Chapter 4 Grayson

• GRAYSON
• I smiled at the file before me. It was Adeline’s. Damian had managed to get a whiff that she wanted to go back to school, law school to be precise and she happened to apply where he was a dean at. It's perfect. I smiled at the thought that crossed my mind. No, I wasn’t going to stop her from chasing her dreams. I was just going to show her that it was possible to be the woman she wanted to be and be mine at the same time.
• “Nice work. Keep her close, but away from any fucker that intends to befriend her. I mean it Damian.” I barked into my phone, unsure why I felt the need to keep her. There was a new feeling growing in my chest that I didn’t like. I recognized it. But it was the same that got me in trouble enough to make a mess out of me in the first place.
• My man was to simply woo Adeline, get her to agree to stay married while I fund her little dream.
• “Done. Don’t fuck this up.” He snapped back at me before hanging up. I stared at my phone for a second before placing it down on the table. I knew he could come around when he saw reason.
• Soon, all of this will be over and things will get back to normal. I thought to myself, standing up to grab my coat before heading out of the office. It had been a month since I last saw her. A month since I realized that I knew nothing about her, and the little I thought I did was a false perception that I planted in my head myself. Your family had a hand in the act. The voice in my mind attacked again.
• He wasn’t wrong.
• And I knew that now. Which was why I was going to go as easy on her as I possibly could.
• I headed to my car and drove over to Damian’s second office, which was in the school. I had been tempted to buy a bunch of flowers before going over to her friend’s after my visit to Damian’s office but I knew doing that was going to not only make me look desperate but also throw her off.
• I walked into the office in long steady strides. His assistant knew who I was, I didn’t need to make an appointment with the bastard. Far off at one corner, filling out forms was my wife.
• My heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. This had never happened before. This better fucking be because I haven’t seen her in a month. I thought to myself, pissed at my stupid heart for reacting. I should have headed to Damian’s office first but my legs started to approach her instead. I gave us some distance, waiting until she noticed me. When she didn't turn or look at me, I spoke.
• “Adeline, fancy seeing you here…”
• She lifted her eyes to meet mine and I swear time seemed to have stopped. My heart thumped. This really hadn’t happened before. What the heck was this?
• “Not surprised to see you here, Mr. Archer…” She mumbled, clearly irritated to see me. The corner of my mouth tugged a bit, a smile forming. Soon, Adeline. “How can I forget that Mr. Cross is a friend of yours…” This time she really looked at me. The hate in her eyes was as clear as day.
• This was a completely new side of her I had never seen before. Feisty.
• “True, but I didn’t even know you applied here. Congratulations. Although you could have said something sooner and well, you could have graduated by now.”
• Adeline shot me a glare and walked past me mumbling something to herself. “And have you call me a gold digger? Never!”
• Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. Before I could respond, she was gone.
• I sighed, and headed into Damian’s office. He gave me a look before looking back down at his phone. “Didn’t know you were coming. Don’t tell me you couldn’t keep away from her…” He joked but it wasn’t funny.
• I took a seat in front of him, “That, and I just saw her too. How am I supposed to make her fall in love with me?” I really needed answers.
• Desperation dripped from my voice, and I leaned forward for him to see just how much her absence was affecting me. My entire routine had been a mess from the day she left. While my mother tried her best with Johnny, he wasn’t an easy kid to take care of and the only person who had gotten a hang of it over the years was gone. In sight but gone from me.
• Damian shrugged, a frown pulling his brows to arch. “How am I supposed to know? I’m not the one with the lady skills, remember? All I know is, get ready because Adeline is nothing like Scarlett, who can be controlled by money.”
• Another jab to the heart. Hearing her name after so long just had to pull the memories I had trained myself never to remember.
• I clenched my jaw, pissed that he was right. “Fine then. I guess I’m going to have to play the simp part. Fuck…I hate this..”
• Damian burst out laughing. The bastard enjoyed every little inconvenience that came my way.
• “When you're done laughing, show me her class schedule, dumbass…” I couldn’t help but smirk at him when he turned his laptop to face me. There, before me, was everything I needed to know about her classes. I wasn’t done with her today.
• I took note of today's time table, and shot up on my feet. “Thank you brother. Now email it to me will you…”
• I spoke over my shoulder reaching for the door. I got to my car and stopped when I felt my phone vibrate. I knew Damian had done as I asked him to.
• Adeline had no classes today from her time table. If I was lucky, I could bump into her again.
• And as if luck was on my side, I spotted her crossing the road where the bus stop station was. She had her phone to her ear and I could already tell who it was on the line.
• It has to be that bastard friend of hers. I was sure he had feelings for her. Another reason to claim her once again.
• I jogged after her, catching up just as she ended the call with a smile. “Addie…” The name rolled smoothly out of my mouth. “Where are you headed? Let me give you a ride.”
• She shook her head almost immediately, taking a step to create a much bigger distance between us. “No thank you, Mr Archer. Goodbye…” she turned to leave. Say something! I screamed at myself internally but the words that did blurt out took both of us by surprise.
• “I'm sorry!” I never apologize. Never. “The past month without you made me realize how much of an asshole I was to you over the years. I took your presence for granted and I want to apologize for that. I'm not doing this to make you come back or anything. I just ask that you come visit Johnny when you can.” Anything to bring her closer. I almost smiled when I saw the guilt that flashed in her eyes. I was getting to her. “...he misses you dearly. I'll have Damian work on the papers as soon as possible, but please, Johnny wants to see you. Please Adeline…”
• I kept my expression as soft as possible. She didn't need to know what plans I had under my sleeves.
• After a moment of silence, she finally spoke. “Just this once, Mr. Archer. After today, I never want to see you again…” oh but you will, Addie. Let the games begin.