Tangled Hearts

Chapter 10

Aurora Woods

As we set down our cutlery, I suddenly remembered of the dessert which I had made in the fridge. I stood up from my seat as I grabbed 2 small cups from the fridge and placed one in front of Grayson. 

"Dessert to end the meal. My new item that's going to be added onto the menu. Please give me your honest opinion on it." I smiled as he slowly scrutinised the parfait, and finally took a bite out of it. 

He commented, "A light rosy aftertaste that's not too strong, the amount of cream added was just right. Honest opinion, it's really perfect." I blinked a few times at his words before breaking into a wide smile. 

"Really? It's the first time that I'm infusing flower and their scents into desserts. Can you do me a favour by giving a name for this dessert? I didn't think that it would be good so I've yet to give it a proper name." 

"Hm..how about 'Enchanted Rose'?" He suggested, as I tilt my head slightly to think. 

"Sounds good! I'll use it, thank you." 

The dinner went smoothly as Grayson insisted on washing the dishes, claiming that work should be divided equally since I had done the cooking. 

After he was done with the dishes, he unexpectedly took a seat at the couch at where I was sitting as I looked at him in confusion. Wasn't he going back to his room?

"I..have something to ask you." I nodded slowly, indicating that he should continue. 

"I guess it's time for us to talk about our marriage. I just want to know what do you plan to do from now on and what's going to happen in the future?" I blinked once, blinked twice.

This question appeared in my head right after the ceremony, but no answer came out. Indeed, what was going to happen to us? 

"I...actually have no idea. Everything was too sudden and I didn't have the time to properly think about it." 

He nodded in understanding as he continued, "I do have some thoughts, maybe we can see if it's appropriate? I was thinking that we file for a divorce after a year or something, given that the media would most likely to not be focused on us by then." 

My breath hitched in my throat, as the small smile on my lips started fading away. Right, for a moment, I forgot that I was married as a replacement. And the fact was that even if we don't divorce by then, we would be once Amelia is back again. We would divorce sooner or later, just a matter of time. Why am I trying to hold onto it? 

I forced a smile on my face as I nodded at his suggestion, "Sounds appropriate. We can stick to this." 

"I still have some work to finish, so I shall head back to my room first. Thank you for the meal tonight, Aurora." 

"Hm, you're welcome. I will head up too, goodnight." With that, both of us returned to our own rooms for the night. 

As I tossed and turned under the blanket, his words kept appearing in my head. I should be prepared that such a day would arrive, so I should stop dwelling on it. Thinking back, it's really funny how fate had played with us. 

The boy who had forgotten about me came back as my sister's boyfriend, then all of a sudden he became my lawful husband overnight. But yet, everything was not real. And I have to repeat it to myself so as to not be mistaken and make a fool out of myself. 

Time flew past in the blink of an eye as it had been 3 months since we got married. It is currently 10pm and I had just finished showering. Grayson was going to be home late as usual as he had been working on several important projects recently which required all his attention. 

All of a sudden, my phone rang. Grayson's name appeared as the caller ID and I picked up. 

"Hello?"

"Hi, sorry to disturb. The owner of the phone is currently drunk and passed out in the bar. His phone happened to be unlocked and your number was his last call made out. Could you please come over to get him?" 

"I'll be there soon. Please send me the address and make sure that he's still there. Thank you." With that, I hurriedly set the laptop down on the couch as I made my way to my room to get my jacket and purse before heading out. 

Fortunately, I managed to hail down a cab even though it was late at night. The ride there took almost an hour and by the time I arrived, I could see staff members of the bar were busy packing up for the night. 

I made my way through the bar and finally found Grayson who passed out at the counter. A young man appeared the counter as we exchanged a small nod at each other then he left us. 

"Grayson. Grayson." I called, but to no avail. I slowly nudged him again and he finally stirred a little. 

"Wake up, let's get you home, okay?" I took his arm and slowly tried to lift him off the counter. Steadying both myself and him, I placed his arm over my shoulder as I held him by the waist and slowly made our way out of the bar. I kept stumbling over as I could feel his weight was mostly on me. 

Stretching out my arm slightly, the cabs drove past us one after another as they refused to pick up drunk customers who just came out from the bar. After waiting for 5 futile minutes, I finally gave up on trying to flag down a cab. My arms were starting to sore and I could feel my back slightly strained while trying to hold Grayson upright. 

Huffing out deeply, I repositioned myself and continued walking down the long hill in hopes of catching a cab by the time we make it down.