28

Someone knew she was a fraud. Someone found out who she was. Of course people could do that. She had old social media accounts that people could stalk. She never thought of making any of those private or taking them down completely. The thing was, Grey wasn’t sure who this person was or if that was the secret they had over her head. It had to be that was the only secret she had hidden.

Grey failed to come up with a response for West at the hospital. She thought she was on the brink of collapse. She thought West wouldn’t want to talk to her the rest of the night or ever. Instead, he took her back to his place where he ignited a dangerous flame of passion.

A hungry flame of fear, fear of losing her, fear of secrets and to show her how much he wanted her, needed her. They went straight to the bedroom, where West threw her on the bed and pinned her wrists over her head. Grey’s whole body was ablaze. Despite how roughly he handled her, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Her rammed her in from the back for half the night. West couldn’t look into her eyes, but Grey was left with fingerprints on her breasts and West with bite marks on his back.

Sometime when the stars started to sway from the sky West wrapped Grey in his arms. When the sun came out Grey was facing West. She woke and found him watching her.

“Are you still mad at me?” She whispered.

West stared at her, his eyes becoming dark. He rolled over and straightened his spine.

“West.” Grey shot up.

“Are you going to tell me what you’re hiding then?”

“I don’t know what that text is talking about.”

“Oh, yeah? Do you have that many secrets?”

Grey let out an exasperated sigh.

“It’s better if you tell me now. I’d rather hear it from you than along with the rest of the school.” West said as he looked around for his boxers.

Grey ran her hands up and down her arms. Her and West got the same message while they were at the hospital. Grey had gotten an extra one from the person threatening to expose her claiming to know what she had done. The only thing that came to mind was knowing her secret. Then something else came to mind. Not as big as her lies, but this could be just as bad. Her cheeks went red.

“What if… it’s about Sky?” She said in a small voice.

West stopped getting dressed to stare at her. Her brought into a smirk.

“This isn’t funny West.” Grey tossed a pillow at him.

“Kind of is.”

“He was with Mia when that happened.” Grey hugged her head.

West appeared in front of her, pealing her hands away from her head.

“Are you sure that’s it?” He asked.

“I can’t think of anything else.”

West kissed her forehead. “Alright babe. Maybe whoever this is was just bluffing.”

“I don’t know… I think I should talk to Sky.”

“Don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Trust me, Sky won’t care. I’m not too happy to have you getting close to my cousin.”

Grey tilted her head and rolled her eyes, “You know I wouldn’t-”

“You already did Grey.”

“But it wasn’t like… I didn’t even—”

West smirked, “It doesn’t matter. My concern is it doesn’t happen again.”

***

West was handled, but only for the time being. What happened when the person behind the threats exposed her and it had nothing to do with Sky? She couldn’t even go back to her dorm house. Mia was there! Obviously they would all want to know what secret she was keeping. The only other person who knew Grey’s dirty laundry was Ela.

Grey went straight to school, but all the stairs drove her to the solitude of West’s office. Of course everyone was talking about her. Everyone was eager to know what she was hiding. West wasn’t in his office today, he didn’t even go to school. So when the door creaked open Grey thought it was West, but she was surprised to find Constable.

She hadn’t seen him for weeks. It wasn’t time to hand her another pay check was it? Surely, she could use the cash to flee the country back to her own if her true identity was exposed. She shook her head, things didn’t have to go that far.

“Miss Abbey, I remember promising you an appointment with your sponsor.” The tall salt and pepper haired man pushed his glasses up his nose.

Grey put the text book she’d been holding slowly back on the desk. Her heart beat a thousand miles per second. He was here.

Constable led her quietly to his office. Grey remembered coming here her first day of school. She arrived close to midnight and the principle had been up waiting for her.

“Go inside.” Constable urged.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Grey asked.

He shook his head, “This is a private meeting.”

Grey hesitated before she walked through the door. Why all the secrecy? What to expect when she walked through the door? What was his business? How was he actually paying for the school made of gold in the billionaire universe? Grey let out a shaky breath and walked inside. There was only one person there and he stood by the open window. He had a glass of liquor in his hands.

Grey waited for him to turn, but he seemed to be very intrigued with whatever was happening in the front of the school. However, finally he turned. He had a warm smile on his aging face. He was a man with brown skin and salt and pepper hair. He set his half empty glass down and motioned for Grey to take a seat, while he positioned himself where the principal usually sat.

“Greyson Abbey…” he started. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

There was something familiar about this man even though Grey knew she had never seen him before in her life. She was at ease because she knew there was nothing menacing about him.

“It’s an honor to meet the man paying for my education. I really just wanted to say thank you. Your letter didn’t come with a return address.”

The man chuckled, “I am a rather private person.”

Grey had caught onto that quickly.

“Did you… really know my dad?”

The man in front of her smiled with his whole face. “Yes, long ago. I knew him very well.”

Grey looked at her small hands in her laps. “I don’t know anything about him.”

“Doesn’t… your mother ever speak about him?” Grey sensed the surprise in his tone.

Grey shrugged, “No, never answered any of my questions either. I mean, I know it isn’t his fault he’s dead.”

The man nodded slowly, “I knew your mother too. Long ago.”

“Really?” Her mom never mentioned knowing a billionaire.

“Yes, long time ago, before you were even born.”

Grey narrowed her eyes at him. “How did you meet my parents.”

He was silent for a couple seconds when he opened his mouth to speak his phone rang, cutting him off. He pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket and smiled at Grey.

“It was a pleasure to meet you Greyson. I hope I’ll see you again.”

“Yeah, you bet.” Grey got up slowly.

Her phone pinged with a text and she hoped it wasn’t her secret being exposed. Instead it was a message from Ela, demanding she come home immediately.