Chapter 36: Chapter 36

ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POV

It hasn’t been long since Greg and Gabriela went out of the house. There’s a high possibility that the two of them would hear what Greyson and I would discuss, so I was quite hesitant to give him a response.

“You know what? Forget it. I shouldn’t have expected that you weren’t going to betray me for the rest of your life,” Greyson said, shrugging off his question from a few minutes ago. “You better think twice about what you’re planning, Angelique. You wouldn’t want to mess around with me.”

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. “I don’t know what’s making you this confident, Greyson. You’re no longer holding a chain on me. Everyone around the world already knows about the crime that I’ve done to my parents, so there’s nothing else left for you to blackmail me with,” I furiously muttered, trying my best to keep my voice down as I don’t want his parents to hear us.

Greyson clicked his tongue, supposing that I'd hit the bullseye. “Even so, I’m still your husband!”

I scoffed. It seemed like Greyson was desperate to keep me tangled up with him. “You’ve completely lost sanity, Greyson. You should be the one who knows best...” I raised my left hand, pointing at the ring he bought before. “We’re only pretending to be husband and wife, Greyson... all because I didn’t want my last name to be exposed.”

Even though I knew that everything about our relationship wasn’t real, I still couldn’t help but feel disheartened. There was a huge part of me that’s hoping that we could become a real couple—one that would walk down the altar and share vows in front of a crowd.

The way that Greyson’s lips slowly trembled made me think that he was also hurt by what’s happening between us.

“Did you ever love me for real, Greyson?” I whispered, glancing down at the ground, staring at my feet to avoid being delusional with whatever expression he might show.

Instead of giving me a straight response, he gently pulled me into an embrace. I could sense how his right hand traced its way up to my head, patting it, which weirdly gave me comfort. The silence that surrounded the two of us was more than what I needed.

As if peace were the solution to our problem.

I heaved out a loud sigh of frustration as I buried my face in his chest. I could clearly hear the continuous, loud thumping of his heart. “Aren’t you going to talk to me?” I asked.

“Stay still for a minute, Angelique. I’m trying to clear my mind. I don’t want to make another mistake by saying something harsher,” Greyson said as he held me closer.

I wanted to push him away because I’m almost suffocating, but somehow... I felt safe in his arms.

We spent about five more minutes in the exact same position, causing Greyson’s parents to head back to the doorstep.

“Aren’t the two of you going out?” Gabriela asked with her arms folded below her chest.

Greg leaned on the door, glaring at his son. “Greyson, if you’re forcing her not to tell us where it is, you better stop it. Even if we don’t find it today, we’re still going to figure this out in a few days. You know how we do things here, don’t you?” he seriously warned.

I stepped back from Greyson before I shook my head twice to deny Greg’s accusation. “Greyson didn’t tell me anything like that, Greg. He was just furious, so I tried to calm him down with my warm hug,” I lied.

“If you say so... Let’s get going; it’s going to be dark outside soon,” Greg said, then turned his back on us as he brought his wife with him.

Greyson sighed. “That was... close,” he murmured to himself. “Are you really going to show them the way to my club?” he genuinely asked.

I walked ahead of him, and he followed my tracks as we went out of his house. “Of course I will. I don’t want to look like a hypocrite in front of your parents and make a fool out of myself. I’d rather see you get humiliated,” I answered with no hint of hesitation. “And besides, what are you afraid of? I still don’t understand why you chose to hide that place from your parents. They seem like great parents.”

“You’d never understand until you’re the one who’s living under my shoes, Angelique. You’re not the only one who had it rough,” Greyson mumbled.

We were the ones leading the way, and our entire journey was silent. I stopped in front of Greyson’s nightclub, which was still open.

“We’re here,” I softly said, wondering if I'd made the right decision to actually bring them to the right place.

Greg hissed as he took one last glance at his son. “You better prepare yourself once we get home, Greyson. You’re going to be a dead meat once we confirm things inside,” he mumbled.

I tugged on the edge of Greyson’s shirt as his parents entered the club. “Sorry for this, Greyson.”

Greyson laughed. “You don’t sound sincere at all. Are you wishing that I’d be killed by my parents?” he asked, making it seem like he wasn’t kidding around.

With a gasp, I looked elsewhere, trying to avoid his gaze. “T-that’s not what I’m planning. And that thought never crossed my mind, not even once!”

The way that he squinted his eyes made me nervous. I felt like he was beginning to doubt me, and it wasn’t good.

“It can’t be, right?” Greyson held my chin to force me to look him in the eye. “Did you think that you’re going to become the heiress of my family’s business if they actually decide to get rid of me?”

I gulped at the same time that the cold breeze brushed on my skin. I knew that there’s no way for him to read what’s written on my mind, but I can’t help but think that way.

“How did you figure that out quickly, Greyson? Was I that much of an open book?” I gritted my teeth as I clenched my fists tightly, wondering where and since when I gave off clues.