From my Bully to CEO のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 51 - チャプター 60

PRESENTGRAYSON’S POV:I leaned against the mirrored wall of the elevator, scrolling through my phone when a string of colorful profanities pulled my attention.I saw Selene pushing her way past the crowd, muttering under her breath as she fought toward the doors. I smiled to myself as I thumbed the hold button.Her eyes flicked up when she slipped inside, looking almost as surprised to see me as I was to see her. “Oh, hi.”I glanced down on my phone screen to confirm I hadn’t gotten the time wrong.“You’re indecently early by Selene Hale standards,” I said.Her almost approachable expressions soured into one of her usual scowls.“Don’t remind me,” she groaned. “Or I might turn around and go back home. Just take the day off.”I smiled. “If you left, who else would I have to verbally spar with before my morning coffee?”She ignored the comment and instead narrowed her eyes. “You look awfully happy this morning. Anything special I should know about?”Sometimes I suspected she asked st

PRESENTGRAYSON’S POV:The day had been draining in a way nothing in the last eight years of my career had been. My head was buzzing, my body twitching with the kind of restlessness only violence and pain could cure.I adjusted my gym bag on my shoulder before pushing the door open. The company gym was mostly empty at this hour—half the staff gone home, the rest too tired to linger. On the rare nights that I did find a soul or two still hanging around, I just turned around and drove to the private gym in the mansion I never used anymore.But tonight, I couldn’t wait. I needed to hit something. I was even willing to tolerate unwanted company if it came to it. I just needed to hit something, to bleed the frustration out of me before it split my skull open. Every thought since the elevator with Selene had been too sharp, too loud, and entirely unbearable. But, as my absolute bitch of a fate would have it, her face was the first thing I saw as the door swung inwards.I didn’t even know s

PAST SELENE’S POV: I walked hesitantly to the auditorium where I was told that the auditions for the debate team were being held. I had been an active part of the debate team back at my old school and I enjoyed doing it. I even won a few trophies for them but here, everything was different. I felt the nerves within me fire up as the looming doors of the auditorium came into view. I promised myself when I first set foot in this school that I wouldn’t join any extracurriculars—that I would keep my head down and avoid attention. But then my grandmother told me the connections both my parents had with this particular team and ever since, it felt like a siren’s call. I couldn’t resist the urge to step into this long-lost piece of their world, their lives. This was the place they first met, where they fell in love with each other. And I had the opportunity to see this for myself—an opportunity I never would’ve gotten if I stayed in LA—and I couldn't let the chance slip. Even if it m

PASTSELENE'S POV I shifted without even realizing I was doing it. My legs pressed together under the table.Fucking hell. Maybe I needed to get fucked by someone—anyone—who wasn’t Grayson Vexley because this was getting out of hand.And he hadn’t even looked at me!“Guess what?” He asked Theo, ignoring me like I didn’t even exist.His grin was blinding and I tried not to feel anything on seeing this much unadulterated joy on a guy I only saw as stoic before.“You got the position?” Theo guessed and apparently he was right because Grayson’s grin got even more blinding, if that was possible.The urge to be a part of that fleeting, golden joy radiating off him hit me out of nowhere, stealing the breath from my lungs.“I got the position,” he confirmed, sliding next to Theo. “You’re looking at the new captain of the Ravens.”“Woho!” Theo hooted loudly, a sound I only associated with Josh before this moment. He clapped Grayson on the back. “You now successfully fit every single high scho

PAST Selene's Pov“Please, Selene.”That please did something strange to me. Or maybe it was the warmth in her voice, the genuineness. I had been deprived of that for so long, it made my heart ache.Against my better judgment, I turned and crossed the short stretch of lawn until I stood by her recliner. She sat down and it still left a lot of space for me. She patted the empty space. I sat awkwardly, keeping my hands folded in my lap.She took the binoculars off and handed them to me. My breath caught as I held them. They felt even better than anything I could’ve ever imagined.I tilted my head up and a gasp escaped my lips unbidden. It felt like the stars had spilled closer like bright, burning pinpricks hanging just above my fingertips. The sky wasn’t just a backdrop anymore, it was alive.My eyes traced the constellations automatically—Orion, Cassiopeia, Ursa Major but they glowed like I hadn’t ever seen them do before. It stole my breath away.“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” She mur