A Little Bit Married

Bittersweet

I felt a chill run down my spine, my lips parting. What if it was? That possibility was as scary as anything, and all three comfort I had started to build with Grey started to relegate to the back of my mind, letting the feat and the stories I had beard of him initially take precedence again.

"You..."

"I didn't," he said simply, then leaned back again. "I wish I had thought about it, however. But that would mean I cared enough."

I bit down on my lips. It did comfort me that he would take the extra step of making sure I didn't see him as a murderer. My mind eased somewhat, and I met his eyes again.

"You cared for Samantha," I said slowly, my eyes darting across both of his.

"In the beginning, yes. When it was an innocent case of falling for your best friend. Yes, I did. And maybe Kevin spared you the pain of having to see everything you found pretty about him morph into the most disgusting piece of waste ever, but that is what it did to me. Everything I liked about her was everything she gave to Kevin. And more. You can't imagine what that does to a man."

We went silent for a while. This was the first time he was acknowledging the pain Samantha's betrayal had put him through. The first time, he ever acted like he had felt anything regarding it all.

"Do you want me to apologize?" He asked suddenly, his eyes holding mine.

"What?"

"For how I married you. Do you want an apology for that?"

I bit down on my lips. "No. I already forgave you."

He chuckled. "Fine. But don't do that with Amanda's mother. You will be crossing me, too."

I watched him amusement filling my eyes at his swift change from a dominating CEO to a nice husband to a vengeful, scorned man.

"I thought she was my culprit?"

He looked at me. "She raised a son who f****d my Fiancee on my sheets. He may not have owed me loyalty, but he owed me respect. We all owe each other respect."

I chuckled, then reached for a slice of cake. I took a fork and took a bite, my lips closing around the cutlery, my eyes holding his.

"Says the man who married me at gun point. How very respectful."

"So you haven't forgiven."

I shrugged. "I have."

"Well?"

I gave a small laugh. "I was just teasing you."

His face showed nothing for a while before he turned away. "I didn't have the time to go through the entire process again. A gun was rather effective."

"Careful, Grey. You are stepping on the dark lines."

He turned to me, then suddenly started to lean forward. My breath hitched as his body leaned towards me, his eyes holding mine. He didn't say anything as he slowly brought his thumb to wipe the edge of my lips.

"Oh," I managed to say, my eyes darting between his and his thumb on the corner of my lips.

"I have always liked being grey, Evangeline. Do not expect much more from me."

I sucked in my lips, and he pulled away with a small chuckle.

"Pick a side," I said quietly. "What would you rather be?"

"Gray," he said almost immediately. "Your husband."

All of my words died in my throat once he said the second part.

"Stop doing this to me."

He broke into a laugh, then leaned on his couch. "You should eat. You look very ripe right now."

I cupped my cheeks, my eyes closing for a brief moment. Maybe eating was the best thing to do right now. Then, I wouldn't be looking at him. Then, I wouldn't see his eyes.

I shook my head, then leaned forward and picked a small dumpling like pastry. I ate it slowly, the flavours bursting in my mouth.

My eyes widened, and I almost clapped. It tasted perfect, and I couldn't help the big smile. The good food was a nice distraction, and soon enough, I wasn't eating just because I didn't want to look at Gray.

The food was absolute perfection, and I laughed to myself.

"Just like that," Gray suddenly said, and I turned to him, my face stuffed.

He was looking at me, his eyes thin and filled with the colours in his eyes. The deep, intense, dark colours of his eyes.

"What?"

"You were eating just like that the first time I saw you."

I felt my breath hitch, and I swallowed and grabbed a napkin. "I.... I was?"

He nodded, and a small smile lifted the corner of his lips. "In that tiny cafe."

"Oh. Morning glory. It was my part-time job and..."

"And the first thing I thought of was why anyone would want to cheat on you."

My eyes widened a little, and suddenly, the food tasted a bit bland. After reading Kevin's diary, all I could think of was how I had probably not done enough. How I wasn't enough. How I could never be enough. How every man would probably do the same.

I swallowed, my chest tightening a little. Was it tears? Liberation? Sadness? Happiness? Was it the crushing realisation that I could have been enough, but not for Kevin? Just for the man I loved so dearly?

"You did?" I asked, a part of me hoping he had been joking. Maybe it would pain Kevin to be a bit better in my eyes if I realized it was my fault he cheated. Maybe. A part of me, a bigger part, however, wanted him to look at me with those eyes and say those words again.

Gray slowly leaned forward, his eyes blinking slowly as he covered the distance. I didn't move away, and soon enough, he was right in front of me, his eyes taking in every bit of skin on my face, every likely spot.

"Yes," he said in a soft whisper. "I couldn't imagine anyone cheating on you, Evangeline."

My lips parted, and a single tear rolled down my right cheek. Gray didn't say a thing about it, but simply took my chin gently between his index and his thumb, his eyes a contrast between dark intensity and light tenderness.

"This one isn't a mistake," he said, and before I could think about it fully, before I could fully meet his eyes, he covered the distance, leaning into me, his lips meeting mine in a bittersweet kiss.

