2025-12-01 03:59:47Gray slipped the card back into his pocket, satisfaction settling warm in his chest. This was really happening.
"Can we go to the toy store next, brother? The big one?" Lily grabbed his hand, her face practically glowing with happiness. She'd never been able to just pick things out before and seeing her brother pay without counting every bill three times first had her buzzing to continue the shopping spree.
Gray chuckled and squeezed her hand. "I told you we're going crazy today. Lead the way."
"Yay!" Lily jumped and pulled him toward the escalator.
And just like that, their spending spree truly began.
[Ding!]
[$312.40 has been deducted from your balance.]
[Available Balance: $8,948.65]
At the shoe store, Lily picked out sparkly sneakers and pink boots that lit up when she stomped her feet. Gray grabbed himself a decent pair of running shoes, the first new shoes he'd owned in two years.
[$418.60 has been deducted from your balance.]
[Available Balance: $8,530.05]
They hit a clothing store next. Lily needed almost everything since most of her clothes either hung off her shoulders or were too small. Gray watched her pile items into the cart with a grin he couldn't wipe off his face.
[$429.99 has been deducted from your balance.]
[Available Balance: $8,100.06]
After a few hours of shopping, Gray's feet started to hurt and Lily's energy was finally wearing down. They decided to take a break at a restaurant they'd walked past a hundred times but never thought they'd actually enter. It looked super fancy with embroided cloth napkins and waiters in black vests.
The lights inside were soft and golden. The floor gleamed like someone polished it to perfection. Gentle music played from speakers Gray couldn't even see. Lily held his hand tight as a waitress in a crisp uniform led them to a table near the big windows.
"Right this way, sir." The waitress smiled, though Gray caught the way her eyes flicked over their clothes with just a hint of judgment.
They sat down on a cozy cushioned bench. Lily pressed her face against the window glass, watching people walk by on the street below. Her eyes were wide with wonder at being in such a fancy place.
Gray picked up the menu and nearly choked when he saw the prices.
"Wow, this stuff is expensive," he muttered under his breath.
Fifty dollars for a plate of pasta? No kidding! He could cook meals for a week with that money. This had to be some kind of scam. But they were already here, so they might as well experience it once.
"What do you want to eat, Lily?"
Lily turned away from the window, still smiling. "You can decide, brother. Anything you buy is good."
Gray sighed and looked back at the menu. Half the items were written in words he couldn't even pronounce. Being rich was harder than he thought.
The waitress stood nearby, pretending to arrange napkins but clearly listening to them. Gray didn't want to look stupid in front of her or Lily, so he cleared his throat and pointed at a few random items on the menu.
"We'll get this one and this one with the creamy thing. And this one. Oh, and this cake."
The waitress raised an eyebrow. "And for drinks?"
"Strawberry milkshake for her." Gray handed back the menu quickly. "I'll just take water."
"Of course." She nodded politely and walked away.
Gray let out a breath. Lily was already swinging her legs under the table and humming softly, completely content.
"Did you order cake too?" she asked.
"Of course I did." Gray grinned.
When the food arrived a few minutes later, both their jaws dropped. The plates were huge and beautifully arranged. Creamy pasta with herbs sprinkled on top. Grilled steak with sauce that caught the light. A chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream slowly melting on the side.
"Whoa," Lily whispered, her eyes huge.
They dug in immediately. The pasta was rich and cheesy. The steak was so tender it practically fell apart. The cake was warm and gooey in the middle. Gray had to admit that despite the ridiculous prices, the food actually tasted incredible.
"This is so yummy!" Lily said through a mouthful of pasta.
Gray smiled and took another bite of steak. For a moment, everything felt perfect. Just him and his sister enjoying a nice meal without worrying about the cost.
Then a voice cut through their peace.
"Well, well. Gray Adams? Is that really you?"
Gray froze with his fork halfway to his mouth. He knew that voice. His stomach dropped.
He slowly looked up.
Standing beside their table was a tall guy in an expensive coat. His hair was styled perfectly, not a strand out of place. A silver watch gleamed on his wrist, the kind that probably cost more than Gray made in six months. The guy was smiling, but it wasn't a friendly smile. It was the kind of smile that meant trouble.
"Jayden," Gray said quietly.
Jayden was his old classmate from high school. The same Jayden who'd made his life miserable back in school. Tripping him in hallways. Knocking his lunch tray onto the floor. Calling him names in front of everyone just because his clothes were worn and his shoes had holes.
"My eyes weren't deceiving me after all," Jayden's smile widened. "I thought that was you. What are you doing in a place like this?"
