4

Chapter 4

Grayson Grant

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I couldn’t believe that Tessa would look me in the face and constantly lie to me. For weeks, I had known about her affair, but I was too scared to confront her.

I was scared because I didn’t want her to confirm the truth, it would break me. I had tried my best to move past it because I didn’t want our marriage to end.

But I just couldn’t move past it.

Tessa knew how much l loved her, she knew how much I adored our family, but she still went ahead to betray me.

What she did hurt me badly, that was why I couldn’t even say what it was when she asked me what the problem was.

It still baffled me that she tried so hard to act innocent, like she genuinely had no idea what I was talking about.

Every word that came out of her mouth felt like another stab to my chest. I just couldn’t take it anymore, so I had to tell her the exact reason why I wanted a divorce.

“You cheated on me, Tessa! That’s why I’m ending the marriage!” The words spilled out of my mouth before I could even think about stopping them.

The look on her face wasn't guilt. It was a shock and disbelief. Maybe even a little bit of disappointment.

For a second, I almost wished I hadn’t said anything.

Her eyes widened as she stared at me. If she was acting, then she deserved an award because she looked so broken and confused at my words.

But what if she wasn’t acting? What if I had just accused her of something she didn’t do?

I shoved those thoughts aside immediately.

I couldn’t let her manipulate me, I had already seen all the proof I needed. She cheated on me and couldn’t lie her way out of it.

“I cheated on you? You believe that I cheated on you, Grayson?” She asked, her voice barely audible. “Grayson?”

I steadied my voice. “Yes, Tessa. And don’t you dare act like you don’t know what I’m talking about!” I warned, my voice low and venomous.

There was a beat of silence.

Then she pushed her hair backwards, her eyes fixed on me. “Who did I cheat on you with?”

Was she seriously asking me that question?

As if what she did wasn’t enough, she still wanted me to mention the person’s name. I swallowed hard, ignoring the lump that had formed in my throat.

“You know who you cheated with, don’t ask me questions that would add salt to my already open wound,” I said, my breathing heavy.

Tessa was silent for a second.

Then she cleared her throat and continued. “Did you sleep with her? Vanessa? Did you cheat on me with her?”

My lips parted and I blinked.

We were talking about what she did and she wanted to change the focus from her to me. I couldn’t even recognize the woman whom I thought I had married anymore.

I treated her with love, care, and respect.

I knew I wasn’t perfect, I knew I made some mistakes in the past, but I thought everything was going great between us.

Why would she do something so cruel to me? To our daughter?

I wasn’t going to answer her question. She didn’t have the right to ask me any questions. I was the one who had been betrayed, not her.

She didn’t get to play the victim!

I clenched my fists by my side, struggling to keep my voice even. “Don’t turn this around on me, Tessa. You’re the one responsible for ruining our marriage, not me.”

Tessa’s lips quivered. “You’re avoiding the question, Grayson. Did you sleep with Vanessa?”

“What does it matter? You slept with someone else first.” I said, my voice filled with anger and frustration. “Stop asking me if I slept with someone else and admit that you actually cheated on me!”

“So you actually slept with Vanessa.” She muttered, her face twisted in disgust. “I can’t believe you, Grayson!”

I didn’t sleep with Vanessa. But I didn’t want to tell her the truth, not until she admitted what she did.

Vanessa and I were just out on a business meeting. That was all. Nothing happened between us, we didn’t even share a kiss.

But I didn’t owe Tessa any explanation. Not after what she had done.

I let out a bitter laugh. “You’re so good at manipulating people and I’m not even surprised,” I replied, my throat tightening. “After all the promises we made to each other, you still went ahead to betray me.”

The worst part was that she hadn’t even tried to deny it or even defend herself. She just wanted to avoid the entire conversation and focus on the fact that I was seen on the news with another woman.

I already told her it was just a business meeting but she refused to believe me. It was understandable because she wanted me to be equally responsible for crumbling the marriage.

But I didn’t do anything wrong.

The only thing I did was miss my daughter’s birthday dinner. And that part wasn’t intentional.

But I couldn’t stand there and watch Tessa accuse me of cheating on her when she was the problem.

“You can’t even deny it. I can’t believe you would do something like that to me.” I continued when she remained silent.

I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her head.

“I didn’t cheat on you, Grayson. I didn’t even lie to you.” She finally replied, trying to sound convincing.

But I could see right through her lies and bullshit.

I shook my head slowly. “No, just because I said you couldn’t even deny it, doesn’t mean you have to deny it. I already have all the proof and evidence I needed. You can’t lie your way out of this one.”

She let out a deep exhale. “Grayson, I don’t know what you did with Vanessa, but you have to believe me, I didn’t cheat on you with anybody.”

The memories of the images, texts, and videos replayed in my head. My chest tightened and I swallowed hard.

She was still lying to me.

There was no point in having the conversation anymore.

I shoved the envelope into her chest.

“Just sign the goddamn papers. I’m done.”