Tempted By My Ex’s Brother-In-Law - Chapter 67: Chapter 67

Aria’s POV
She just said Grayson was her boyfriend?
I blinked at her. Then I started laughing.
“What the hell are you laughing at!” she snapped, clearly pissed.
“If you said you were his hookup, I might’ve believed you. But no way you were his girlfriend.” I shrugged.
“You’re just jealous,” she scoffed.
“No. Just stating the facts. Alpha Grayson doesn’t do dating.”
She stepped toward me, all aggressive. “That’s because you don’t know how good he was to me. He brought me gifts whenever he was back from a business trip. He always showed up when I needed help. He told me I could rely on him anytime.”
“Yeah, he does that for pretty much every woman he sleeps with,” I said flatly. Including me.
“No, you don’t get it!” she snapped. “He had dinner with my parents. He sent flowers to my mom every year on her birthday!”
My eyebrows lifted.
Okay… now that was…unexpected.
Grayson hated anything that even remotely smelled like commitment. He’d do anything to avoid meeting a date’s family. And yet he made an exception for her?
She caught the flicker of surprise in my eyes and gave a smug little smile. “See? I told you. It’s serious between us. So do yourself a favor and back off.”
“I would’ve left already, if it wasn’t for him refusing to let me go.” I told her.
“What?” Her jaw dropped.
“You heard me. I tried to leave him. I even ran off with another guy. But he tracked me down and dragged me back by force. Said he’d give me anything, as long as I stayed with him.”
She let out an angry scream. “That’s a fucking lie! You’re just making stuff up! He wouldn’t do something like that!”
“Then ask him yourself.”
I turned to walk away, but she grabbed my arm.
“Wait. Aren’t you even a little bit of curious about us?” she demanded.
“Not really.” I shrugged. “Because I know you are not his special one.”
If I were going to be jealous of anyone, it’d be Isla, or maybe his childhood crush. But these girls? They were probably just as disposable as I was.
I left her there, fuming and speechless, and pushed open the bathroom door.
Grayson was already back when I returned to the lounge. I took my seat beside him like nothing happened.
But he turned to me, his brows tight together.
“What happened?” he asked.
Shit. I hated how freakishly intuitive he was.
“What are you talking about? Nothing happened.” I tried to brush it off.
His face darkened.
He could always tell when I was hiding something. And he hated when I hid things.
Just when I felt he was about to push further, a noise broke out at the door.
“Ma’am, you can’t go in—this is a private event—”
“I’m his girlfriend. Move!”
Barbara shoved past the staff and strutted into the lounge. She spotted us, and gave a flip of her hair as she walked over.
“Hey, I missed you,” she said to Grayson, fluttering her lashes in full flirt mode.
He said nothing. Just stared at her, his face cold as stone.
“Why haven’t you returned my texts? Or my calls?” she pouted. “I invited you to my show in Europe. We could’ve had so much fun.”
“I thought the message was clear,” he said icily.
Her expression cracked. Damn. That was cold.
She bit into her lower lip and stepped closer. I could smell her perfume now, or maybe it was her scent. Whatever it was, it was tempting.
“I saw you on TV… with her,” she sneered at me. “Actually my whole family saw it. They were quite hurt, you know? They don’t understand why you’d rather be with this little slut than me and frankly speaking I don’t either—”
He cut her off. “Why the hell would I care what your family thinks?”
She blinked. Shocked.
“Because you’re my boyfriend? We’re together? Obviously?” she gasped.
I actually felt a little sorry for her.
The way she said that… she really believed it. It was kind of sad.
And he had lost patience in her all along.
“Guards. Escort her out.” he ordered.
“Wait—what? You’re kicking me out?” she screeched. “But I’m your girlfriend. When was the last time we saw each other? Don’t you want to hang out??”
“I’ve never had a girlfriend,” he said without hesitation.
Told you, I thought.
“Are you serious?! But you had dinner with my parents. You send flowers to my mom every year!”
“You didn’t tell me your parents were coming to that dinner. And I have no idea about the damn flowers,” he snapped impatiently. “Out. Now”
Two guards appeared beside her, gripping her arms.
