Semua Bab Finally Moving On After A Decade: Bab 1 - Bab 8

Chris' POVThe second after I sent my message, a string of confused question marks came back.[You've finally come to your senses? I'll coming! Wait for me.]The screen slowly dimmed. I let out a faint, wry smile and called my mother."Mom, I'm bringing my girlfriend home this Christmas."I hadn't said it loudly, but Valerie Gilbert, who was trying on clothes nearby, heard anyway. She snatched the phone out of my hand and hung up, her tone sour."Haven't we agreed? I'm still spending Christmas at the Huntingtons' this year. What nonsense did you tell your mom?"Faced with her question, I kept my expression calm and took my phone back."Nothing."Something in my mood must have registered, because Valerie, who'd still been grumbling a second ago, turned to look at me."I know exactly what's on your mind, but going to spend Christmas at Grayson's every year was something we agreed to from the start. If I win, Grayson has to sign his company over to me."She said it with her eye

There was a week left until Christmas Eve. In that stretch of time, Valerie was out with Grayson almost every day.One night she came home, pulled out a thick stack of cash she'd withdrawn from the bank, stuffed it into an envelope, and tossed it in front of me.In the past, I would never have let it go, would've kept asking Valerie whether she'd come home with me, refusing to give up until the very last moment. But now I just looked calmly at the fat, bulging envelope on the table.My mother's illness couldn't actually be cured anymore. Money like this meant nothing to her one way or another. All she wanted now was for me to be happy and safe.Maybe my silence threw her off, because Valerie had clearly braced herself for a fight. When I didn't reach for the envelope, she pressed her lips together and spoke first."Chris, this is the last year. I've decided to concede early, worst case I hand over my company shares. Your mother's always wanted to see us married, hasn't she? Once t

Third-person POV"Chris, you'll regret this! If you leave with her, don't you dare come crawling back!" Valerie screamed, beside herself with fury.The door slammed shut. Valerie stood frozen in place.She hadn't expected Chris to actually walk out with Madison Chance. Even less had she expected that Madison, who'd been abroad for five years, would suddenly come back and go home with Chris for Christmas of all times.Valerie couldn't shake it off for a long moment, her chest heaving. It wasn't until Grayson called her name that she snapped out of it."Valerie, stop staring, they're already gone. Let's go register our marriage today. Once the holiday starts, the county clerk's office will be closed."Hearing that, Valerie let out a slow breath. She rubbed her temples, and something complicated passed through her eyes as she looked at Grayson.The truth was, she'd once looked forward to actually getting a marriage certificate with Grayson. The two of them had been rivals since chi

Valerie didn't reply to any more texts after that.Her mind drifted back to when she and Chris had first gotten together, when there'd always been a girl trailing after him. That girl had been Madison Chance.At first, she used to get jealous."Chris, if you so much as look twice at another girl, you're finished."They'd both been young back then, barely into their twenties, at the age where neither could stand the thought of the other having someone else around.But Chris had been like a block of wood around other girls. Or maybe he was just a block of wood, period.Back then, Valerie found it fun to tease him. Every time she did, his ears would turn bright red, which she'd always found strangely endearing.Not long after they got together, Madison left the country for reasons Valerie never learned. Valerie had never paid her much attention, but as a romantic rival, Madison's face was one she'd never quite forgotten.After Madison left, other girls came and went around Chris.