Chapter 68
-GRAYSON-
I couldn’t keep doing this to her.
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The thought had been on my mind since I left Blair asleep in our bed with my marks on her skin and the knowledge of what we had done sitting in my body.
I had feelings for my wife. Real ones. The kind that made the old plan look like a lie.
Lily didn’t deserve this betrayal.
She had stuck by me for years, never leaving my side. Keeping her in the dark while I fell for someone else was cruel.
She needed to know the truth. I couldn’t keep hiding it. Especially not after what happened last night.
I pulled up outside the house I had bought her three years ago, when the future still looked like a straight line with her name on every part of it.
Before I could shut off the engine, the front door opened and Lily came out onto the steps.
She looked excited. Fuck. The guilt took over.
She ran to the car and hugged me as soon as I stepped out, arms tight around my neck, face pressed into my shoulder.
“You’re here,” she said into my shirt. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“We need to talk.”
The brightness dimmed a little, but she still smiled as she took my hand and led me inside.
“So?” she asked, turning to face me. “What brought you over? Do you have something planned? Is this a surprise? Is there a ring I don’t know about?”
Fuck. She had no clue why I was here. It had nothing to do with anything she just said.
“There’s no easy way to say this,” I started. “I think I need some space. To think a few things through.”
The look on her face was worse than if I’d slapped her.
Color drained from her cheeks before the anger took over.
Her mouth opened, closed, then opened again, like she couldn’t get any words out.
“I’m sorry,” I said immediately. “I didn’t plan for this to happen. I need you to understand that. I didn’t walk into that marriage looking for anything real…”
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14:47 Thu, Sep 17
The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
“What?” was all that came out of her mouth at first. “What did you just say to me?”
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“I’ve developed feelings for Blair, and I don’t have control over them. I can’t stop them no matter how hard I try.” I confessed.
Fuck. She was the last person I wanted to tell this to.
“Feelings?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t be serious.” She gasped. “Grayson, you can’t be serious!”
Unfortunately, I was. After last night, I couldn’t keep denying it.
“How could you do this to me?” Her voice cracked as it got louder. “How could you stand here after everything, after every promise, and tell me you need space because of her? What happened to all the years. of us being together? Does that no longer mean anything to you?”
“I’m trying to be honest with you before this gets worse.” I admit. “I didn’t want to keep you in the dark.”
“Worse?” A sharp, broken laugh left her. “You already made it worse. You told me she was temporary. You promised me that I had nothing to worry about. You told me you would make her hate you. You let me wait. You let me look like a fool while you fell for the woman you were supposed to get rid of!”
I didn’t stand by my old words. I knew what I had said to her before, but back then, I wasn’t ready for the kind of person Blair turned out to be. She walked into my life and completely turned it upside down. And I wasn’t complaining; I liked what she did. I would ask her to do it all over again if I had the chance.
Lily’s eyes narrowed. “Will you also be taking time away from Blair? Since you’re claiming you need time away from me to sort things out.”
I couldn’t answer.
The silence was answer enough.
“Fuck, Grayson.” Her voice got even louder. “So it’s easy for you to stay away from me, but not her? Is that it? I’m the one you can put on pause while you figure out your feelings for your wife?”
“Lily-”
“Don’t.” She stepped back, hands shaking. “Don’t say my name like that. I don’t deserve this. I have been patient. I have been understanding. I have sat through honeymoon photos and game nights and public little performances while you swore I was still the woman at the end of your story. And now you show up at the house you bought me to tell me you need space because you caught feelings for Blair Monroe?”
“I didn’t want to keep lying to you.”
“You should have wanted not to fall for her in the first place!” The shout echoed off the walls. “I knew this would happen. I knew it the second she started getting under your skin. You think she’s different. You think there’s something real there. She’s going to hurt you, Grayson. And when she does, don’t you dare come back
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14:47 Inu, Sep 17
The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
here expecting me to still be waiting for you.”
“You don’t know Blair-”
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“Of course I do.” Lily’s face twisted with disgust. “She’s had you confused since the wedding. And let’s not pretend she doesn’t still have something going on with Chase. You saw the pictures at the diner. Everyone saw them. You think a woman moves from the love of her life to another without unfinished business? You’ll find out soon enough what that is between them. And you’ll realize you threw away years with me for someone who was never fully out of her last relationship.”
The mention of Chase sent a bad feeling through my chest, but I kept my voice soft. “You’re hurt. You have every right to be. I am not going to stand here and argue you out of that. I will be here for as long as you wish as we try to figure this out.”
“You can leave, you don’t have to stay for my benefit.” Her arm shot toward the door. “Go back to her. Go back to your stupid marriage and your feelings and the woman who already has half the league talking badly about you. I hope she’s worth it. I hope when this blows up in your face you remember I told you exactly who she
was.”
I stood there for a second longer, looking at the girl I had loved since we were young, wondering how this had even happened. How did I allow myself to fall for Blair?
“I’m sorry,” I said again.
Lily laughed. “Get out.”
I didn’t.
I knew she would need me. I knew Lily would have a hard time once I left. I could not leave her to deal with this alone. This was not her fault. None of it was.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
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Dex Morgan
Dex works to elevate each story with clean writing, emotional balance, and thoughtful flow for readers.