Husband With Benefits-Chapter 910: An Attack

"Are you seriously going to try and scare him off?" Demetri asked, watching as Seb made his so-called ’preparations’ to handle Grant.

Nora shook her head, exasperated. "I don’t even get the point of this. If you have a problem with the guy, then just call Innocensa off, give her some other project and tell her to keep her distance. They’ll forget about the attraction eventually. I mean they have not even started dating. Besides, you said Grant is already trying to maintain his distance."

Seb let out a long sigh and dropped onto the floor, rubbing his temples. "The problem isn’t that they’re working closely together," he muttered. "The problem is you."

Nora frowned and pointed at herself with an expression that asked if Seb had lost his marbles. She was nowhere involved in this mess. She had met the man just once! "Me? How the hell am I the problem?"

Seb scowled and jabbed a finger in her direction. "You. Because you babysat Ines and Vinny too much when they were younger, those two take after you—especially my Ines. See, Olivia, this is why I should have stopped you from going into business with Nora." He then turned back to Nora and asked, "If I tell Ines to back off, what do you think she’ll do?"

Nora’s frown vanished, replaced by a wide, knowing grin as she leaned back and shrugged her shoulders as if it was the answer was obvious. "She’ll go after him with all guns blazing. He won’t stand a chance."

Seb let out another sigh, this one heavier than the last. "Exactly. She’s already pursuing him. The guy knows she’s waiting for him to ask her out, which means she’s already made her move—and knowing her, it was probably in some outrageous way."

Nora’s grin stretched even further. "That’s my girl! And for the record, I am never outrageous. If anything, that trait comes from your bloodline, not my influence. You are the outrageous one, Sebastian Frost."

Seb scoffed, opened his mouth to argue, but before the bickering could truly begin, Demetri and Olivia exchanged a glance.

Then, Demetri interrupted calmly, "I don’t think Innocensa and Grant’s potential relationship is the real problem here." fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Seb and Nora both turned to him, confused. "What do you mean?" Nora asked.

Demetri shrugged. "I think, Seb, that you are the problem."

Seb sat up straighter, looking thoroughly offended. "Hey! How am I the problem? Olivia, are you hearing this? He’s blaming me!"

Olivia, who had been silent until now, merely shrugged. "I hate to say it, but I agree with Demon. You are the problem."

Seb looked between them, utterly betrayed. "Me? What did I do? Here I am, working hard to teach Grant a lesson, making sure he remembers to stay away from my daughter, and my own family is turning against me!"

Demetri sighed, shaking his head. "Seb, you’re protesting too hard. The truth is, you actually like Grant Davis. The boy won you over long before he ever got involved with Innocensa. Deep down, you think he’s a good choice. But you can’t stand the idea of Innocensa dating anyone, so you’re making a fuss.

"You asked all of us to help you teach Grant a lesson, but let’s be real—if you truly hated the guy, he would have already disappeared from the face of the earth, let alone from Innocensa’s life. What you were really hoping for was that one of us would stop you, talk some sense into you, and convince you to let things be."

Seb opened his mouth to argue—then snapped it shut.

Demetri smirked. "See? You know I’m right."

Seb rolled his eyes before finally letting out a reluctant sigh. "Okay, fine. I’ll admit it—I do think he’s a good kid. He’s hardworking, responsible, and decent, and I trust his character."

He crossed his arms, his expression still stubborn despite the admission. "And the fact that he’s been trying to step back from her, which I know is not going to be easy with her persistence, already proves that he’s not the type to take advantage of the situation."

He exhaled, as if resigning himself to the truth, then straightened his shoulders. "But that doesn’t mean I have to just sit back and give them my blessing, does it? No way. If anything, it means I have every right to make things very difficult for them. And trust me, I fully intend to do just that."

Olivia sighed and pointed at him," You’re starting to resemble Elijah Frost. You don’t want to be like him, do you?"

Seb rolled his eyes, affronted," Hya! Livi! Don’t insult me by comparing me to that old coot, okay? I am not going to try and make Grant run off and then pretend that he took off with my money."

The others all laughed at that. They’d been watching the entire thing like a dam* show. Seb glared at each and every one of them (and even the readers who were probably grinning right now) before standing up," Fine. None of you want to join me in this, I’ll do it alone!"

As the others laughed and called out that they will definitely join him and enjoy the consequences, Ian received a call that shook him.

Looking up, he scanned the faces of his brothers, all gathered together, still caught up in their amusement. Dam* it! Couldn’t they have a moment of peace? He exhaled slowly, shook his head and braced himself. Then, taking a deep breath, he finally spoke.

"People. I have some bad news."

The shift in the atmosphere was immediate. The laughter died, replaced by wary glances."What is it?"

Ian hesitated for a fraction of a second, then ran a hand through his hair before delivering the news. "There was an attack," he said grimly. "Someone broke into the office—most likely trying to steal information. But they weren’t expecting anyone to be there." He paused, his jaw tightening. "Some of the staff were still inside when it happened. The intruder panicked when they got caught... and opened fire."

