5: They're Perfect For Each Other

I pushed myself up, aiming for the door, but Elara’s hand found my wrist, tugging me back. My jaw clenched.

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

Stupid?

STUPID?!

Rage and disgust seared through my bones. I snatched my wrist away.

“You’re the one who’s making out with your fiancé’s brother, and I’m the one doing something stupid?”

She rolled her eyes. “So what are you going to do? Tell Chris?”

“Of course I will. I will never allow my friend to marry a cheater like you.”

She chuckled, the sound void of humor but filled with mockery. “You think I don’t know about you? About your relationship with Chris?”

My blood ran cold.

“How do you think Chris would feel when I inform the public about his affairs with you?”

The thought made fear settle in my chest, but I ignored it. If I showed fear I would prove that it was true and I needed to hide it, for Chris's sake.

“There’s nothing going on between us. Don’t twist things,” I dismissed.

She shrugged, shooting a glance at Grayson with a sly smile which he didn't replicated before facing me again.

“If there’s nothing going on between you two, why do you care if I cheat? Why do you constantly steal glances his way at every chance you get?”

“Because I’m a good friend.” The word friend tasted bitter in my tongue.

“Then if you’re a good friend, you’d mind your business.” She drew closer; I stepped back.

“If you decide to release those photos, I’ll be fine. But Chris? He’ll be ruined. He’ll lose his inheritance, and he’ll hate you.”

Her voice dropped lower.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t want that, would you?”

My teeth dug into my lower lip, my fists trembling with rage. Chris would hate me. This would ruin everything.

But still…

Chris needed to know.

There had to be a way. A way for us to be together again.

She pushed past me, her shoulder brushing against mine and making me stagger. I reached out to grab her, but Grayson caught my wrist instead. I tried to pull free, but his hold remained iron.

“Let me go!” I yelled, trying to ignore how close we were and how much his scent was getting to me.

“I will after you calm down.”

“How do you expect me to be calm? And you!” I snapped. “You claim you want your brother to be happy, yet your common sense couldn’t tell you that making out with his fiancée would break his heart? How can you be so cruel?”

“Don’t act like you care,” he said, finally releasing me.

“I do care.” I shot, rolling my wrists.

He leaned closer. My breath caught, my pulse spiking. I took a step back, my body crashing against the wall.

“Don’t act like you didn’t want this,” he murmured. “Like you didn’t want to see me and her together… just so you’d have a reason to ruin it.”

“That’s not true.” I shook my head.

“Is it?” he asked quietly.

“I came here because I thought you were doing something wrong,” I continued, my voice faltering slightly. “Because Chris deserves better than…this.”

“Chris wants her. She wants him. They’re perfect for each other,” he said, pulling away. The scent of his cologne lingered, leaving a tingling sensation in its wake.

“The only one who sees a problem with their pairing is you.”

“I see a problem because there is a problem,” I shot back, his words hurting more than they should have.

“You claim you have nothing going on with Chris, yet it’s written all over your face. You love him… but he sadly he doesn’t love you.”

“Enough—” I snapped, my body shaking with rage. “You barely even know me. You have no right dictating my feelings. No freaking right.”

“If Chris loved you, he would’ve ended the engagement long ago, which man who loves a woman would want to hide her from the world?” The question hung in the air and I struggled to not let it cement itself in my chest. “ You’re just too blinded by obsession to see—”

That was it.

I cut him off with a slap.

My palm crashed against his cheek. He looked at me, his eyes glimmering with something unsettling—almost like delight. Like this was exactly what he wanted.

To rile me up.

To get under my skin.

And it was working.

He touched his jaw slowly, as if testing the sting, his eyes never leaving mine. That calmness irritated me more than anger ever could.

Before he could say anything else, I turned and stormed off.

When I got back downstairs, my eyes met Elara’s. She stood beside Chris, shooting me a look that felt like a threat—but I was too pissed to care.

“Oh, Gray! You’re here!” Mrs. Russo’s voice rang from behind me. “Oh my, what happened to your face?”

I caught his smirk from the corner of my eye as he met my gaze.

“Nothing much, Mother. Some ladies just like it rough.” His mother chuckled, smacking his chest lightly.

Embarrassment burned through me.

“You’re still in your playboy era. Aren’t you going to get married soon?”

“Soon, Ma. Soon,” he replied.

And for some reason, that made my cheeks heat— I quickly squashed the thought before it could grow legs and looked away, ordering another drink.

The air shifted. The music softening as the MC’s voice echoed through the speakers.

“It’s time for the slow dance. Please, everyone, grab your partners.”

“Gray, do you have a partner?” Mrs. Russo asked.

“No, Mother.”

“Oh, then I’ll find one for you.” Her eyes scanned the crowd, and I prayed—truly prayed—she wouldn’t spot me.

But Of course, she did.

“Oh, Zinnia, dear.”

Shit.

I sucked in a breath and placed my tumbler on the counter a little too hard. “Yes, Mrs. Russo,” I said, forcing one of my fakest smiles.

“Come here,” she gestured. “Why don’t you dance with Grayson? I’m sure it’ll be fun!”

I shook my head immediately.

“Don’t worry, ma’am. I don’t really like dancing.”

Her brows creased. “But I could swear Chris said you were a dancer. Or did he lie?”

I mentally rubbed my forehead. So much for that.

I shot Chris a glance, but he barely acknowledged me as he and Elara moved gracefully across the dance floor. My heart ached but I didn’t let it show.

Chris wouldn’t want me dancing with Grayson.

I could’ve danced with anyone else, but the universe chose this insufferable, annoying asshole.

Turning back to Grayson, my jaw ticked. “I am a dancer, ma’am.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Then you can dance with Grayson,” she said, taking our hands and intertwining them.

I resisted the urge to gag.

She smiled like someone watching a romance movie, while I felt like I was on the verge of either having a stroke or committing a crime.

Grayson tugged me closer, his hand settling on my waist. His calloused fingers grazed my skin, sending shivers down my spine.

Out of reflex, I placed my left hand on his shoulder. Our right hands intertwined.

The world around me faded.

The soft sound of music.

My thrumming heart.

That was all I could hear.

Each beat, each chord filled my veins as I moved and he matched me perfectly, his eyes never leaving mine.

I stepped forward. He stepped back.

His hand pressed against my back, the space between us nonexistent as his body brushed against mine.

The music swirled and we followed.

We were so in sync, I couldn’t stop the small smile that curved my lips.

As much as I hated to admit it…

He was a damn good dancer.

But he was Chris’s enemy.

And Chris’s enemy was my enemy.

Even if his touch sent tingles through me—

He was still my enemy.

I leaned back, but his hold remained firm, pulling me back into him. He released me into a small twirl and that’s when I snapped back to reality.

My eyes met Chris’s.

And I saw it. A crack in his composure, he tried to hide it but I could see it.

He was pissed.

Incredibly pissed.

I immediately pulled away from Grayson.

The music stopped, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Some murmured about how good of a couple we made but I didn’t care.

All I cared for was Chris.

I needed to explain myself.

And I needed to tell him about Elara.

Chris stormed off.

And I followed, trying not to make it obvious but failing miserably.

By the time I caught up with him, we were in the garden outside the manor. The sound and the people faded, the silence wrapped around us.

“ Chris I can explain—”

He turned sharply, his eyes blazing with rage.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”