<b>Chapter </b><b>84 </b>


    Aria’s POV


    <b>239</b>%


    15


    So, this drop–dead gorgeous woman was Grayson’s ex–wife.


    And possibly the love of his life.


    My brain justpletely shut down. I stared at her nkly for what felt like forever before I finally stammered, “H–<i>How </i>do you know about me?”


    “Oh, everyone knows about you, especially afterst night,” she said with a yful wink. “The host was right. You really were the most envied woman in the world… May Ie in?”


    Except she didn’t wait for my answer. She walked right in and shut the door behind her.


    “I brought you some tulips. Hope you get well soon.” She smiled and set the flowers gently on the table beside my bed. “You like tulips, right?”


    “They… They’re alright,” I mumbled. Honestly, I preferred roses. But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to say that.


    “Tulips are my favorite. Grayson used to buy them for me all the time. Our house was always filled with them.”


    Again, I had no idea how to respond.


    My wolf let out a growl in my mind. She was pissed. Right. Grow a spine, Aria.


    “So… what brings you here?” I finally found the courage to ask.


    “Oh, I came to see Grayson. And since I was already here, I thought I’d drop by to see you too,” she said casually.


    My eyes went wide.


    She did know I just became Grayson’s girlfriend, right? Could his ex–wife just visit him without asking me first? Was that a thing?


    Damn. I was officially in uncharted dating territory. I didn’t even know if I was allowed to call her out for sneaking around with my boyfriend.


    “So… is he here?” she asked,pletely at ease.


    I had absolutely no intention of answering that. Luckily, the door opened again, just in time to save me.


    “Surprise!” May grinned as she pushed Grandma into the room.


    “May! Grandma!”


    I rushed forward and hugged May tight, then kissed the top of Grandma’s silver head. She looked in a good state today.


    May gripped my hand. “Oh my god, I finally get to see you! I have so many questions-”


    She froze mid–sentence. Her gaze flicked toward I, and her eyes lit up with surprise. “Uh… who’s this?”


    “Th–that’s Grayson’s friend,” I muttered.


    “Well, now that your family’s here, I’ll stop bothering you.” I smiled gracefully. “I’ll just call Grayson myself.”


    She gave me another dazzling smile, then walked out of the room with her phone in hand.


    “O. M. G.” May mouthed dramatically after she left. “Who was that? Since when do you know literal royalty?!”


    I gave her aplicated look. “That’s… I. Grayson’s ex–wife.”


    May’s jaw hit the floor. All her excitement vanished instantly.


    “E–Ex–wife?” she choked out. “The ex–wife he was totally obsessed with?!”


    “Yep. And she was the one who filed for divorce. If she hadn’t, they’d probably still be together.” I copsed onto the edge of my bed, my heart weighed down by a rock.


    I had always known I existed.


    But until now, she was just a name. A ghost from Grayson’s past. Someone who lived in a world far, far away from mine.


    But now she was here. Real. Breathing. In the same hospital as me. Sitting with my boyfriend in his office right now, and I had no idea what they were talking about.


    God can’t I just have one good day with him?! We literally just became official yesterday, and now his ex–wife shows up? I couldn’t believe the timing.


    “So why are you still sitting here?” May suddenly yanked my arm. “You need to go over there. At least find out what she wants!”


    “You mean… spy on them? That doesn’t feel right,” I whispered.


    “Oh my god, Aria Collins. You still care about morals at this point? That woman came here with one goal: to win Grayson back. And look at her -like she even needs to try.”


    Okay. That one stung a little.


    “If she wanted him back, she could’ve done it ages ago,” I muttered. “She didn’t need to wait until now.”


    “Wrong. Before this, Grayson only did casual flings and one–night stands. No girl was ever a threat. But you? You just became his first official girlfriend yesterday. And on global television. You don’t think that would make her jealous?”


    I held my breath. Honestly, I hadn’t even considered that.


    “So… you think she came here because of me?”


    “You bet your sweet ass she did. Oh and that woman is good. When there was nopetition, she kept him close, just enough to keep his attention. But now that a real threat showed up? Boom! She’s in full attack mode. I swear, if you’re not careful, she’ll take him back by


    tomorrow.”


    A chill ran down my spine.


    Maybe May wasn’t being dramatic, I’s timing was way too suspicious.


    “They’re probably in his office. It’s just next door,” I said quickly, already standing.


    “Perfect. I’ming too.” May jumped up right after me.


    We settled Grandma into my hospital bed. She was a little sleepy, so it was the perfect time for a nap. Then we slipped out of the room and tiptoed toward his office.


    2:30


    Aug


    €


    Conveniently, there were no guards at the door.


    Which, on second thought, made me even more suspicious. Did he send them away on purpose so he and I could chat privately? That


    made my stomach twist.


    May pressed her ear to the door and waved at me to do the same. I tossed my moralpass out the window and followed her lead.


    We heard soft voices from inside.


    “…How have you been? Haven’t heard from you in a while.” That’s Grayson’s voice.


    “Not bad. I just bought a private ind. Been soaking up the sun and enjoying life. And the reason you haven’t heard from me is because you


    never call.”


    “Sorry. I’ve been busy.”


    “Busy with your little girlfriend,” she teased, a smile in her voice. “I saw the interviewst night. Impressive. Since when did you get so


    romantic, Grayson Hart?”


    There was a pause. Then he asked, “So what brings you here anyway?”


    “Delh called me. She told me about your girlfriend’s condition. Honestly, Grayson, how long were you nning on hiding it? I thought you


    and I can talk to each other about anything.”


    May gave me a puzzled look. I stared back at her,pletely stunned.


    My condition? What the hell was that?


    His voice turned cold. “Delh shouldn’t have called you. Not without my permission.”


    “Oh,e on. She did the right thing. She probably knew you had too much pride to ask me for help. But seriously, how long do you think you can keep this quiet? Aria doesn’t have the time.”


    “It’s not that bad,” he said, his voice strained. “I’ll get in touch with a healer from White River Pack before it gets worse. They’ll help her.”


    “They won’t do it, Grayson. Not after what your father did to their pack. <i>You </i>think hosting some fancy medical summit changes anything? They won’t evene. And Aria’s only going to get weaker. Without a proper healer, without the right blood source, you’re going to lose her.”


    My ears rang. Like someone just knocked me over with a hammer.


    W–What did she just say?


    I thought… I thought I was just recovering from a bullet wound!


    Sure, it was taking longer than normal, but I assumed it was because my wolf was still weak…But what did she mean by lose me?


    “I can help, Grayson,” I said firmly. “I have a good rtionship with White River Pack’s Alpha. I can reach out. I can set up a meeting. You know I’m your only chance.”


    “I just don’t want you involved.” he growled.


    “I don’t mind. You finally found the woman you love. I want to help you keep her.”


    My heart stopped.


    I blindly reached for the doorframe to steady myself. But the door wasn’t shutpletely–it swung open.


    ??? ?? ?????


    With a loud thud, May and I both stumbled straight into the room and crashed onto the floor.


    Right in front of Grayson and I.