HIS ROOMMATE

NO RUSH?!

CHAPTER 37

ADRIAN'S POV

My eyes met a pair of eyes beside Marcus and for a second I forgot how to breathe. Valerie!! It has been almost two years since our brutal break up. Two years since I found out she was engaged to my cousin I trusted the most, Marcus.

Red dress. Same red lipstick from the night I proposed.

Two years since the breakup. Two years since she told me *I have always liked Marcus *

I didn’t think Marcus would bring her here. Grandma’s table was supposed to be safe.

I guess I was wrong.

“Adrian!” Marcus crossed the room with that practiced smile. New suit. New confidence.

He stuck out his hand like we were colleagues, not family. “Didn’t think you’d make it with the merger today.”

I took his hand. Grip firm. Brief. The way you shake hands with a stranger.

“Grandma asked,” I said. Flat. “I don’t say no.”

His smile flickered, but he covered it fast. Grandma didn’t catch it. She was already steering me toward the dining room.

“Eight o’clock,” Grandma announced, clapping her hands once. “But first, everyone sit. We say grace.”

The table was long, set with her good china. I ended up directly across from Marcus. Same seats as when we were kids, before everything got complicated.

Heads bowed. Grandma’s prayer was short. The kind she said when she knew her family was lying about being okay.

“Lord, let the ones who need to speak, speak. Let the ones who need to listen, listen. Amen.”

Silence. Then the clink of silverware.

Under the table, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Once. Twice.

**Jan 15. Melbourne. Flight 9:40am.**

I’d set that reminder two days ago. Before I walked out of Kai’s apartment. Before “take care of yourself, okay?”

Grandma passed me the bread basket. “Eat, baby. You look tired.”

My thumb hovered over Kai’s name in my contacts. No new texts. No missed calls. Just her photo, smiling at me like I wasn’t broken.

Grandma sat at the head of the table. She watched me. Really watched me.

“You’ve been quiet for a while now, Adrian,” she said softly. Not accusing. Just stating it.

The whole table went quiet for a beat. Uncles, aunts, cousins - all pretending they weren’t listening.

Marcus kept his eyes on his plate.

Grandma reached over and squeezed my hand. “Whatever’s on your mind, my boy… this table is safe. You don’t have to carry it alone.”

She doesn’t know about Marcus. She just thinks I’m tired. Grieving. Distant.

And across from me, Marcus cuts his steak like nothing ever happened.

The room got loud and quiet at the same time. Forks scraping. Kids laughing down the hall.

Valerie held my gaze one beat too long, then dropped it to her plate.

Marcus noticed. His hand landed on the back of her chair. Casual. Possessive.

Like he’d always been there. Like I hadn’t memorized her coffee order.

Grandma was still watching me, waiting for an answer about being “quiet.”

She didn’t see my jaw lock. Didn’t see Marcus’s thumb trace circles on Valerie’s shoulder.

To her, this was just family dinner. All of us together again.

But tonight I’m not giving them any chance to mess with my feelings.

“I heard you finally took over your father’s company,” Uncle Diego said, eyes still on his food.

“Yeah... I did, few days back,” I kept my voice flat. CEO voice. “And I thought you would show at the party. But I guess you never did.”

The table went quiet. Forks paused mid-air.

They all looked at me. Except Uncle Luis.

“I was there,” Uncle Luis said. He set his glass down slow.

Grandma’s head turned, surprised. “Luis, you didn’t tell me.”

He shrugged. “Didn’t want to make a scene. You had enough people watching you that night, Adrian.”

His eyes met mine. Not pity. Something steadier. Like he knew what it cost me to walk into that ballroom alone.

Marcus cleared his throat beside me. “The merger made headlines though. Tanaka board was impressed.”

Valerie didn’t speak. Just moved her wine glass an inch. The engagement ring caught the chandelier light.

Grandma smiled at me, oblivious. “That’s my boy. Your father would be proud.”

My thumb pressed into the table edge under the napkin. Proud didn’t cover it. Numb did.

Well I don’t need them anymore.

Kai was there through the whole party. Stood by the bar when I thought I’d drown. Drove me home when I couldn’t trust my own hands on the wheel.

Ash and Mike showed up later. Stole my tie, poured terrible whiskey, made me laugh when laughing felt illegal.

My friends were there. What more would I ask for?

Family that pretends to care? No way. Not anymore.

I watched Uncle Diego butter his roll. Uncle Luis cut his steak slow, eyes flicking to me every few seconds.

Grandma passed the mashed potatoes like nothing was broken.

I see now why my father never trusted his brothers.

Marcus shifted beside Valerie. “You should’ve told us the party was formal, Adrian. We would’ve—”

“I told you,” I cut in. Still flat. Still CEO voice. “two months ago. Email, text, call.”

He smiled tight.

“Right. Must’ve missed it.”

Valerie finally looked up. Her eyes weren’t smug. They were tired.

Grandma didn’t catch any of it. She just kept filling plates. “Eat, babies. All of you.”

“So when are you getting married, you guys look like a perfect couple,” I said.

My fist clenched tightly under the table. I didn’t want to talk about it. Couldn’t help it.

The words landed like a stone in still water.

Uncle Marco glanced at me, eyebrows up. “Oh? You didn’t know they are Married?”

Valerie’s face fell for half a second. Quick. Barely there. Then she smoothed it back into polite.

Marcus’s grip on the fork tightened. Metal against china. He noticed me noticing.

I noticed everything.

Marcus forced a smile. “We’re are married, Adrian. The reception can wait, No rush.”

“No rush,” I repeated. Tasted bitter. “Smart. After all, you waited six months to tell me and also another two years.”

Grandma looked up, confused. “Waited to tell you what, baby?” She doesn’t know. She still thinks we’re all one family.

Marcus opened his mouth. I held his stare. CEO voice. Steady.

“That he was engaged to my girlfriend and then married her,” I said.

The table went completely still. Silverware stopped. Kids went quiet down the hall.

Grandma’s hand froze over the serving bowl.

“Funny, right?” My voice was bitter but I refused to look weak. “Because they were engaged for six months and they got married for two years. And I knew nothing about it.”

I kept my eyes on Marcus. Didn’t blink. Didn’t break.

Valerie stared at her plate. Marcus’s jaw ticked once.

Grandma slowly set the bowl down. “Adrian... what are you saying?. Marcus told me you were too busy to come for the wedding”

Her voice was soft. Confused. Not angry. She still doesn’t know about the fallout.

To her, Marcus was just my brother. Valerie was just his date.

Uncle Luis exhaled. Uncle Diego put his fork down.

“You also didn’t know your eldest grandson is engaged?... It’s not your fault, Grandma. It’s what you get from a—”

Marcus cut me off immediately. “That’s enough, Adrian.” His voice was sharp. Low. The warning he used in boardrooms.

I chuckled. No humor in it. “Seriously? You know I used to think you were actually shipping Valerie and I.” I leaned back in the chair. CEO voice, but colder now.

“But you two had to wait until I proposed to Valerie before you told me that I was just a third party in your stupid games.”

Grandma’s eyes filled with tears. Not anger. Hurt. “Adrian, baby, please. Not at my table.”

She didn’t understand the details. Didn’t know about the six months. Didn’t know Marcus betrayed me. She just saw her two boys tearing up her dining room.

Valerie finally looked up. “Adrian, don’t—”

I glared at her, shutting her up.

“Valerie, don’t,” I said. Flat. Final.

She closed her mouth. Marcus’s hand found hers under the table.

I turned to Grandma. Her eyes were glassy now. Confused and hurt.

TBC