^^^GREGORY (PLAYER BY SKYLER MAXON) 😍

"Are my eyes deceiving me? Are you really cooking?" I asked my fiancé.

I'd spent all afternoon with the girls, talking about each other's lives and giving each other advice, until Artemis returned from his meeting. Gigi dropped me off back at my apartment, and I arrived to find Cain stirring a pot while reading something from his tablet. He had an apron on, and he looked really focused.

"Don't break my concentration woman. I need to get this right," he commented.

I laughed. "Well alright then. Let me go and take a shower while you cook so that I'm out of your way."

"Wait! Are you ok?" he asked, looking up from his tablet.

"I'll be fine baby," I lied with a small smile.

"I don't believe you for a second, but I love you my beautiful Caramel Queen," he said with that adorable smile.

I laughed and walked up to kiss him. "I love you Your Hotness."

"Of course you love me. I mean, have you met me? Now get out of my kitchen before I burn the food," he said cheekily.

"Even if you were alone, you'd still burn the food," I teased.

"I resent that," he said, throwing an olive at me.

I laughed all the way to the bedroom before stripping off my clothes. I had a relatively long and relaxing shower, and I even got around to doing my hair. I'd changed into my nightwear, and had just finished drying my hair, when my phone went off.

"You're engaged to him?" was the question I was met with.

"Who told you?" I asked him since I wasn't wearing my engagement ring the whole day.

"That's irrelevant. Are you going to marry him?" he asked.

"That's the plan since I said yes to his proposal," I pointed out.

"Evie, you can't marry him," he said.

"I can, and I will," I replied before hanging up the phone.

I really didn't want to entertain Aramis, despite the confusion I was experiencing from his confession. Even if there's truth to his words, why would he choose to tell me now. He had all those months to tell me, and instead he's kept up with a relationship that he had told me he would be ending.

The whole thing was just drama that I honestly didn't need in my life.

My phone started ringing again. "What?"

"Are you coming to see Trent?" he asked.

"Are you there?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"Then no," I responded.

There was a pause before he sighed. "I'll leave."

"I'll think about it Aramis. The two of you aren't exactly my favourite people right now," I pointed out.

"Don't punish him because you're mad at me," he argued.

"I'm not mad at you," I snapped.

"Not that snapping at me is helping to prove your case or anything," he replied.

I took a deep breath in, willing the universe to grant me patience. "Look, Trent has lied to me for the past twelve years. I don't want to see him because of what he's done. This has nothing to do with you."

"Then why does it matter if I'm here or not?" he challenged.

Because I can't stand to be even more confused right now.

"Fine then! Stay there. I'll be there in an hour," I informed.

"I'll see you then," he said.

"I'm not coming there for you Aramis," I said, only to be met by the dialling tone.

Ooh, this man infuriates me to no end!

"I do not wish to be on the receiving end of your anger right now," my fiancé commented from the door.

I turned to face him. "You won't. You're my saving grace."

"Well, I come bearing good news, or at least I'd like to think they're major news. Dinner is ready and I didn't burn a single thing," he said proudly.

"I'm so proud of you," I mock sniffed.

"I'm so proud of myself," he joined me, before we laughed at our stupidity.

"What'd you make?" I asked.

He pursed his lips. "I'm not telling you."

"Why not?" I questioned.

"Because, if it doesn't turn out to taste the way it should, then you can't point that out. If you don't know what it is, then you can't determine what it's supposed to taste like," he explained.

"Wow, that is some twisted logic," I commented.

"It makes sense though. I don't want you to judge me," he replied.

I mock gasped. "Me? Judge you?"

"You're the reason I am no longer confident enough to open a simple bottle of wine," he reminded, deadpan.

I giggled. "I simply pointed out that you were holding the bottle wrong."

"And now I'm forever conscious about how I hold the bottle and more than half the time, I don't bother with it if it has a cork," he said, pouting.

I couldn't stop my laughter even if I wanted to. "I'm so sorry baby. I didn't know that's what I've done to you."

"You have scarred me for life. Quite frankly, I feel like you owe me," he said with narrowed eyes.

I got my seduction on, wrapping my arms around his neck as his arms naturally went around my waist. "Oh royal hotness, what would you like me to do?"

