Chapter 44
Chapter 44
GRAYSON~
v 75 voucher
Blair had disappeared upstairs without a word. I needed some air to breathe, away from home, so I called Nico and told him to meet me at the usual place-a quiet bar near the house for athletes.
He was already there when I walked in
Nico took one look at me over the rim of his glass and let out a short breath. “You look like shit.”
“I feel like shit.”
I dropped into the seat across from him and dragged a hand down my face. For a minute neither of us said anything.
“I have a problem,” I said finally.
Nico raised an eyebrow. “Elaborate.”
I stared at the table. “I think I might be developing feelings for my wife.”
There was a beat of silence.
Then my brother started laughing.
Not a polite chuckle…the loud kind that made the people at the next table glance over, I scowled at him hard enough that it should have shut him up. It didn’t.
“Out of all the problems I expected,” Nico said once he could breathe again, wiping under one eye, “this was not it.”
“It’s not funny.”
“It’s a little funny.” He leaned back, still grinning. “You got forced into a marriage with a woman you swore you’d make hate you, spent weeks acting like she was an inconvenience, and now you’re sitting here looking like someone ran you over because you caught feelings. Come on. You’re worried because you’re starting to have feelings for your wife. Your wife. Are you hearing how funny this actually is?”
“I’m serious, Nico.”
His smile faded a bit, though the amusement didn’t fully leave his eyes. “Alright. Serious mode. Talk.”
I exhaled slowly. “I never intended for this to happen. The whole point was distance. Blair was supposed to be temporary. Instead she’s in my head constantly. She cooked for me and you should taste her fucking cooking, she is good, better than good. She argues with me and I actually like it. She plays with my head and fuck, I do not have a problem with it. She gets hurt and I put myself between her and the problem without thinking. And today I-” I cut myself off, jaw tightening. “I crossed a line I can’t uncross. Lily walked in on it. Everything’s a mess.”
Nico whistled low. “So strong feelings, huh. Shit.”
“Yeah.”
He circled the ice in his cup. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.” That was the part that made everything worse. “I don’t know how to want her and still honor what I promised Lily. I don’t know how to look at Blair after telling another woman I only had eyes for her. I don’t know how to stop this without being cruel to someone, and I don’t know how to continue it without blowing up every structure I’ve been trying to protect.”
“Have you told Blair any of this?”
“No.”
Successfully unlocked!
“Have you told Lily the truth instead of the version that wouldn’t hurt?”
Chapter 44
“I told her it was a mistake. That it wouldn’t happen again.”
Nico gave me a look. “And do you believe that?”
I didn’t answer. We both knew I didn’t.
75 voucher
“Look,” he said after a moment, more careful now. “I’m not going to sit here and pretend I have the clean solution. You’re in a marriage tied to family money, the Monroes have helped this family a lot. We owe them plenty. You’ve got an ex who’s been waiting for you, and you’ve got a wife you’re actually starting to care about. That’s not a puzzle with one right prece. But you need to stop lying to yourself about it. If you have feelings for Blair, acting like you don’t is only going to make the damage worse when it finally breaks.”
“I never wanted feelings for her.”
“I know.” He shrugged. “Want rarely gets a vote.”
We sat with that for a while. My phone stayed in my pocket. I didn’t check it. I wasn’t ready for whatever was waiting on the other end-from Lily, from the press.
Nico eventually tipped his glass toward me. “For what it’s worth, from the little I’ve seen, she’s not exactly fragile. If you’re going to feel something for someone in this disaster, at least it’s someone who can match you.”
Match me? I felt like suddenly smiling. She did match me…in more ways than I wanted to admit.
I huffed, not quite a laugh. “She matches me too well. That’s half the problem.”
“Sounds like exactly what you need.”
I didn’t respond.
He studied me for another second. “Alright. Enough emotional stress for one drink. Work. You looking to help the team win it again this year?”
The championship. The Cup. The only thing in my life that still made sense.
“That’s the plan,” I said. “We’re ready for it. My team. If we stay healthy and keep the same discipline through the back half of the season, we’ve got a real shot.”
Nico nodded, shifting fully. “Good. Because I’ve got money on you in the family chat, and I refuse to lose to
mom.”
Mom? Mom was betting against me?
“You bet against me last year.” I reminded him.
“I was young and stupid.”
“You’re still young and stupid.”
“And yet I’m not the one scared of catching feelings for my wife.” He raised his glass in a mock toast. Perspective.”
I shook my head, but some of the pressure in my chest had eased.
Not because the problem was solved-it wasn’t. Lily was still devastated. Blair had heard me lie. She thought I was only messing around with her. When truly, I felt like I was fucking losing it with how badly I desired her.
But sitting across from my brother with the truth between us made it feel slightly less like I was drowning in
it alone.
I still didn’t know what the hell I was going to do.
I only knew that pretending I didn’t feel anything for Blair Monroe had stopped being a strategy and started being another lie I couldn’t afford.
Chapter 4
田
Dex Morgan
Dex works to elevate each story with clean writing, emotional balance, and thoughtful flow for readers.