From my Bully to CEO

Chapter 8

PRESENT

GRAYSON’S POV:

I had not expected anyone to be home when I got back. That was mostly the case with my little apartment.

It was a small two room apartment with silences almost as thick as my childhood home. This one, though, this home was one of my own making. These silences belonged entirely to me.

Moulded in the exact image of the house I was raised with. The one I hated. But apparently not enough to not carry it along with me.

It was pathetic, really—how easily the past bled into the present. How the things I hated most, the things I swore to leave behind followed me to every new city I tried to claim.

Through years and across cities, the silence and the loneliness had clung to me like a second skin. Like a curse I couldn’t ever get rid of.

“Theo?” I called out the moment I swung the main door open and saw the lights in the lounge on. “Josh?”

“Just Theo!” Theo’s voice came from the guest room. More accurately, Theo and Josh’s room whenever they were in town. “In here.”

I took my blazer off and draped it on the back of the sofa, loosening the collar of my shirt as I headed towards the kitchen.

“I’ve got your beer too,” Theo added casually.

I paused, hand halfway to the fridge door, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.

Of course he did.

I turned instead toward the room. Somehow against all the silence, I brought these two idiots along. They were the only ones in my life that ever managed to drown out the quiet.

The room was dark when I walked in but I could still make out his silhouette sprawled across the bed. Two beer bottles sat on the bedside table.

I felt for the switch board on the wall and flipped the light on.

Theo groaned dramatically, shielding his eyes with his forearms as he scooted, making space for me.

I dropped down on the other side of the bed, grabbing the half eaten bag of chips that was somehow near his feet.

“Were you sleeping?” I asked, frowning at him as I dug out a handful of chips and shoved them in my mouth.

“I was waiting for you,” he said, tossing me a cold beer bottle. I caught it with my clean hand and popped it open, taking a long sip. “You’re home late.”

“What are you, my wife now?”

“God, no,” he snorted. “My standards are way higher than you.”

I laughed, nearly choking on my beer, then shot him a mock glare over the rim of the bottle.

Theo looked the exact same as he did back in high school except for his hair and the scar that ran down his jaw, courtesy of a car accident he gotten into two years ago. His hair was shorter now, a lot more tame. And of course, the wedding band on his finger.

Theo had always been the quietest among the four of us but now, he really grown into that calmness. My presence silenced people around me out of fear but for Theo, people stopped out of respect. All of us had collectively decided it was the marriage that had brought this change in him. And mostly it was, but it was the success too.

Theo, unlike me, had never been forced to take over his father’s business. He never wanted to, ever since we were in middle school. While I was groomed to take the reins of my father’s empire, Theo had sidestepped the pressure entirely.

So, when his father passed away a year ago, the family business had been handed over to Theo’s elder sister and his brother-in-law. Something that would’ve sparked gossip if it weren’t for the way Mrs. Reed had handled everything with unparalleled grace.

And Theo had been given the freedom to chase what he loved. Painting. Poetry. Designing sets for indie theater shows, sketching murals in basements, writing verses on the back of napkins.

We already saw it coming when he used to ditch parties for the school theatre club and do drunken poetry slams in Josh’s basement.

Only now, all that madness had paid off. His name was respected in art circles. His poetry book was set to release next month.

I already pre-ordered a dozen copies the day the link went online. Josh had done the same. Theo had just laughed and asked what the hell we planned to do with twelve books.

Josh had grinned and said, “Saving them for the kids. And then their kids. And their kids. Every generation of Maddox kids is gonna know their granddad’s best friend was a famous f*****g poet.”

I kept quiet. Theo had understood. It was never about the books.

“You working a new gig?” I asked. He nodded.

“There’s a new restaurant opening downtown,” he said and I nodded. I’d seen the construction every time on my way to work. “I’m doing their interior design.”

I raised an eyebrow, impressed. “That sounds big.”

“It is,” he said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Good kind of big. Scary as hell, but in a good way.”

“So, you’ll be sticking around for a while?”

“That’s the plan,” he said, then glanced sideways at me. “Wanted to surprise you. And figured you could use the company.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I need company?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, gesturing to my empty apartment. “Maybe I just remembered how much you love living alone.”

I snorted, taking another swig from the bottle. “Thanks for coming. I appreciate it.”

He nodded, a silence settling over us. But it wasn’t uncomfortable or suffocating. Silences between us were hard earned. They were filled with years of history, of shared pain and laughter.

I nodded at the ring on his finger, “How’s she doing?”

Theo’s grin turned blinding. Something that always happened whenever his wife was mentioned. I was so envious of him. I was so f*****g happy for him.

“She’s great. Still somehow in love with me. She told me to say hi to you. And to tell you to not give me s**t while I’m here.”

I rolled my eyes but I was smiling. “Tell her to come say it to my face. You left her in LA, huh? Heartless bastard.”

He laughed, shrugging. “She wanted to stay with her mother for a while. There’s… we’re trying for a baby.”

“f*****g hell,” I gasped, immediately sitting up straighter. “Are you serious?”

Theo was glowing as he nodded, his grin so wide it looked like his face might split in two.

“Holy s**t, Theo. That is…” I paused, the words leaving me. “I’m so f*****g happy for you, dude.”