"I'd like a child please," he requested cutely.

"Boy or girl?" I asked.

"Doesn't matter; I'm going to love them as much as I love their mommy," he replied.

"Well, I don't know what fate has in mind, but I'm definitely on board with giving you a baby," I said with a slight blush.

"Really?" he asked, eyes beaming.

"Really," I squealed since he was already twirling me around the room.

"Now, not to burst the bubble or anything, but why were you so upset when I walked in?" he asked.

I sighed, looking away from him. "It's nothing."

"Ok, I won't harass you about that. How did it go with Trent?" he instead asked.

"I don't know really. I mean, it didn't go ok. We only spoke for a few minutes before he experienced some pain and had to be sedated. I'm supposed to go back and see him now," I replied.

"Well, what are you still here for?" he asked.

"I wanted to eat what you made first before I left," I said with a pout.

"Well, you can do that, but you're not dressed like someone who's heading out," he pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, I know that," I said before heading to our closet to change.

"I can't come with you. I have five meetings tomorrow and I'm still not fully rested from this weekend," he said from the bedroom.

"That's understandable. I'm sorry that my drama kept you up all of last night," I apologized, leaving the closet changed. This time I had my engagement ring on.

"After the way you stood up to my mother at dinner last night, I can't say I'm mad at you. You didn't ask for any of this," he pointed out.

I scowled. "I guess when you put it like that it makes me sound like the innocent party here."

"That's because you are beautiful. You did nothing wrong. You were simply ambushed by my mother, and then ambushed by news of your brother," he responded.

When will I catch a break?

I sighed, grabbing my phone and bag. "Well, let me eat so that I can go there and come back."

"You don't sound too keen to go there," he commented as we headed downstairs.

"I'm not particularly happy about having to go if that's what you mean. It's just that while a small part of me is ecstatic to learn that my brother isn't dead after all, the bigger part of me is hurt, angry and confused by the whole thing. It doesn't make things any better to know that Aramis knows things that I clearly don't. In fact, I think I'm more pissed off than anything. Did no one think that I deserved to know the truth? Hell, did my father not think to warn me about all this nonsense while he was on his deathbed? Instead, all he talked to me about was where to send off all his artwork once he was dead, and I haven't even gotten around to doing that. Why the hell does this have to happen to me of all people? What have I done to deserve this?" I ended off with an angry cry.

"Hey, it's ok," my fiancé said as he took me into his arms.

There's just something about being in Cain's arms that not only allows me to truly let go of my deepest emotions, but to feel safe doing so too. The one thing I love about him is that I never have to question where I stand with him (unless if it's my insecurities playing with me). He's always honest with me, and he makes me feel safe to open up to him about anything.

"I'm not going to lie and say that it's going to be ok, because not even I know that, but I do know that I'm always going to be here for you. Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.

Yes...

"No. That would be selfish of me. I'll be fine. I just needed that cry," I lied smoothly.

"I'm just a phone call away, but I don't want you driving in this state. I'll check if Ricardo's available while you eat," he told me. Ricardo is the driver on standby for the residents of this building.

"Ok," I said in thanks.

He went off to arrange my transport while I ate the food he made. It was undeniably enjoyable, much to my surprise. He'd made a creamy chicken and mushroom alfredo dish, and he'd served it with chilled white wine, as well as crème brulee for dessert.

"Please cook for me every day for the next week?" I pleaded after finishing dessert.

He laughed. "You look like you don't want to leave anymore."

"After a meal like that, I could think of several ways to end off my night that don't involve me leaving," I said.

"Except you need to leave and hear your brother out, so up you go," he said, helping me up.

"Can't you just be selfish with me for once?" I complained.

He caressed my cheek. "I'll always be selfish with you if it doesn't involve you running away from something important."

"Why are you so perfect?" I mumbled.

"I'm far from perfect Evie. I just love you enough to know that as much as this terrifies you, you need to face it. If not for Trent, then for your own sanity. Staying here isn't going to make the situation go away. You won't get any answers from yourself," he pointed out.

"I hate that you're right," I replied.

He kissed my forehead. "I know you do, and I promise I'll be here if you need me. I'll keep my phone off of silent."

