Chapter 154 My Love for You Remains the Same
Quinn's POV
"Please answer me, do you trust Hanz more than me?" Grayson's voice was now so low it was almost inaudible.
Still on my guard, I urged Dylan to leave. "Go back to your room and lock the door. Now."
"I won't leave you," Dylan protested.
I growled. "I can take care of myself here. Please don't argue with me this time, Dylan. Just do it, okay?"
"Just be careful," Dylan said before leaving.
Right after his door closed, I finally approached Grayson again. "Did you just meet Hanz?"
"Answer me first," he insisted. He grabbed both my hands and looked deeply into my eyes.
It felt very difficult to give an answer at that moment. I wasn't as confident as usual.
"Quinn, who do you choose, me or Hanz?"
I took a deep breath and turned my face away. "Of course you. I'm not gonna run away to him either. But I need to know what you mean by saying you're not a good man."
Grayson lowered his head. "I didn't follow your words. I met Hanz and beat him up. It's because he was so rude. He belittled you and gave you a bad name. As your boyfriend, I just wanted you to avoid all those bad rumours."
"Where did you meet him?"
"At the nightclub."
Oh, no wonder he came home like this.
"But I didn't do anything except beat him up and finish the bottle of alcohol that was still on his table."
I sighed and led him to the sofa. "Look at your hands, they're injured. How many times did you hit him to make your hands look like this?"
Grayson didn't answer me right away. But he fell asleep on my lap and closed his eyes first. "My head is spinning. I don't know how many times I hit him. But his face was bruised and bleeding."
I patted his head. "That's because you finished a bottle of alcohol even though you're not a boozer! Now feel that!"
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for breaking my promise not to get drunk."
"I'm quite disappointed in you."
"I know. I'm a jerk. But I promise I won't do it again. I won't get drunk anymore."
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Grayson."
Grayson suddenly opened his eyes. "You don't love me anymore because I got drunk and beat up Hanz?"
"Why would you think that?"
"Because you called me Grayson, not Gray Bear anymore."
I shook my head. Oh look, he's acting like a big baby.
"Nothing has changed."
At least not yet, I continued in my heart.
Grayson pulled my neck down until I bent over. "So, you believe me more than anything Hanz said, right?"
Honestly, this was a difficult question. I didn't know what Grayson meant, whether it was about the news Hanz had made up or... he already knew about the secret Hanz had told him about my mother. I didn't know which of the two was true.
"Hanz, he's very confident because he feels he has something to threaten me with."
I furrowed my brow. "He threatened you?"
"Yeah, he said he wouldn't tell you the secret he knows if I agreed to lose the next few games."
"What? What secret?"
"A secret that would make you hate me and my family."
I pushed Grayson, but he returned to his position.
"Has he told you yet?"
I remained silent and stared straight ahead.
"Quinny, please answer me," he pleaded.
I shook my head. "Can you tell me what you mean first? What did you talk about with Hanz?"
Grayson's eyes were teary. His lips trembled. "I don't know where to put my face. I'm really ashamed of you."
My body tensed instantly. "You already know about..." I couldn't continue my words.
Grayson nodded quickly. "About your mother and your family. I'm really sorry that happened to your family, Quinny. I had no idea about this. If I had known earlier, I might, I might not have dared to show myself to you."
I widened my eyes. So Grayson didn't know? So this was just his parents' doing?
Oh my gosh, he was always the last to know about his family's secrets. How pitiful he and I were, always the last to know.
"On behalf of my parents, I apologise deeply. They really kept all this a secret." Grayson pressed my shoulders down and landed his lips on mine.
My tears fell onto Grayson's cheeks. "You're not the one who should apologise. You didn't know anything. It's not your fault."
"But I was afraid of losing your trust. I was afraid that because of this, you would leave me."
I cupped Grayson's cheeks. "I can understand how difficult it is to change a rule. Especially one that has been around for so long and has been passed down from generation to generation."
"But they were still wrong for separating your parents when they loved each other. And they almost did the same to us. Argh, I really hate that rule!"
I stroked Grayson's cheek to calm him down. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if he found out about his father's secret too.
"The important thing now is that I know you weren't involved." I smiled faintly. "And yeah, I trust you more than Hanz."
Grayson immediately kissed my lips repeatedly. "Thank you, my love. Thank you for always accepting this jerk."
"Hey, don't say that. Don't put yourself down. You're not that bad."
"I am a jerk, Quinny."
"No, someone who doesn't know any better can't be called a jerk."
Grayson roughly wiped his tears. "But I can't just throw this shame away. It's ingrained in my soul and body. And… once again, I apologise to everyone in my pack."
I didn't want to comment on that. Because in my opinion, if they really felt guilty, then they should apologise themselves, not be represented by Grayson like this.
Grayson finally got up from my lap and sat beside me. He turned me to face him, placing my legs over his. "That's what Hanz wanna say to you. And I didn't want you to hear it from Hanz. I wanted you to hear it from me. Even though it hurts, at least there's nothing else he can say to drive a wedge between us."
“Yeah, yeah, I believe you, Gray Bear.”
Grayson hugged me tightly. “Thank you for thinking with a cool head. I love you to the moon and back.”
I chuckled. “I also love you as wide as the ocean. I’m also proud of your firm stance in not following Hanz’s request and being a gentleman by explaining everything to me.”
“As soon as Hanz told me, I contacted my trusted people to find out the truth. I lied to him that I agreed, but behind his back, I was secretly investigating him.”
“Oh, you’re so cunning, it turns out.”
Grayson grimaced. "You can only fight a cunning person with cunning."
I slapped Grayson's hand playfully. It made him wince.
"Ouch, that really hurt."
"Come on, you're so big, how can such a small wound hurt?"
Grayson rubbed his head against my neck. "Because I have a girlfriend, I've become weak."
I pinched his ear. "You should be strong!"
"There's no threat here. So I can be my weakest self in front of you."
I turned my face away. Honestly, I couldn't bear to see him make such a cute face. "All right, all right. I'll treat you."
I immediately shut my mouth tight when I saw Dylan on the stairs. Oh no, had he been listening to us this whole time?
"Chill, guys. I just wanna grab some water and be right back," he said hurriedly.
From his response, it seemed like Dylan hadn't heard. Thank goodness.
"Wait," I said. "Can you also get the first aid kit from the top cupboard in the kitchen? Bring it here too, please. I really need it."
Dylan glared at me. I held back my laughter.
"Yes, my lady."