you. You deserve to be seen for who you are. I’m here to make sure that happens.”
Emotion clogs my throat, and I swallow to clear it.
“It won’t be easy, and it probably won’t be pretty,” she admits, “but you will survive this. You have me, Zac, and your teammates back in Beckford. You have people in your corner, Noah. We’ll all support you no matter what happens with your dad.”
My stomach knots, knowing she’s right. Dad won’t make this easy on me, and I can only imagine the hateful things he’s going to say, but I’m so tired of fighting who I am.
I pull her into my arms, pressing my lips to the top of her head. “Thanks, Hannah. I needed to hear that.”
A throat clears, and my head snaps up to see my grandad standing a few feet away, his shrewd eyes studying the two of us. Samuel Bentley is a handsome yet imposing man, with his silver hair neatly combed back and silver-framed glasses perched on his nose. His expression is unreadable with the shadows crossing his face, and my pulse ticks up, wondering how long he’s been standing there.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he says, his voice measured. “Hannah, I was wondering if I could steal my grandson for a moment?”
Hannah’s eyes meet mine in a silent question, and I give her an almost imperceptible nod. “Of course, sir,” she says with a polite smile. “I’ll go grab a drink.”
We watch her leave, the familiar swell of anxiety rising in my stomach the farther away she gets.
“She’s a lovely girl,” Grandad says, pulling my attention back to him.
“Yeah,” I say thickly. “She is.”
He nods, his expression turning thoughtful. “She makes you happy?”
I stare at him, unsure what to say. It doesn’t feel right to lie straight to his face.
When I don’t say anything, he smiles sadly. “You don’t look at her the way you used to look at Nathan.”
My stomach bottoms out, and I reach for the tree trunk to steady me. “You knew?”
He nods. “It was obvious, the way you two gravitated towards each other. It was like everyone else ceased to exist. What happened between you? I never understood why Nathan left when you both had such bright futures in the company.”
Tears sting the corners of my eyes.
Grandad knew about me and Nathan this whole time.
“W-why didn’t you ever say anything?” I choke out.
His brow furrows. “I thought you’d tell us when you were ready. But then Geoff quit the company, and Nathan moved away. Is that why you transferred to Beckford? For a fresh start after Nathan left?”
My vision blurs as I struggle to draw a breath. None of this makes sense.
Dad said Grandad would disown me if he ever found out about me, that it would shatter everything he built, that I’d be the shame no money could ever bury. Now I’m standing here, heart hammering, realising Grandad knew who I was all along, and he’s not ashamed.
He’s not angry; he looks as confused as I feel.
All this time I’ve been terrified of bringing shame to my family, but Grandadknew. Not only that, he supported my relationship with Nathan. He was waiting for me to be ready to tell him.
“You knew,” I whisper, tears slipping down my cheeks. “This whole time. You knew.”
“Noah…” Grandad reaches for me, but I stumble back, putting my hand up to stop him. “Talk to me. I don’t understand.”
Releasing a shuddering breath, I tell him everything—about Nathan, about Dad, about the fear of what would happen to me if I didn’t fall in line with his expectations. Grandad doesn’t interrupt once, but sadness clouds his eyes as he listens. When I admit the suffocating guilt I’ve carried, knowing I’m the reason Nathan’s life was torn apart, my voice breaks.
Grandad exhales slowly.
“Where does the lovely Hannah come into all of this?”
