Chapter 35: Chapter 35

ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POV

The four of us sat on the floor of the living room. Greyson was beside me while his parents were in front of us. It was quite a mystery to me how they addressed him as my husband, but I think he already told them about it. But still, I tried to pinch some of Greyson’s skin on his back, causing him to look at me with such a ferocious gaze.

“What?” Greyson muttered under his breath, so I merely rolled my eyes as a response, showing that I wasn’t happy about all this. “Just bear with it for a little longer, Angelique. They just need to tell you something important,” he briefly explained.

Seeing that I have no other choice, I sighed, then glanced at his parents, who were waiting for me to do so. “U-uh. So, what is it that you were meaning to tell me?” I asked out of pure curiosity.

Greyson’s mother stared at her husband, gesturing to him to be the one to speak. “We want to apologize for all the years that we’ve been rude to you, Angelique. We didn’t know that you’re really going to be the woman that our son will eventually marry,” he said with his head bowed.

I felt my cheeks heating up out of embarrassment. “I-it’s not like I had a grudge against the two of you,” I murmured.

“You can call us by our names, dear.” Greyson’s mother stood up, walking a few steps ahead to stretch out her arm in front of me, asking for a handshake. “Or perhaps you don’t remember it anymore?” She giggled at the same time that I grabbed her soft hand, pulling me up.

I shook my head. “You’re Mrs. Gabriela Giovanni, and your husband is Mr. Greg Giovanni, right?” I wasn’t so sure if I recalled the right memory, but, judging from the way that she smiled, I guess I wasn’t mistaken.

“Seems like Greyson really led a huge impact in your life to the point that you still know his parents’ name,” Gabriela said, then released her grip on my hand. “I was the one who insisted on this mini celebration. It was hard to persuade him though,” she added, pouting in the direction of Greg.

Greyson assisted his father in standing up as the two of them faced us. I haven’t seen them for years. It feels like I only realized now that they really do look alike. They even have the same muscular build, their height, and their facial features. However, Greyson looks more alluring. It must be due to their age difference.

A small grin couldn’t escape my lips when I thought about Greyson’s bare body. I bit my lower lip to disregard the thought of it as soon as I saw Greyson gazing my way.

“I’m confused,” I uttered, thinking that I didn’t actually verbalize it. “S-sorry, I was just looking back at those days that Greg wasn’t fond of me.”

Greg cleared his throat, stealing the spot of his wife. He placed one of his hands on my shoulder, maintaining eye contact with me. “I don’t have any excuse for all the pain I’ve caused you, Angelique. I know that the two of you were just in love, but I couldn’t help not being anxious,” he said.

“Anxious with what?” Greyson asked what I wanted to say.

“Gabriela and I are exerting our best efforts just to let Greyson stay at the highest back then. Since he’s our only child, we wanted him to become our heir. We’re getting old, so we know that our business needs to be handled by someone else we can trust,” Greg explained, which somehow made sense.

The Giovannis have always been in the top spot when it comes to business. There’s no other company out there who can compete with them.

“If you were that concerned for his reputation and future, then why did you allow him to manage a nightclub?” I genuinely questioned his father. “Wouldn’t Greyson’s background be ultimately damaged if people find out that the person they’re working for is exploiting women? Using different women’s bodies just to feel pleasure? Deceiving women, thinking that we’re tools that can be discarded at any given time once he gets bored?” I consecutively asked.

“Angelique!” Greyson stepped in between me and his father.

The look on Greyson’s face clearly tells me that his parents don't have any clue about shady work. Despite the cold temperature of their house, he began sweating the moment that I asked Greg those questions.

I raised an eyebrow, wondering what’s wrong. “Could it be that you haven’t told them about that place? You’ve been handling that nightclub for years, Greyson. How did you hide that from them?”

Greyson hissed at the same time that he gripped on my forearm tightly, pushing me away from his father. “Don’t listen to Angelique. She’s trying to ruin my image to the both of you,” he lied, followed by a chuckle to make it seem like he was telling the truth.

“I’m not sure who to trust, Greyson, Angelique,” Gabriela commented. She had her mouth covered with both of her hands. From the way that her shoulders were slowly moving, I guess her breathing was quite heavy right now.

“There’s only one way to determine who we can trust,” Greg said. “Angelique, can you bring us to the place of that nightclub that you’ve mentioned? If we can verify through the people inside that Greyson is indeed working there... then my wife and I will discuss what we’d do to him.”

It felt like there was some dark aura emitting from Greg’s soul and that I had no right to refuse him. “It’s nearby.” I no longer had any motivation to speak in a lengthy manner because of the pain that’s coming from Greyson’s grip on me.

If Greyson had held my neck to strangle me, I would’ve been dead by now.

The atmosphere has totally been ruined because of me. Greg and Gabriela walked beside each other as they headed out of the house, leaving Greyson with me.

“What are you scheming now, Angelique? Are you still trying to take revenge on me because of my past with Gwynneth?” Greyson coldly asked, finally letting me go. “How can you sell me off to my parents like that?”

Even though he sounded cold, I could still perceive that he was quite hurt with what I’ve done. And now I’m conflicted about whether I should feel guilty or not.