"Let me go before I really change my mind and settle for cuddling with you," I said dramatically.

"We'll cuddle tomorrow night and watch all your favourite movies if we don't have any plans," he bargained.

"Deal!" I said enthusiastically, making him laugh.

"I love you beautiful," he said, cupping my cheek.

"I love you baby," I replied before puckering my lips.

He laughed but granted me my kiss before walking me down to the front of the building where Ricardo was already waiting for me. He kissed me one last time before I got into the car and Ricardo headed towards the hospital.

I was a bundle of nerves, and I knew very well that it had nothing to do with Trent. While I was nervous to hear him out, I was more worried about encountering a certain blonde hair and blue eyed brute.

After all, he had a point about his presence bothering me.

By the time we made it to the hospital, I had to talk myself into leaving the car. It was quite late, and I couldn't help but wonder if I'd still be allowed to see my brother. In fact, as I made my way up to his room, I couldn't help but pray that they wouldn't allow me to.

When the elevator doors opened, I was met by the same scene as earlier. Aramis was outside of Trent's door, but this time he was talking to the doctor and not a nurse. When he ran his hand through his long hair, I panicked slightly.

"What's going on?" I blurted, announcing my arrival.

They both looked taken aback by my presence before the doctor spoke to me. "Miss Payton, I didn't get to officially introduce myself earlier. I'm Doctor Gregory Mathers, your brother's doctor and best friend."

"Best friend? Since when?" I asked.

"About twelve years now," he replied.

They've been best friends since around the time 'Trent died'.

"He didn't know," Aramis seemed to answer my unasked question.

"I just found out today. I would've never allowed him to stay hidden for so long if I knew. I'm sorry," Gregory told me.

"How is he?" I asked, ignoring his apology.

"He's stable, but the scarring on his left lung is giving us some problems. I've sent some notes through to a colleague of mine for a second opinion on whether we may need to do a lung transplant or not, but it doesn't look likely," he explained.

"Am I allowed to talk to him about the past, or is it too much of a strenuous topic for his health?" I questioned.

"I know that you want answers, and hell, you deserve them, but can I plead with you that you wait until he's healthier? You can try and get to know the now him that you haven't seen in twelve years," he offered.

I frowned at the idea. I wasn't comfortable with having to get to know a man who lied to me, but then again, he is my brother, no matter what decisions were made in the past. I would at least give it a shot.

"Am I allowed to see him now?" I asked.

"He's actually just fallen asleep, so you might have to come back tomorrow, unless if you don't mind waiting for a couple of hours to catch him when he wakes up. He's going to be in and out of sleep a lot," Gregory informed.

"I'll wait for three hours and if he's not up, then I'll come back tomorrow," I decided.

"Alright! I'll still be around, so if you have any questions, just come and find me," he said.

I nodded. "I will, thank you."

"It's my pleasure. If you'll excuse me," he said before leaving me with Aramis.

"I'll stay with you," he offered.

"You don't have to," I said plainly.

"I want to. When was the last time you slept Evie?" he asked.

I scowled at the question. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Come with me," he said, taking my hand in his.

I didn't bother fighting with him, and simply because I was too focused on my racing heartbeat caused by this man just holding my hand. I was berating myself into not reacting, but my body and mind do not listen to me.

They've got their own thing going on, and that thing is very much Team Aramis.

We reached a quiet room with couches and a kitchenette. I didn't even know where this place was in the hospital since I wasn't exactly paying attention to how we got here. Aramis indicated that I should take a seat, which I did while he moved around making coffee.

"Here you go," he said, handing me a cup of steaming goodness.

"Thank you. Where are we?" I asked.

"We're in the doctor's lounge," he responded.

My eyes widened a bit. "Are we even allowed in here?"

"Well, Gregory is my best friend too, so if someone finds us in here, we can always say he sent us here," he said.

It slipped before I could stop it. "Is lying just second nature to you?"

"I-"

"You know what? Forget I said anything," I said quickly, stopping him.

"No actually, lying doesn't come naturally to me, and I'm not about to forget what you just said. You clearly have a problem with my lying to you, so just spit it out and let's face it now," he challenged.