I reached over and clapped him on the shoulder, my heart so full - with pride and something else too. Something softer. Something that felt like awe and heartache mixed together.

“So, wait,” I said, settling back into the mattress. “She’s coming down, right? Since you’re gonna be here for a while?”

“Yeah. Maybe in a week or two.”

I nodded. “Okay, great. I’ll move back to the Vexley Manor, then and you’re both staying with me.”

“There’s no need for that,” Theo said immediately.

“Don’t start,” I said firmly, shutting his arguments down. “The place is big enough so you both filthy love birds would have your privacy and she’ll be much more comfortable down there then in any hotel or wherever else you’re thinking of staying.”

He opened his mouth again, but I gave him a look.

“I’m not asking, Theo. I want this.”

After a beat, he relented with a quiet smile. “Alright. You’ve got yourself a deal.”

I grinned, tipping my bottle toward him.

“Speaking of my wife…” Theo started, and I groaned, rolling my eyes.

That was how he always referred to her. My wife. Like the words themselves were a prayer. Five years of marriage and the man still looked like he’d just fallen in love yesterday. It was equal parts adorable and mildly nauseating.

“I’ve heard someone else from high school is back in town?” he said, voice deliberately casual.

I let my head fall back against the backrest, my eyes fluttering shut for a second.

“Hale told her?” I asked even though I already knew she would.

“Obviously,” Theo said and I could feel his eyes on me. “What did you do, Vexley?”

I exhaled heavily, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

“I found a way to make her stay this time,” I said simply, finally opening my eyes to look at Theo.

Theo’s silence was loud.

“You mean you blackmailed her?” he said after a beat, his voice low.

“I…She never would’ve stayed if I hadn’t,” I said and I hated how pathetic I sounded.

“Jesus Christ, Gray,” Theo exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. “What exactly did you do?”

I exhaled, long and shaky. “She applied for a job. Didn’t know the company had rebranded. She had no idea she’ would be working under me. So I... adjusted the contract. Added a clause.”

Theo’s stare sharpened like a blade.

“What clause?”

“That she can’t leave before two years. If she does, the company seizes any assets in her name.”

He stared at me like I’d lost my damn mind. “You didn’t.”

I didn’t say anything.

“The house, Grayson? Her grandmother’s house?” he said, voice rising. “That’s all she has left. You seriously put that on the line?”

“I know,” I snapped, the words slipping out louder than I meant. “I know it wasn’t the smartest thing to do.”

“Smartest?” Theo’s voice was incredulous. “Gray, it’s not just not smart. It was cruel.”

“She would’ve walked out the second she saw me,” I said tightly. “I needed time. Just time.”

Theo let out a breath, “You don’t need to trap someone to keep them, man. You know that.”

“I’m not trying to trap her,” I said, though it sounded like a lie even to me. “I’m just… I’m trying to fix what I broke.”

“And you think coercion is the way to do that?”

I scrubbed a palm over my face, my frustration bubbling over.

“f*****g hell, Reed, I know it isn’t.” I snapped. “But that was all I had. And now, at least I have time to fix it. To make her see how sorry I am.”

“She’s not going to forgive you for this easily. It’s Selene Hale we’re talking about. She won’t so much as think about forgiving you until she’s got you bleeding and on your knees.”

I laughed but there was no humor in it. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Theo stared at me for a second, then snorted. “Of course, you are. You’re completely f*****g deranged.”

I took a sip of my beer, mostly to give my hands something to do before I voiced the most terrible concern that had been gnawing at me ever since I saw her again.

“But she would forgive me, right?” I asked, the words barely above a whisper. “Eventually. I don’t care how long it takes. Months, years, whatever. I just… I want her to forgive me, Theo. I need her to.”

Theo’s expression shifted—softening, then hardening all over again. I saw the pity flash in his eyes before he masked it, but I still caught it. I hated it. Not that it wasn’t warranted. But I still hated it.

“There was definitely something between you two,” Theo said quietly. “I was never able to understand what that something was. Mutual destruction? Hatred that bordered on obsession? I don’t know. Just that it made her unable to walk away from you. Let’s hope it’s enough to make her forgive you now, too.”

I nodded slowly.

“The clause was a one-time thing,” I said quietly. “I’m not proud of it. But it’s done. Now it’s on me to make it right.”

Theo didn’t say anything right away. Then he raised his beer bottle toward me.

“Here’s to hoping third time’s the charm.”

I clinked mine against his.

“Grayson,” he said, his voice dropping low in a way that sounded almost dangerous. “If you screw this up again—if you hurt her again—I swear to God, I’ll make it my personal mission to make sure you never so much as breathe the same air as her.”

His eyes locked on mine, not an ounce of bluff behind them.

“Do you understand me?”

I exhaled slowly,

“I got it,” I said, giving him a solemn nod. “Loud and clear.”

For a moment, we just sat there, the air thick between us. Then Theo leaned back, finally letting out a breath of his own.

“Good,” he muttered. “Because no one’s rooting for you more than me, but she’s my friend too and she’s already been through enough s**t already.”

“I won’t hurt her. Never again. I promise.” And I meant it. I would rather die than hurt her ever again. I would do everything right this time, I promised myself and the girl I’d always been in love with.