4

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.