The Heiress' Husband

Raelynn sat on the hospital bed, fingers ghosting over the IV line that had been removed just moments ago. The faint imprint on her skin felt like an afterthought, a temporary mark of vulnerability that would fade in hours. She wished the same could be said for everything else.

The room smelled sterile, too clean, too artificial. Outside the window, the city pulsed with life, horns blaring, distant voices blending into a constant hum. It should have been comforting. Instead, it made her feel like an outsider looking in.

She was being discharged today. She should have felt relieved but instead, she felt numb. Where would she go from there?

A knock at the door.

She didn't answer, but the door creaked open anyway.

Henry Lancaster stepped inside.

Her grandfather wasn't a tall man, but his presence carried weight. He was composed, his three-piece suit as impeccable as ever, his silver hair neatly combed back. He looked at her like he was assessing something, gauging, measuring, deciding.

"You look well," he said finally, his tone unreadable.

Raelynn let out a soft breath, fingers tightening around the hospital blanket. "looks have been known to be deceiving"

Henry's lips twitched, almost like he wanted to smile but didn't quite remember how. He approached the chair beside her bed, lowering himself into it with the kind of measured grace that came with years of control. Silence stretched between them, thick and expectant.

Then, finally…

"I didn't like that Halloway boy."

Raelynn let out a humorless laugh. "That makes two of us now."

Henry's expression didn't shift, but something about his posture eased slightly. "I let you carry your father's name for long enough," he said, tone even, unreadable. "But it's time, Raelynn."

She didn't ask what he meant. She already knew.

"It's time to take up the Lancaster name."

She studied him, trying to read between the lines. Henry Lancaster was a man of power, of legacy. He never did anything without a reason.

"You think it'll change things?" she asked.

Henry's gaze didn't waver. "It will."

She had spent years keeping that separate, deliberately keeping Lancaster out of her career. The last thing she had wanted was for people to associate her success with the weight of the Lancaster name. And Jake…

Jake had never known.

Something about the way he said it made her chest ache. He wasn't cruel, wasn't gloating. He simply didn't see the point in pretending.

Raelynn looked away, staring at the IV stand beside her. "It doesn't matter now."

Henry was quiet for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was softer than before. "You don't have to fight alone."

She exhaled sharply. "And what does that mean?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he stood, smoothing the front of his jacket. "It means you should stop pretending you aren't who you are."

Raelynn frowned.

Henry glanced at his watch. "You'll have a security detail from now on."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. "They won't interfere with your life. But you won't be left unprotected again."

Again.

Her throat tightened. "I don't need…"

"This isn't a request."

She clenched her fists beneath the blanket.

Henry turned to leave but hesitated at the door. "Take your time," he said. "I'll try my best with media control. But don't take too long. The world doesn't wait for anyone."

Then, he was gone.

Raelynn sat still for a moment, absorbing everything. The conversation had been brief, but it had left something heavy in its wake.

She wasn't sure what to do with it.

Minutes passed before a nurse entered, breaking the silence. "Ms. Grant? Your discharge papers are ready."

Raelynn nodded, slowly moving to her feet. The world tilted slightly, but she steadied herself.

She was ready to leave.

The air outside was thick, the weight of the evening pressing down like a storm waiting to break.

Nessa was waiting by the car, arms crossed. "Finally," she muttered, eyeing Raelynn as she stepped outside. "I was about to storm in there and drag you out myself."

Raelynn smirked faintly. "That would've been a sight."

They started toward the car, but before they could reach it, a voice rang out.

"Raelynn Grant."

The sound of her full name sent a ripple of unease through her. She turned just as a man stepped into the light, camera in hand. Then another. And another.

Paparazzi.

Shit.

"How does it feel knowing your ex moved on so quickly?" one of them shouted.

Raelynn gritted her teeth, pushing forward.

"Did you know about Jake and Stella before the accident?" another pressed.

She kept walking.

"Did Jake leave you because you can't have children?"

That made her stop.

The world narrowed to a single point, breath catching in her throat.

Nessa grabbed her arm. "Rae, don't."

Raelynn's jaw clenched. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to respond, to shut them up, to make them regret ever speaking her name.

But she didn't.

She inhaled sharply and kept moving.

The cameras followed. The questions grew more invasive, more cruel.

Security stepped in then—men she hadn't noticed before, dressed in plain black, moving with practiced ease. They formed a wall between her and the reporters, guiding her toward the car.

She didn't know who they were, but she knew one thing.

They were here because of Henry. And for that, she was grateful.

The ride home was silent.

Raelynn stared out the window, the city a blur of lights and shadows. She barely registered Nessa fuming beside her, fingers tapping furiously against her phone. Probably reporting every single one of those leeches to legal.

She should have felt violated.

She should have felt broken.

Instead, she felt something else entirely.

Cold.

Steady.

The world wanted to tear her down. Jake wanted to erase her. Stella wanted to replace her. The industry wanted to move on.

Fine.

Let them think they had won.

By the time they reached her apartment, the storm inside her had settled into something dangerously calm.

She had played this game with one hand tied behind her back, too afraid to embrace the power that had been hers all along. She had let them dictate her worth.

That ended now.

She wasn't just Raelynn Grant, the model.

She was Raelynn Lancaster. Heir to the Lancaster Empire.

And they had no idea what they had just unleashed.