Chapter 9 Battle Lines

Elena walked seven blocks before she stopped shaking. She'd turned down half a million dollars. Money that could save Ollie, give her back her dreams, change everything about her life.

She pulled out her phone with trembling hands.

*Your mother just offered me 500k to leave you.*

Alex's response was immediate: *Where are you?*

*Walking. Somewhere near The Grandeur.*

*Stay there. I'm coming.*

He arrived fifteen minutes later, his car pulling up to the curb where she stood. Elena got in without a word, and Alex drove them to a small park a few blocks away.

"Tell me everything," he said once they were parked.

So she did. The warnings about media scrutiny, the implications about Ollie's treatment, the money offered as if love was something you could purchase like real estate or stock shares.

"I'm sorry," Alex said when she finished. "I should have known she'd try something like this."

"She's protecting her family. I understand that, even if I don't like it." Elena turned to face him. "But Alex, she's right about some things. The media attention will be horrible. Ollie doesn't need that stress while he's fighting cancer."

"So what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. Keep fighting? Give up? Take her money and run?" Elena laughed without humor. "That last option is looking more tempting by the minute."

"Don't." Alex took her hands. "Don't let her win by making you think money matters more than what we have."

"Money always matters when you don't have any."

"Then let me give you some. Not as a loan-as a gift. Enough that you never have to worry about Ollie's treatment or your rent or anything practical. Let me take that pressure off you."

"And become exactly what your mother thinks I am? A gold-digger who's with you for your wallet?"

"You'd be someone I care about who I'm helping. That's not the same thing."

Elena pulled her hands back. "To you maybe. To the rest of the world, I'm the poor girl who trapped the rich guy. And every dollar you give me just proves them right."

They sat in tense silence. A jogger ran past. Children played on swings in the distance. The world kept turning regardless of their drama.

"What if we went public?" Alex said suddenly. "Really public. Not hiding, not being ashamed. Just us, together, letting people see that this is real."

"Your mother would destroy us."

"She'd try. But if we control the narrative, if we tell our story before the tabloids twist it, maybe we have a chance." He turned to her, his expression intense. "I'm tired of hiding you like you're something to be ashamed of. I want people to know that you're mine and I'm yours."

"That's sweet but impractical."

"So is most of this relationship, but we're doing it anyway." He smiled slightly. "Say yes. Let me take you somewhere public tomorrow, somewhere we'll definitely be photographed. Let's show my mother and the Ashfords and everyone else that we're not backing down."

Elena thought about Margaret's cold eyes and calculated words. About Victoria's warning that the Ashfords were planning revenge. About the life she'd be signing up for if she agreed to this.

"Okay," she heard herself say. "Let's go public."

---

The charity gala was the kind of event Elena had only seen in movies. Crystal chandeliers, designer gowns, champagne flowing like water. Alex had arranged for a stylist to help her get ready, and now she stood in a dress that cost more than three months of her salary, feeling like an imposter.

"You look beautiful," Alex said, appearing behind her in the mirror. He looked devastating in his tuxedo, every inch the billionaire heir.

"I look expensive. There's a difference."

"You look like yourself, just dressed up." He kissed her shoulder. "Ready for this?"

"No. But let's do it anyway."

The cameras started flashing the moment they stepped out of the car. Questions shouted from every direction: "Who's your date, Mr. Hartley?" "Is this the woman from the engagement scandal?" "What's your name, miss?"

Alex kept his hand firmly on her lower back, guiding her through the chaos with practiced ease. Elena tried to smile, to look confident rather than terrified.

Inside was somehow worse. Every conversation stopped as they passed. People whispered behind hands and stared without subtlety. Elena felt like a zoo animal on display.

"Ignore them," Alex murmured. "They'll get used to seeing us together."

But they weren't ignoring them. They were judging, calculating, probably deciding whether to cut business ties with the Hartleys over this scandal.

Margaret was there, of course, holding court near the silent auction tables. Her expression when she saw them together was carefully neutral, but Elena caught the flash of anger in her eyes.

"Alexander," Margaret said coolly. "How... unexpected to see you here. With a guest."

"Mother, you remember Elena."

"Of course. We had such a lovely lunch yesterday." Margaret's smile was sharp as glass. "Though I'm surprised to see you here, dear. This isn't usually your sort of event."

"I'm expanding my horizons," Elena said, matching her tone.

"How ambitious." Margaret turned her attention to a passing waiter, dismissing them both.

They made it through dinner, though Elena barely tasted the food. Alex introduced her to his business associates, his college friends, people whose net worth had more zeros than Elena could conceptually understand. Most were polite but distant. A few were openly curious. One woman asked Elena directly if she was "the bartender from the scandal."

"I prefer 'the woman Alex loves,'" Elena replied, surprising herself with the boldness.

By the time they escaped to the balcony for air, Elena's face hurt from forced smiling.

"I'm sorry," Alex said. "I didn't think they'd be quite that hostile."

"You didn't? What did you think would happen when you brought the help to a billionaire party?"

"Don't do that. Don't reduce yourself because they're too stupid to see who you really are."

"Maybe they see exactly who I am. Someone who doesn't belong here."

"You belong with me. That's all that matters."

Before Elena could argue, a man joined them on the balcony. He was around Alex's age, handsome in a calculated way, with eyes that assessed Elena like she was a balance sheet.

"Hartley," the man said. "Quite the show you're putting on tonight."

"Morrison, this is Richard Lawrence. He runs Lawrence Financial." Alex's tone was carefully neutral. "Richard, Elena Morrison."

"The famous Elena." Richard's smile didn't reach his eyes. "You've caused quite a stir in our circles. Breaking up engagements, threatening mergers. Impressive for a bartender."

"I didn't break up anything. Alex made his own choice."

"Did he? Or did you simply present an option he found temporarily more appealing than duty?" Richard turned to Alex. "Word of advice from an old friend-whatever point you're trying to make with this relationship, you've made it. Time to end the charade before you do permanent damage to the Hartley name."

"Not a charade," Alex said tightly. "And not temporary."

"Then you're a fool." Richard's expression hardened. "The board is already questioning your judgment. Three major investors pulled out after the engagement scandal. Your stock price has dropped six percent in two weeks. How much more are you willing to lose for this... distraction?"

Elena felt like she'd been slapped. Six percent. Major investors. The board questioning him. All because of her.

"That's enough," Alex said coldly.

"Is it? Because from where I'm standing, you're destroying everything your brother died for. Everything your family built. And for what? A woman you'll tire of in six months?"

Alex grabbed Richard by his jacket. "Get out. Now. Before I forget we're in public."

Richard straightened his jacket, his expression smug. "Think about what I said, Hartley. Some prices are too high to pay, even for love."

After he left, Elena and Alex stood in charged silence.

"Is it true?" Elena asked quietly. "About the investors and the stock price?"

"It's temporary. The market will stabilize-"

"Is it true?"

"Yes. But it doesn't matter. We'll recover."

"It matters to me." Elena felt sick. "I'm destroying your company. Your family's legacy. Everything you've worked for."

"You're not destroying anything. I am. I'm making choices that have consequences, and I accept those consequences."

"But I don't." She turned to face him fully. "Alex, I can't be the reason your life falls apart. I can't watch you lose everything because of me."

"You're not listening. I'm not losing everything. I'm choosing what matters."

"What if I'm not worth it?"

The question hung between them, raw and painful.

"You are," Alex said firmly. "You're worth every stock point and investor and business deal. You're worth all of it."

But as they went back inside, Elena couldn't shake Richard's words. Or the knowing look in his eyes, like he'd already seen how this story ended.

And it didn't end well for people like her.