Chapter 71

Third Person's POV
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Grace was so lost in her thoughts and doubts that she didn't even notice someone's presence near her. It was the closing of the diary which was in front of her that broke her trance. She lifted her eyes to see who it was. Well, who else could it be?
'Zayden!" she exclaimed, as she didn't expect him to come so early when he had messaged that he would come late at night just half an hour before.
Unlike other times, he wasn't looking at her lovingly. Instead, he was staring at the now-closed diary with a tightened jaw. He had messaged that he would come home late because he had a meeting with a client, which got canceled at the last moment. That's why he thought of surprising his mate by reaching home early, but he had no idea that he would get the surprise instead. As soon as he reached the pack house, he knew where she was just by her scent. So, he entered his sister's room from the balcony without making any noise as he knew that his wife was still not pro in smelling just like other wolves. But, when he saw her sitting on the bed with an opened diary, he became confused. Almost immediately, he recognized that diary to be Allison's. What intrigued him more was how his mate was staring at something. As he came closer and stood near her, his heart raced when his eyes fell upon the page of the album, especially the picture on it. The truth that he had been hiding from her was revealed like an open book….literally.
'Zayden?" Grace called for him again when he didn't reply at first.
His eyes met hers, and they softened when he saw her confused expression. He knew that he had a lot to explain to her now. But he was proved wrong when she stood up and kissed him on his cheek.
'You're early. I thought you would come later!" She said with a smile that warmed his heart, like always. He stared at her with more confusion. Wasn't she supposed to question who that man was? He wondered.
'Ummm...The meeting got canceled at the last moment, so…" He said as he still couldn't decipher her weird behavior. According to him, she should be demanding the truth right now! Instead, she was behaving as if nothing happened, as if she wasn't surprised to know that he was lying about his brother.
'Let me bring chilled water for you." She said.
'Hmm!"
'Umm...by the way, Allison forgot her diary here. I will take it with us so that we can give it back to her when we would meet her.", she said before exiting the room.
***
Next Night.
Now, Zayden and Grace were back at their house. At first, Zayden was happy when Grace didn't ask anything or even touched the topic, but then he became restless, wondering what was going on in her mind? She kind of had made a barrier because of which he couldn't even smell her emotions. While Grace was angry, as well as curious to know about that man. But she promised herself not to ask anything from Zayden, nor did she plan to act like Sherlock Holmes. She rather thought to wait patiently and keep her curiously at bay. She wanted him to tell the truth when he felt comfortable. She was sure about one thing, his family had a messy past.
'Slept?" Zayden asked, as he played with her hair. Grace opened her eyes and looked at him. Adjusting her head on his arm to attain a comfortable position, she replied.
'Not yet. Why?"
'Sweetheart, about the photo that you saw yesterday…" he started speaking, but she interrupted him.
'I know now that you have a brother."
She heard him sigh. 'I thought you would throw a fit at me for lying about him!" He confessed.
'I couldn't. And about your brother, I am leaving that topic up to you. Whenever you feel comfortable about it, you can share it with me. I don't want to force you." She said, which made him smile after twenty-four hours.
'It's not about my comfort, sweetheart. I just don't want you to know anything about him or what happened between us. It was not a happy memory, and I don't want to spoil your happy mood."
'Why don't you leave the decision of ‘happy mood' to me? I am your mate and wife and what my mother has taught in marriage is that we shouldn't hide those things from our life partner for long, which can affect the marriage. So, you can talk about it."
'But you would judge me."
'I won't, and I promise that."
He sighed again.
'What do you want to know?" he asked finally, as he started preparing himself to tell her everything...everything about his present life.
'Are you serious? Will you tell me everything?"
'Yes, you are my mate, and you deserve to know about me. After what happened last month, I think you should know about everything." He said, thinking about the poison which Wyatt gave him.
'What happened last month?"
'That cake! Do you remember what had happened because of it?"
'How can I forget that?"
'Yes. That was done by my brother."
'What? Why would he do such a nasty thing? It could have been dangerous for your health."
'He did this knowing that it could have been dangerous for my health!"
'Oh!", She said as she wasn't satisfied with his answer.
'Carry on with your questions." He encouraged her to ask anything that she wanted. Grace was confused now. There were so many things to ask! So many questions! She didn't know where to start from!
'What kind of Mafia works do you do?" She asked about her husband's work, as she had zero ideas about it.
'Umm...It is difficult to explain. I basically own an arms industry. We sell and buy guns, rifles, etc. For both humans as well as my world."
'Is it a licensed industry?"
'Yes"
'If the industry is licensed, then how come this business is something you do as Mafia?"
'That's because the company is just to cover for me and my men to smuggle illegal things in and out of the country.", He explained.
'Oh, my god! Do you smuggle drugs?" She asked in horror.
'What? NO! That's so cheap and too risky to deal with. We sell and buy weapons for illegal traders and buyers."
'Ooo!"
'Except for this, we also loan money to people at higher interest."
'Then why do they take it from you if you charge a higher interest?"
'That's because they use the money for illegal works, for which no bank would provide them a loan." He explained.
'Okay." she said as she understood his type of work. Even though she didn't like his work, she kept quiet, as she had promised that she wouldn't judge him.
'Will you kill anyone if they won't return your money?" She asked.
'Of course, sweetheart! I haven't opened a charity system. They have to bear the consequences if they fail to return my money".
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#TBC
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