Don’t Fall for the Billionaire Lover

To Chloe, this was something deeply personal—something she'd never even discussed with her own family. And yet here was this man, stepping in like it was his place to get back at Grayson for her. It felt like he was crossing a line.

Grant spoke up, his voice steady. "We've known each other since we were eight. Trained together, learned from the same teachers. We're more than just acquaintances."

Chloe shot him a confused look, then glanced over at Connor. He'd already stood up and moved to her side, draping his arm casually around her shoulders.

Connor said, "Chloe and Lucas know each other pretty well too, Mr. Grant. Wouldn't you agree?"

Grant's expression darkened just a hint, and Chloe could sense there was more going on here than what was being said. She was starting to realize that maybe Mr. Grant wasn't really one of them.

Ruby cut in, "People don't just show up out of the blue for no reason, Mr. Grant. What brings you here today?"

Grant looked between Ruby and Neil. "I heard my sister's back in town, so I wanted to see her. And, I'm here to return the engagement gifts for my younger sister."

Everyone in the room froze, staring at him in shock.

Isaac stood up abruptly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Grant replied, "My sister is spoiled and stubborn. She's not fit to marry the heir of the Shaw family. I think it's best if we just call the whole thing off."

He turned to Taylor. "Taylor, come home with me."

Taylor looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Are you serious? You can't just call off my engagement whenever you feel like it! It's my life-I get to decide who I marry. And I want to marry Isaac."

Isaac let out a relieved breath, and whatever awkward tension had been between him and Taylor disappeared in an instant.

He stepped up, facing Grant. "Grant, I respect you as Taylor's brother, but do you think this is still the old days-when families arranged everything behind closed doors? Taylor is the woman I love. Nothing you say changes that."

But Grant didn't even flinch. "I'm not objecting to the match itself. I just don't think the Shaw family is taking this engagement seriously."

Isaac frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Grant said, "I heard the Shaw family has an emerald pendant, a family heirloom that's always passed to the wife of the family head. You're the new head, Isaac, but we didn't see that pendant in the engagement gifts. Are we, the Ballard family, not good enough for you?"

The Shaw family's patriarch, Kash, had always been more interested in politics than the family business, so Isaac had taken over most of the family affairs. He really was the new head of the Shaw family.

Isaac was caught off guard that Grant was making such a big deal over the pendant. He had no clue how Grant even knew about it. Honestly, none of the brothers had known much about the pendant themselves—until Lisa once ran off with Chloe's fake version and tried to use it to claim she was family. That's when they found out about the real thing.

Years ago, Neil had accidentally given the real pendant to Chloe when she was just a kid. No one in the family had thought much of it after that. Now, suddenly, Grant was using it as his reason to call off the wedding. It was absurd.

Isaac said firmly, "Grant, my feelings for Taylor can't be measured in jewelry. You're insulting both of usz Besides, my dad gave that pendant to my little sister a long time ago. How could I just take it from her and hand it over? Grant, you're just

looking for trouble."

To Isaac, it was obvious-Grant was just picking a fight. The Ballard family was insanely rich and owned QUEEN, one of the world's top jewelry brands. Why would they care about a single emerald pendant?

Taylor added, "Grant, I wouldn't want something that doesn't belong to me. Since when did you get so petty?"

But Grant didn't get angry. He just looked at them all, calm and cool. "The Shaw family owes us. It's time to pay us back-with interest."noveldrama