wild star| ongoing

fifty-two

CHAPTER 52:
April 17th, 2016
• • •

Victoria glanced at Grant from across the breakfast table, her brows knit in suspicion. He had been unusually cheerful that morning, as opposed to the brooding and distant demeanour he'd exhibited over the past week. She found his sudden change in disposition a bit suspicious.

"You're in a good mood today," she remarked, taking a sip of her coffee and studying him carefully.

Grant blinked, his bright blue eyes feigning innocence as he looked up from his omelet. "Am I?" he asked, as though he had no idea what she was talking about. He had become quite skilled at masking his feelings lately.

Victoria sipped her coffee, narrowing her eyes at him. "You can't fool me, Grant. You've been acting strange for days, and now you're all smiles. What's going on?"

He paused, his fork hovering over his plate, and then let out a sigh. "It's just work stuff. Don't worry about it."

She knew her husband well enough to see through the act. She placed her coffee cup down and leaned forward, fixing him with a serious gaze. "You can't hide things from me. If something's bothering you, you should talk about it."

"It's nothing, really."

"You've handled work stress before, and it never made you gloomy for days on end."

"Tori, I'm fine."

She wasn't convinced, but she decided not to press further at that moment. Instead, she watched him finish his breakfast in silence. Once he was done, he pushed his plate aside and stood up abruptly.

"I have to run to the center," Grant said, his tone dismissive. "We can talk about the nursery and everything else when I get back."

She couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Meanwhile, Grant stepped into the elevator and pushed the basement button, which would take him to the underground parking lot. He had anticipated the coming of this day, and now that it was finally here, he was in a rush to get to the community center. He felt a bit stupid and immature for his age, but his excitement to see Brandy overshadowed everything else.

Her reappearance had stirred up some of the emotions he had buried, and he found himself grappling with feelings that he hadn't experienced in years. It was a challenging time for him, as he was deeply committed to Victoria, the woman he had chosen to spend his life with. Yet, he couldn't deny the strange pull he felt toward her. He knew for a fact that he wouldn't betray his wife in such a way—rather, he would try his best not to. And by the looks of things, Brandy seemed to be content alone; he wouldn't want to overstep and cross her boundaries.

When the elevator doors opened, he hurried toward his sleek, black Mercedes and climbed inside, tossing his belongings in the passenger seat. Victoria had insisted that he sell his old car and purchase something 'nicer'--to put it in her own words. He believed that after the honeymoon, the kinks in their relationship would smooth themselves out, but it only appeared to worsen over time. The announcement of her pregnancy hadn't helped either. Grant wasn't ready to be a father just yet. Victoria, however, was dead set on having children.

He pulled out of his parking space and took off. The city's streets were alive with the hustle and bustle of daily life. Pedestrians hurried along the sidewalks, cars zipped by, and the urban symphony of honking horns and distant sirens echoed the air. Most of his thoughts were preoccupied with Brandy. He had a list of questions he wanted to ask her, hoping they wouldn't be too intrusive. A lot had happened these last few months and he was curious to understand what had brought her back here.