"Why? So that you can lie to me some more?" I bitterly said.

"I divorced her like I said I would. Whatever you've seen in the news is a stunt," he randomly said.

"Why the need for the stunt?" I questioned.

"She's blackmailing me, and no, it's not something small. She's actually got something on me that could destroy me," he said angrily.

"Why are you telling me this? Last I heard you didn't want to be questioned by anyone about her," I pointed out.

"You're not just anyone."

A pregnant silence overtook us since I didn't bother to say anything to his statement. My heart was already threatening to escape past my ribs as I sipped on my coffee. He didn't make things awkward either by saying anything else.

We just sat in the silence.

I don't know when exactly it happened, but I must've fallen asleep at some point in time. I opened my eyes to find myself looking up at a sleeping brute. My head was on his lap, and he was sitting up, fast asleep.

There was a blanket on me, and I could only guess that he'd put it on me. I so wanted to hate him in that moment, but I couldn't. He does things that make me question the character people know him to be, and heaven knows I need to tread carefully around him before I find myself in danger of falling for him.

The door to the room opened with Gregory walking in. "Oh, sorry! I was coming to tell you that Trent's awake."

"Thank you," I said as I got up.

"Should we wake him up?" he asked, looking towards Aramis.

"No. I don't think he's slept in a while. Let him be. Besides, I need to talk to my brother alone," I replied.

"Fair enough. I'll come and wake him up later," he said.

I sighed. "Ok. Let me go and see my brother."

We walked out together before he was called away by a nurse. He gave me the directions I needed to get back to Trent's room, and I found it easily.  I slowly opened the door and my brother's head shot my way.

"You came back," he said, sounding a little more surprised than I'd expected.

"Well, you are my brother, despite all the lies," I replied as I walked over to sit next to him.

"I know you're probably angry and hurt, and I'm so sorry for that princess. You're the last person I would ever want to hurt," he said sincerely.

"You're right that I'm angry and hurt, and it's going to take me a while to forgive you, let alone understand why I had to be left in the dark, but we're not talking about that now. Gregory said we can't talk about anything that will rock your emotions," I pointed out.

"You met him?" he asked, to which I nodded.

He sighed. "He's not impressed with Aramis and I right now. If he wasn't my doctor, I don't think he'd talk to either of us ever again."

"Because of your secret?" I asked.

He nodded. "I met him after I moved away to Sweden and we were roommates for a year before I realized that my feelings for him were more than platonic. He was surprised that I even felt that way since he didn't think I was gay, and honestly, I didn't think I was either. We've been married for ten years now, but this secret may just end my marriage."

I was speechless. "He's your husband?"

"I want to confidently say yes, but like I said, he's not impressed with me right now. I've always told him that my past is something I don't want to talk about, and now that it's caught up with me, he feels like I lied to him," he replied.

"Because you did," I said before I could stop myself.

He shot me a wounded look. "I know. I've lied to the two most important people in my life. The only difference is that you're here talking to me, while he won't even give me the time of day if it isn't related to my condition."

"That's how he knew that you may have been shot for a reason," I realized.

"When your husband gets shot out of nowhere and you know nothing about his past, I guess it's easy to put things like this together," he agreed.

"Were you shot randomly though?" I asked unsurely.

He looked away from me, taking a deep breath in. "No."

"And this has to do with your mother and dad?" I asked knowingly.

"It does, but Evie, it has to do with you too, and I really am sorry that this is the way I had to come back into your life. Aramis has been trying to find a way to get you out of things, but everything is just so messed up," he said.

"This has to do with dad's money and none of it is legal, right?" I questioned.

"You're right that it has to do with dad's money, but not everything is illegal. Most of it is legal, but that doesn't mean that the relations were peaceful," he hinted.

"Dad's enemies," I connected.

He nodded. "When I disappeared, I'd known about dad and my mom's dealings with some shady people for about two years, and I was almost pulled in. I guess almost doesn't count though since here I am in a hospital bed."

"I need to know Trent. I need to know that you're not going to fake your death or disappear again. I may not know the whole story, but I refuse to allow myself to allow you back into my life just so that you can up and disappear again," I pleaded.

