Chapter 88 88

Chapter 88 88
ADELINE
Grayson filled me in on the ride back. How he’d met Scarlett, how they divorced, the reason they divorced, the real reason this time not something I could easily get off the blogs and most importantly how he planned to get rid of her.
If I was being honest, it did sound like a lot was going on and things could get messy if she ever were to find out she was being played, very messy and it did sting a little to be involved in doing that to another woman, but it was Scarlett, the bitch wouldn’t think twice about doing the same, he’ll, she might even bring a few more ideas to the table to finish me off if the roles were reversed. Still, I wasn’t agreeing to be a part of it because it’s what she would do in my position. I was only because she’d crossed the line.
She was here to snatch Johnny if she could, knowing very well she could care less about the boy, her own son! If that didn’t say enough about the woman as a person, I had no idea what else would. The worse part was taking Johnny wasn’t even her main purpose, her sole reason for coming back wasn’t even because of Grayson or her “love” for him either, it was her love for what he had.
“I could easily part with the money, but last time she asked for a quarter of my worth.” Grayson continued, yanking me away from my thoughts and drawing me back to the present. “I gave her because she promised to never come back, but I guess she needed a backup stream of income, incase her lavish lifestyle caught up.” He plastered a smile on his face, his lips thinned as he gripped the steering wheel even harder. Did he hurt him that she wasn’t back for him? I’ve heard of stories of how people remained attached despite hating a person, codependency was it? Only in his case it would be one sided. What if that was it? What if all of this was just an excuse to remain by her side one way or the other? Live out some weird way of holding on to what they had?
With a shaky voice, I stilled myself and blurted before I could change my mind, “Do you still love her?” I bit my bottom lip, hard, my heart thumped harder in my chest as I waited for the answer that would make or break my hard girl persona in an instant.
“What?” He snuck a glance at me for a second, his brows furrowed as he searched face, looking genuinely confused, before returning his focus to the road ahead.
“Do you still love Scarlett?”My back was straighter than a rod against the plush leather passenger seat, try as I might it was as if my shoulders wouldn’t cooperate and would always rise up when I tried to relax.
“Babygirl, whatever Scarlett and I shared died the moment she walked out on our marriage for some director who was supposed to be the fuel for her career.” He scoffed, like even the thought of it was absurd. My shoulders relaxed some, but he still didn’t say the words I needed him to. “So no, I do not love Scarlett anymore. I may have stayed hoping for a few months after the divorce and after settling her, but I definitely don’t feel that way about her now.” He held my gaze, his softening as they took in the worry on my face. He reached for my hand, his eyes back on the road, I let him envelope mine with his, his warmth seeped into me as his velvety smooth voice spoke, “I love you, Adeline.” He confessed, once again sneaking a peek of my face with a bright smile on his. Barely a second later, his smile dropped and I was about to fling myself out the car window, because why was the happy about that? “And I’m sorry again for not putting you first, for not telling you of my plans immediately, it would never happen again.” He added with a deep sigh, like it weighed heavy on him that that still lurked over us.
It was like tossing a bucket of cold water on me after a long day stuck in desert standard sun. My shoulders sagged, my spine cooperated and it was like everything clicked into place, finally. “I love you too, Grayson.” I bit my bottom lip, my head dipped, because despite everything that had happened, I meant every word, more than he probably knew and I’ve felt the same these past few years but said nothing.
“Baby unless you plan to be bred properly, I’d suggest you stop teasing me.” His eyes dropped to my lip, narrowing ever so slightly, yet taking my breathe away still.
I puckered like a duck almost instantly, my cheeks burned. “Don’t even think about it!” I shrieked before turning sharply away from his heated gaze. The wind whipped against my cheeks as we zipped down the highway at a little over the speed limit. It was a blur of the green of trees, the grey of the pavement and the rainbow colours of people’s outfit. It was calming to just sit and not worry about anything anymore. I sucked in a deep breath as relief washed over me.
“So, the plan is simple. I already have Damian trying to get into her finances so we can have enough evidence against her. Getting a judge to rule against her isn’t an issue, but Scarlett also knows that and that’s why she won’t depend on the law.” He gritted his teeth as he spoke, like just thinking about it annoyed the very fiber of his being. “She’d go for my reputation instead. Last time, she didn’t have to do anything, I willingly gave her the money. This time, I have a feeling she would use the worst possible scandal you can associate a man with these days.” He explained without his usual wall up, unguarded and totally trusting that I was on his side. It was both soothing and shocking.
“What is that?” I asked trying to not focus on how perfectly his lips curved as he spoke, how totally hot he was with his roll up sleeves, his forearms looking so lickable as he twisted and turned the wheel with one hand, his other hand, a bunched up mess with mine.
“Sexual assault.” My eyes widened in shock. Would she really do that?
“She wouldn’t!” I gasped in disbelief. I knew she didn’t love the man for more than his money, but to ruin him like that would be diabolical. Everyone was so hashtag ‘say no to domestic violence’ or ‘say no to rape’ that they wouldn’t even stop to question if it were true or not. The internet would eat it up like birds would crumbs of fresh bread, the damage would already be done before anyone stoped to question the truth of it.
“She would infact.” He shrugged like it was normal, “Worse if she had to.”
“Has she done this before?”
“If she had, it would be on the blogs.” But you control that, I wanted to argue, but kept my mouth shut instead. “Even if I did have it cancelled, it wouldn’t have been quick enough for no one to see it and you know once one person has, you can never really take it down, especially if you’re a celebrity.” Yes, how could I forget. He was famous, the type that people would sell their souls for if it meant getting a taste of what they had.
“So what would having her financial records do?”
“I can’t stop her from going ahead with whatever she has planned, but evidence makes the world go round. I’m gathering proof that my money was the real target and the only reason she came up with the story was to get me to release it to her. Her financial records, her incriminating herself if she gets comfortable enough with me,” he paused and squeeze my hand reassuringly. “But most of all, I want to catch he conversations, know if she’s alone in this and what she plans to use for her plan B.” He explained, but I was too focused on his hand, the squeeze, it was so perfectly timed. How did he know I was beginning to worry he might fall back into her bed?
“And the more unsuspecting she is, the easier it would be to get access.” I finished for him, smiling.
“Smart girl.” He winked at me and like a lovesick school girl, I blushed so hard, my cheeks hurt. Of course I was smart, but when he said it, it was just so…Oh, I don’t know.
The car rolled to a stop in his state of the art garage filled with an array of other cars just as rare as the one we were in, custom made too.
I began to pull my hand from his, but he pulled it back in an instant, his gaze locked on mine as he leaned over and locked my lips with his. Like a flower, I folded against his soft lips, his demanding kiss and his alluring scent. All too quick, he pulled away with the brightest smile on his face.
“Been wanting to do that since forever.” He admitted cheekily.
I couldn’t help the smile that crawled on my face. We stayed that way for a moment, checking each other out like we were seeing each other for the first time.
“Wouldn’t this be counter productive?” I eyed our intertwined fingers.
“Hot and cold.” He kissed my hand in his.
“Wh-What?” My stuttered, way too focused on his lips touching my skin.
“Scarlett loves the chase. Plus, she’d suspect if I just gave her all my attention straight away. Some resistance wouldn’t hurt, especially one as hot as you.” He winked again and I damn near almost jumped him right there in the car.
A hard k
nock against my window zapped us out of our little bubble.