A Little Bit Married

Danger and the Colour Red

I blinked rapidly, my chest slightly heaving. "Why are you letting me decide?"

He laughed. "Because you are my wife."

I opened my mouth to say something, but he turned to the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a server walked in, pushing a tray of food. I watched as he carefully laid out the spread and, without question, took away the dirty plates that Gray had finished using.

The office was silent as the server walked away, taking jow now empty trolley with him. I turned to Gray, and he was already looking at me, his eyes thin.

I swallowed, then averted my eyes, my heart beating rapidly. I remembered everything that Kevin's mother had done to me. From trying to frame me for stealing money at the one Thanksgiving dinner we had with her to slapping me in a shopping mall after I told her that I wasn't going to leave Kevin for anything.

It hurt. More than anything. And to be honest, I was human. I felt a little relief that somehow, the tides have turned, and she was at my mercy now. The way I had desperately wanted her to approve of me was the same way she desperately wanted my husband to approve the loan now.

"I can see it in your eyes, sweetheart. You want that closure. You want to take the opportunity fate has given you."

I turned to Gray, my lips parting slightly. "I... I just..."

He stood up, then walked around to me. His walk was medium paced, elegant. He had his hands in his pocket, his hair lightly falling in front of his eyes.

Slowly, he sat on the couch right next to me, his body leaning closely towards me, his eyes boring holes into me.

"Gray..."

"Tell me what you want. Do you want me to take the company from her? Do you want her to go on her knees begging? Do you want revenge? Tell me."

I met his eyes. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"I answered that earlier. You are my wife. I do not intend to treat you any less."

"You are not treating me like a wife you just met." He leaned away, hisbhead tilting slightly upwards. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, then averted my gaze. "How long have you known me, Gray? How long have you known about Kevin and Samantha? How long have you known about me?"

He let out a small sigh. "Long enough."

"That is not answer, Gray."

"What do you want to hear, then?"

"The soecifics. How you seem to have all of us the palm of your hand. How you seem to be one step ahead. Why it feels like..." I trailed off, then met his eyes. "Why it feels like this marriage was more premeditated that it seemed at first."

His eyes thinned a little before he cracked a small smile and looked away. He took in a deep breath, then turned to me.

"What if it was?"

"Gray..."

"What if..." He said, then met my eyes. "This wasn't some spontaneous psycho driven incident? I mean, what if I knew Samantha would run? Makes sense that I was there on time, huh? And Kevin... and you. What if none of this was a coincidence?"

I watched Gray, my chest heaving solely, my mind trying its best to wrap around everything. He suddenly leaned back, then gave a small chuckle.

The office went quiet again, and I met his eyes. "The accident?"

He met my eyes. "What?"

"Was the accident premeditated, too? This bankruptcy. Everything. Was it all premeditated just like this marriage?"

There was silence. I felt my heart pound. I heard blood rush to my ears, blocking out every other sound. Gray's eyes filled my vision, and I could barely see anything else.

He slowly leaned to me, his eyes holding mine spellbound and in place. He reached for a strand of my hair and slowly twirled it in his hand.

"Answer me, Gray."

He didn't quickly respond, his eyes holding mine still. When he finally spoke, his voice was a dangerously low whisper, his eyes filling with danger and the colour red.

"What if it was?"