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Chapter 378: Congratulations, Mayor Gray
Selina stood at the end of the aisle in whiteHer gown had the entire room transfixed on her, the white catching light and holding it back. The long sleeves had beautiful floral embroidery, swirling pattern fitted to the waist as well. The fabric pooled behind her, giving her a regal look. And two bright points that hung from her ears that turned out to be diamond earrings on closer inspection.She moved slowly, flowers in hand.Three hundred people were looking at her. Gray didn't notice any of them. She took the first step. Then the next. The quartet played something slow and clean and the notes seemed to arrive late, trailing behind her like they were trying to keep up. Gray stood at the front with his hands at his sides. Ben was beside him. The minister was behind him. Lily and Eli were to his left, Lily holding her empty basket, Eli still gripping the ring pillow with both hands. To him, none of them existed right now. The garden, the chairs, the guests, the music. All of it p
Chapter 377: Flowers On The Aisle
Gray's hands were steady until the tie.He stood in the groom's suite at the venue, a converted estate house twenty minutes outside the city with high ceilings and tall windows and gardens that Selina had picked after a single visit. The room was small with wooden floors and a full-length mirror he was trying not to look at. His navy suit jacket hung on a rack behind him. The shirt was white and already buttoned and he'd gotten through every step without a problem until the tie.His fingers wouldn't cooperate. He looped it, pulled, looped again. Wrong knot. Too short. He undid it and started over.A knock on the door that opened before he answered.Ben walked in wearing a charcoal suit that fit him better than anything Gray had ever seen him in. His hair was combed. His shoes were polished. He looked like a man who had spent two hours getting ready and would never admit it."You look like you're defusing a bomb," Ben said."It's this damn tie," Gray said.Ben crossed the room, took t
Chapter 376: The System Remembers
The hashtag wouldn't die. Three weeks after election night and #GrayforMayor was still climbing. National outlets had even picked it up. A political commentator on a morning show Gray had never watched called him "the most interesting non-candidate in the country." A university in Ohio invited him to give a commencement speech to which he swiftly declined. Gray sat on the couch in the condo with his phone face-down on the cushion beside him. The TV was on but muted. A news ticker scrolled across the bottom of the screen with his name in it. He'd stopped reading those three days ago. Lily was in the kitchen arguing with Eli about flowers. "Roses are boring," Lily said. She had a wedding magazine open on the counter, the pages flagged with so many sticky notes it looked like the thing had grown feathers. "Everyone does roses. We need something with personality." "Roses have personality," Eli said. "No they don't. Roses are what you buy when you don't think about it." Eli sat acro
Chapter 375: Best Man
The first branch of DavGro Market looked the same as the day Gray had opened it. The same layout, same hand-painted sign above the entrance that Lily had insisted on keeping even after they could afford a real one. The parking lot was full. A Tuesday morning and the parking lot was full.Gray stood outside for a moment before going in. Daniel was parked at the curb. Mara was already inside handling something with the inventory system. She'd arrived thirty minutes early. She always did now, like punctuality was a form of penance.He pushed through the front doors.The store smelled like fresh produce and floor cleaner and the cheap air freshener Ben kept plugged in near register three because he said it "set the tone." Gray's favorite smell in any building he'd ever walked into.Staff were scattered across the floor. Rowan restocking dairy. Two new hires whose names Gray had barely memorized last week sorting returns near the back. A few cashiers chatting between customers at the front
Chapter 374: A Gift of Goodwill
The Davenport Building hadn't changed. The same lobby, same security desk, same polished stone underfoot. But the tenth floor felt different the moment Gray stepped off the elevator.Marielle Vaughn's name was gone from the directory plaque outside the executive suite. Her office, the corner one she'd claimed six months into her relationship with Jonathan, had been cleared out.Gray noticed. He didn't ask.Daniel waited in the lobby downstairs since Gray had told him twenty minutes. This wouldn't take long.Jonathan's assistant, a new hire Gray didn't recognize, led him down the corridor. The woman knocked twice on Jonathan's door, opened it without waiting, and stepped aside.Jonathan Davenport stood behind his desk in a navy suit that fit like it had been stitched onto him that morning. His hair was thinner than the last time Gray had seen him. The skin around his eyes was loose. But he was standing straight, and when he saw Gray, he crossed the room with his hand out."Gray." His g
Chapter 373: Blessings
Gray finally told her in the car.Not in any way he'd planned. Daniel was pulling onto the highway toward Nine Seas District and Selina was scrolling through messages on her phone when he said it."I want to ask your grandfather for his blessing."Selina's thumb stopped mid-scroll. She looked at him. Then she looked at him longer, like she was checking whether he'd said what she thought he said."Today? Tell me you're joking" she said."Right now."She put her phone in her lap. Her lips pressed together, but the corners were pulling, fighting something she couldn't keep down. She turned toward the window."Well then" she said. Quiet. Almost nothing to it.But her reflection in the glass was smiling so hard her eyes were nearly shut.Everett Tower caught the late afternoon sun across its top floors. The lobby was the way Gray remembered it from that first visit. Marble floors. High ceilings. Security that recognized Selina before she reached the desk.They took the private elevator. Se
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