It was like his sole mission today was to fully restore me as a woman, and I hate to admit that it was working.

For what seemed like both a fleeting second a long infinite moment, Gray's lips merged and danced the soulful rhythm of two broken hearts with mine. Maybe he carried his with a lot more dignity than I probably will ever be able to, but it didn't change the fact that he was just as broken. Just as betrayed.

Maybe it was that realisation that slowly prompted me to him, but my fingers gently cupped his face, my thumb running slowly across his face.

I felt his breath dip and shake, and I let my fingers run downwards to his neck. He pulled me closer, deepening the kiss.

He was right. Even if I desperately wanted to push this away, I could not deny that this was, in fact, not a mistake. Not the way he was kissing me. Not the way he was holding me. Not the way I was holding him, too.

I sighed as he finally broke the kiss, his forehead resting on mine, his fingers gently caressing my face. My lips stayed parted for the longest while, his moistness tingling on my lips, setting me ablaze.

Slowly, I looked up, and he was looking at me, his eyes penetrative mine, his fingers still running up and down my face.

"Gray..."

"That was not a mistake," he said, his voice firm.

He let me go and stood up, and I could see him collect his thoughts, his back to me. I sighed, biting down on my lips, my chest heaving hard.

"What are you trying to prove with this, Gray?"

For the longest time, he did not reply. I sat there, my mind foggy with the kiss, and filled with questions. Why was Gray acting this way? Why was he so...

"I am your husband, Evangeline. There is so much I can take with regards to mentions of your ex."

My eyes widened a little, and I bit down on my lips. "But..."

Gray sighed, his eyes closing as he turned to me. "But what? You are not letting them off my hooks for no particular reason, are you?"

It all went silent, and Gray let out a sigh, then slowly came to sit next to me again. I bit down on my lips, my chest heaving as I averted his gaze.

"I am just so tired of hearing his name. Of seeing the things he made you go through."

I lifted my eyes, and Gray was already watching me, his eyes thin as he let them dary slowly across.

"I am sorry," I managed to say, and Gray let out a sigh.

Before he could say a word, however, a knock came on the door. I heard him curse, and he stood up, then went to the door.

I heard the pleasantries, and I slowly stood up, then arranged my dress and fixed my hair. I couldn't see how my lips looked, but I think they were okay.

Gray soon closed the door, and my brows furrowed as no one came behind him.

"No came for me. And you haven't eaten yet."

I turned to the food that I knew I had no appetite for, then slowly shook my head.

"I... I will have these later."

Gray didn't say anything else, and I watched as he sat at his desk instead of with me. I bit down on my lips, mistakenly indulging in the taste of him that was left lingering on my lips.

It wasn't so bad. I closed my eyes, then sighed. Gray wasn't that bad.

For the next two hours, I watched Gray work in silence, his concentration fixed solely on the papers in front of him.

Not once did he even look up, and I started to feel chronically invisible. My back hurt from the uncomfortable way I was sitting and turning to face him, and the fatigue slowly washed through me.

Without thinking twice, I gently knocked off my shoes, then adjusted my dress. I turned to Hray to see if he would notice. Even if he kotixed, he didn't seem to have much of a protest about it.

I fixed my gown, then slowly out my legs on the couch and lay down, a tired sigh leaving my lips as soon as my bead hit the couch.

I closed my eyes and smiled to myself, adjusting my position to feel more comfortable. Once I achieved that, I smiled, then lay still, waiting for sleep to find me.

It did in a matter of time, and soon enough, I started to doze off, my body weakening with the need to sleep. I soon gave up and let myself drift off to sleep, my body relaxing, my guard let down.

I wasn't sure how long I was asleep for, but I woke up to the sound of someone reading something off real quick.

My brows furrowed, and I started to stir, just as Gray's unmistakably dark voice pierced through the half silence.

"Keep it down. My wife is asleep."

There was a pause before the female voice came. "I didn't know you got married, Gray."

By now, I was at least eighty per cent awake, so I sat there, waiting to hear the conversation. There was something about the last sentence and the disappointed undertone that made me want to know more.

Gray, however, extended his answer for a while before he finally gave them an answer.

"Well, now you do."

He sounded nonchalant as usual, and I wondered if it was another woman like Samantha. A woman whom I would have to stake my claim against her for my own husband.

The thought of that almost made me giggle.

"Gray, I..."

"Keep it down. My wife is asleep."

She sighed. "I am sorry..."

Gray didn't reply again, and silence fell on both of them. I started to move, pushing myself to sit, just as the woman's voice came, stopping me in my tracks.

"I am going to leave my husband."

My brows furrowed. Her husband?

Gray didn't reply.

"Gray?"

"I heard you the first time," he said simply. "And it is your life. Do what you want."

She sighed again, and I heard the sound of shoes. It sounded like Gray's, and it sounded closer and closer to the couch where I was lying down.

"You should leave her too."

"Leave who?"

"Your wife, Gray. For our son. You should leave her too.."