"Where? Which location?", Erasmi asked but Seb had a feeling..."Who was hurt?"

Ian sighed," It happened at Canary Tech. Grant Davis was shot and taken to the hospital. Innocensa was with him." Seeing Seb pale, Ian quickly added," She is not hurt."

Without a word, everyone quickly filed out of the house, racing to the hospital where the two had been taken.

***

Innocensa hugged herself tightly, her arms wrapped around her body as if that alone could steady the trembling within her. She stood just outside the operating room, her heart pounding in her chest, still struggling to come to terms with everything that had happened.

She had come out of the office so happily, to check if Grant had asked her out. Only to come face to face with a masked man. And then, before either of them could have reacted, Grant had walked out of his office, making the man panic and try to take her hostage.

And that is when things had gone south, if only she had assessed the situation before reacting, maybe—just maybe—things would have turned out differently. Instead, her instinct and training to resist had taken over, and she had tried to handle the situation on her own.

But Grant could not have anticipated that she was trianed in self-defense. He’d come rushing to her side, only for the thief to become even more panicked and take out his gun.

Innocensa shivered. Grant, that fool, had actually stepped in the way of the bullet that had been shot at her. As she tried to compose herself, she heard her father’s voice," Ines."

Her composure collapsed. With a choked sob, she threw herself into her father’s arms, crying continuously," Daddy! It is all my fault."

"Of course it is not." Seb said automatically as the others all surrounded Ines, forming a protective barrier around her.

***

Grant woke up slowly, a dull, throbbing pain radiating from his arm. Damn, that hurt like hell. Even with the lingering effects of anesthesia, the sharp sting made itself known, cutting through the haze. He let out a low breath, bracing himself against the discomfort.

Unlike most patients coming out of surgery, he wasn’t disoriented or confused. He knew exactly what had happened. He had been shot. He could still hear Innocensa’s furious voice echoing in his mind, cursing him for being a reckless idiot. Why would you step in front of a bullet, you fool? she had raged. But beneath the anger, he had heard something else—something that made his chest tighten. Her sobs.

He opened his eyes slowly, expecting to find himself alone in the sterile quiet of a hospital room. Instead, he nearly jolted upright, only to wince as pain flared through his body.

What the hell?

The sight before him was enough to send a chill down his spine. The room was crowded. Not just with doctors or nurses—no, that would have been normal. Instead, a whole group of people were there in the large room- The Frosts.

Grant swallowed hard. Why were they here?

A cold realization gripped him. Had something happened to Innocensa? Was she hurt too? The thought sent a wave of panic through him. He must have made a sound because everyone in the room simultaneously turned to him. And then they communicated silently. This was a Frost trait that he had noticed. All the Frost men seemed to be mind readers. At least for each other. They’d just share a look with the other to communicate.

Even as he said this, Demon Frost came to him and patted him on the shoulder," Welcome back, boy."

And then, sending him all sorts of looks, the entire family walked out. But he was no longer looking at the others. Where was Innocensa?

Soon, the only person left in the room was Sebastian Frost who came to sit by his bedside with a grim expression. He remembered then. The blunder he had done, before all this had happened. He knew he needed to apologize but first," Where is Innocensa? Is she hurt?"

Sebastian Frost narrowed his eyes at him," She is not hurt. She was in a bad state so her mother took her back for a little while. She will be here soon. And I think now would be as good a time as any to talk about some things."

Grant sighed in relief at first. Innocensa was alright. That was all that mattered. When he’d seen the gunman poining his gun at her and pulling the trigger, he’d been terrified. Now that she was safe, it was time to apologize and make some corrections.

He looked at Sebastian Frost and started," It is a good time. But before you say anything, Sir, I’d like to say something. You know by now those messages were not meant for you."

Seb snorted and interrupted sarcastically,"Yes. I am not waiting for you to ask me out on a date, Grant."

Grant blushed a little at that and pressed on," Everything I said in those messages was true. I truly like and admire your daughter. And I am indeed an orphan with no family and raised only on charity. Mostly yours. So, I never would have dreamt of pursuing her, no matter how much I want to."

He paused and looked at the older man, his idol, and then closed his eyes and continued,"But...I want to apologize to you that I won’t be able to do that. I think I am going to pursue your daughter."

Seb raised his eyebrows at that and asked stoically, "What do you mean? Do you suddenly think you are suitable for my daughter? That you are worthy of her? My Innocensa?" Even though Seb said it with a perfectly straight and threatening expression, on the inside, he winced. Dam*. He did sound like his old grandfather.

Grant stiffened at the words. "No. I am not worthy of her. I don’t think I ever will be. But... I know that I want a chance to make her happy. When I was being brought here and thought I might die. I could see only one regret in my life. Not getting to know her better. I think she is an amazing woman- smart, kind and even innocent like her name though she doesn’t think so. And if, she will have me, I would like a chance to know and cherish her."

Sebastian felt bittersweet for a moment then. This boy was really smitten. How was he supposed to do anything in the face of this sincerety? He’d have to be heartless... Okay. He could be heartless. With his face set in a scowl, he asked," And what if I refuse?"