He reached for my hand, and this time I let him hold it. "I'm going nowhere Evie. The only way I'm leaving your life again is if someone really kills me or I die of natural causes. I'm done hiding, and I'm not abandoning you when I'm probably the only family member you have left that cares about you."

"You are," I said lowly.

"I'm sorry about Zayn and the whole mess with Zoey," he said after a while of silence.

"He told you," I said, deadpan.

"I don't think I can recall ever seeing him so angry. I mean, I've known him since we were both kids, and he found out about me being alive five years ago, but I've never seen him like that before. If I hadn't stopped him, he would've probably killed Zayn himself," he informed.

"Hold on. You said you moved to Sweden. Why are you then in New York?" I asked.

"We just moved here a month ago since the hospital is need of Greg's expertise. I just opened a new studio in Manhattan. Aramis has been here for a month too, despite reports saying he's been spotted in other countries. He's been hiding in our house," he replied.

"You mean Emily actually hasn't found him?" I asked.

"Not this time, no. The woman is relentless though, and she's also quite powerful. The fact that she always manages to find him is amazing, but then again, her father is one of the most powerful criminals in the country," he responded.

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I know. It's how the Brunt family rose to fame and made their money so quickly. It's all blood money, something the cops haven't been able to prove all this time," he said.

I was bowled over. "And Aramis is on their watch list?"

"Not necessarily, but if he's not careful in how he handles Emily, he could be," he replied.

"This is, wow..." I trailed off.

We sat in silence for a long time before he spoke again. "He's in love with you, you know."

"I want to believe that, except it doesn't matter if I do or not. I'm engaged to someone else," I informed.

"What's his name? Or is it a her?" he asked unsurely.

I laughed a little. "His name is Cain Bingham."

"Aramis' enemy?" he asked, flabbergasted once more.

"Yep! By the time I found out they were enemies, I was already invested in seeing where things would go with Cain, so I decided screw their rivalry and gave it a shot," I explained.

"And are you happy? Do you see a future with this man?" he questioned with narrowed eyes.

Big brother was out to play.

"I am very happy, and yes, I do see a future with him, despite your best friend messing with my head," I replied.

"Aramis wouldn't be messing with your head if you didn't feel anything for him princess. Always remember that," he pointed out.

"I'm sure he's told you all about what went down in Greece. I obviously do feel something for him, but I refuse to be drawn into any kind of drama with him, especially if there's a risk of me getting hurt by him again," I countered.

"So Cain is the safer choice, but not necessarily the choice you want," he said, his tone sounding like he was sure of what he was saying.

"That's not what I said," I denied.

He squeezed my hand, giving me an all too knowing look. "You don't have to say anything princess. I still know you better than you think."

I couldn't say anything to that, and it annoyed me, a lot. The fact that he could still read me so well wasn't the only thing that irritated me. It was the truth behind his words that drove me up the wall. I didn't want it to be true, but it was.

Cain is my safe choice- my happily ever after guaranteed.

My brother broke the silence once more after a while. "Well, I for one, want to meet this guy. I need to make sure he meets my standards for you."

"And yet I didn't get to do the same," I joked.

"Greg is loveable. There's no way you would've hated him," he said, laughing a little.

"I'm going to help you get back into his good books," I decided.

He heaved a heavy sigh. "I don't know how you're going to achieve that, but at this point in time, I'm willing to put my faith in anything and anyone to save my marriage."

"I'll only do it if you automatically approve of Cain," I bargained.

This time he full on laughed, and I was mesmerized by how beautiful he looked. "I know what you're doing Evie. I'm not going to automatically approve of him so that you feel better about your confusion."

"Then why am I even bothering with you? What is your purpose in my life?" I said mockingly, making him laugh some more.

"I'm really glad to be back in your life princess," he said happily.

I squeezed his hand, this time smiling. "I'm glad you're back in my life too big head."

***

Elo Smurflettes!

So, everything is rolling in nicely with this story. I'm getting more and more ideas as the days go by. I'm busy with my other books as well though, but this book is currently moving up and I'd like to keep it up.

What do you guys think? Do we like it? Yay? Nay? Tell me what you think and don't forget to vote! I love you guys! ❤️

Katee (^^,)