I gave her a sympathetic glance.
Poor girl. Even a world-famous supermodel was nothing in his eyes. She was completely lost in her fantasy. Just like I used to be.
“Isla said you liked me!!!” she suddenly screamed.
I froze.
What?
Grayson shot up from beside me, his face like a thunderstorm.
“What the fuck did you just say?” he demanded.
Barbara was breathless but shouted back, “Isla St. Clair. She’s your friend, right? She told me you were into me. She said you loved me and you were serious about this. That you talked about me all the time! So why are you suddenly acting like I’m all crazy now?!”
I blinked, stunned.
What the freaking hell was happening?
Isla St. Clair was his ex-wife. Why would she lie to another woman like that?
“Bullshit,” Grayson growled.
“No she really said that. I saw you on TV with her earlier and I was devastated. So I called Isla for some advice. She said I should come over to talk to you today. She gave me this address!”
My jaw dropped.
Okay. This just went from awkward to straight-up insane.
His ex-wife pushed another woman to come here to confront him?
What the hell was she up to?
“Fucking lunatic,” Grayson snapped. His eyes were full of disgust. “Get her out of her. I don’t ever want to see her again.”
Barbara started crying, but I stood up.
“Wait.” I said.
Grayson frowned. I gave him a small smile. “Ms. Stansen is an international super model. I’d like her to do a few fittings for me. Might help me pick a dress faster.”
Barbara’s face twisted in rage. “Screw you! I am Barbara fucking Stansen! I’d never walk for a bitch like you—”
“Enough,” Grayson’s voice was like a blade. “Go change. Don’t make me call your agent.”
Her face went pale. It was like someone slapped her. After a few seconds of hesitation, she stomped her foot and stormed backstage.
I sat back down beside him. He took my hand again. But this time, I could tell his thoughts were elsewhere.
Soon, the curtain opened again. Barbara walked out in a white gown. She was clearly furious and humiliated, but her walk was still perfect.
She stopped in front of us and posed, her face dark.
I stood up and walked toward the stage.
“Happy now? Is this what you wanted right? To publicly humiliate me?” she hissed, her eyes filled with tears of shame.
“What else did Isla tell you?” I whispered so only the two of us could hear.
“W-what?”
“Hurry. Just answer me.”
“Nothing! She—she just used to call me after she talked to Grayson. She’d say how much he missed me. And he was always asking about me. Though I did wonder why he didn’t just call me himself…but they are very close. What Isla said must be true.”
So Barbara didn’t even know Isla was his ex-wife.
And these two women were no friends at all. Poor b here was just Isla’s tool.
But for what? I couldn’t figure it out.
“Did Isla ever mention me?” I asked.
Barbara gave me a nasty look. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not even worth mentioning.”
Wow. Okay. “One piece of advice? If I were you, I’d stay far away from whatever’s going on between Isla and Grayson.”
“Who the hell do you think you are to give me advice? Fuck off!” she spat.
I rolled my eyes and turned away.
“I’ve made my decision,” I told Grayson as I returned. “I want the white dress she’s wearing.”
He frowned. “You sure? We haven’t seen everything yet.”
“I’m sure.” Because clearly, his mind was somewhere else.
“Alright then.” He gave in. “The stylist will help you with adjustments. Go.”
I went to find the stylist and had my gown fitted. When I came back out, Barbara was gone already.
And Grayson’s face was unreadable as we left the building.
“How did your ex-wife know we’d be here today?” I asked as we got in the car.
“It’s her stylist today. She must have tipped,” He rubbed his temple.
Of course she did. And clearly, they still talked to each other on a regular basis.
“I need to give her a call,” he said.
I gestured for him to go ahead. He dialed.
“Hey, it’s me. How’ve you been?”
His voice was different. Gentle. Caring. Like he’s afraid of spooking her.
There’s a pause. She’s answering his question. I perked my ear up to listen. But damn I couldn’t hear a single thing.
“That’s great,” he continued. “But I ran into Barbara Stansen today. And here’s the crazy part: She thought she was my girlfriend, and apparently, you fed her that. Why did you do that Isla?”