Chapter 104
Chapter 104
Aria’s POV
I shot up from my seat, glaring at her. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“Well, I think it does. You and that mystery man sneaking into the med room started a chain reaction. Even Otto getting shot has something to do with that. Don’t you think you owe everyone an explanation?”
My fists curled tight.
That cunning bitch!
She was making it sound like I’d been cheating on Grayson–when it was nothing like that.
Up until now, I had her right where I wanted her. I was this close to making Grayson see what a scheming, poisonous little snake she really
was.
And then she pulled out this–twisting the whole thing, shifting all the attention onto me.
I didn’t even know Malik and I had been caught on camera. She must’ve been planning this for a while.
“Aria?” Grayson’s deep voice cut in. He was looking at me, waiting for my response.
My throat went dry. I fought with myself for a long moment before finally choking out, “It–It’s not what you think.”
I couldn’t tell him who Malik was.
Malik had been clear about this. If Otto found out he was here, he’d be expelled from med school and thrown out of the pack. After everything he’d done for me, I couldn’t betray him.
“Seriously? You can’t even tell Grayson? This man must mean a lot to you,” Isla said with a mocking little smile.
Rage burned up my spine, and I snapped, “This is exactly what you want, isn’t it? You want to put the spotlight on me so everyone forgets how you tortured me here-”
“That wasn’t torture. And I’ve already explained it.” She raised an eyebrow. “But you, Aria–you still haven’t explained yourself.”
“I told you! It’s none of your damn-”
“Enough.” Grayson’s voice sliced through mine.
I froze, looking back at him.
His brows were drawn, his handsome face unreadable. Was he mad? Did he believe her? I couldn’t tell. Not from his face, not even from his
scent.
“I want a word alone with Aria,” he said.
Isla had clearly been waiting for that. She stood up instantly, all smiles. “Then we’ll give you some privacy.”
She helped Otto out of the room, closing the door behind them.
Now it was just me and Grayson. His gaze locked on me. Cold, deep, heavy. When he looked at me like that, I felt crushed under the weight of it, like he wasn’t my caring lover anymore, but the untouchable Alpha I’d first met.
1/3
Chapter 104
“Now,” he said coolly, “you can tell me.”
I took a deep breath, my mind spinning. “I… just trust me, Grayson. There’s nothing weird going on between me and that guy, Isla’s stirring things up.”
He stood up, looming over me. “Then at least you can tell me his name. How you know him. Why he’s here.”
“He…” I hesitated, frustration clawing at my chest. “I’m sorry. I promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
His hand shot out and gripped my chin. He voice was tight. “Your promise to him matters more than us?”
His grip hurt. And it made me angry, too. “Hey! I haven’t said a word about you talking to your ex–wife every day. So why the hell are you grilling me?”
“Because you have history,” he said coldly.
I stared at him in shock.
History?
What the hell was he talking about?!
“You’ve lost your mind. I’ve never messed around with another man–at least I don’t have a damn ex–wife!”
“You said you and Zane Elrod were ‘just friends.‘ But if I hadn’t caught up to you that night, you’d be halfway to Europe with him by now. I’d never have found you.” His gray eyes were full of that same obsessive anger I’d seen before. “So yeah, excuse me for wanting to know who this new guy is.”
1just stared at him.
I thought we’d moved past Zane. We’d both broken, both forgiven. Survived life and death together. I thought that was over.
But guess not.
Deep down, he’d never really let it go.
“Oh god…” I whispered, stepping back. “I can’t stay with you if you’re going to be this paranoid and insane. If you don’t trust me at all, then how the hell is this supposed to work?”
He yanked me back by the shoulders. “Then I’ll make it work. Tell me who he is before I make you.”
“No. And I already told you–he has nothing to do with us!” I snapped. “Don’t you get it? We’re already in Isla’s trap. We’re fighting, and that’s exactly what she wants.”
“To me, Isla’s a hell of a lot safer than the man you’re breaking your back to protect,” he shot back.
My head pounded with fury.
How could he not see it? How could he not trust me? God, it was so damn frustrating!
“And if I refuse to tell you?” I said icily.
His eyes narrowed.
His hands slid from my shoulders to my neck. Firm, unyielding. One squeeze and he could take my life. Yet at the same time, way he touched me sent a dangerous shiver through me, stirring up memories of every wild night we’d spent tangled together. It’s so damn strange
2/3
Chapter 104
“If you were anyone else, I could think of a thousand ways to make you talk,” he said, voice cold, fingers stroking my throat. But l’ll never use them on you. Because you’re my girlfriend.”
I trembled, breath stuck in my chest, until he added:
“But there’s one thing I can do–keep you under my watch, with zero chance to run
Before I could answer, he walked to the door and pulled it open.
“Isla, Otto. Come back in.”
I stared at them as they came back to the room.
“I want Aria’s treatment finished in two weeks,” Grayson said. “Can you do that?”
“What?!” I gasped.
Isla looked surprised too. But she recovered fast. She smiled and glanced at Otto. “I think that can be arranged. What do you say, Otto?”
Otto stroked his chin, nodding. “If you insist, we can start her second session today.”
They were really deciding this without even asking me?!
“I object!” I said quickly. “Actually, I’m done with this place. I’m not taking any more-
“No. You don’t get to refuse,” Grayson cut in, his voice dark and fatal. “You’ll take the treatment. You will get better, and you will come back to me. I’m done giving you any room for secrets.”
