kalani depradine

I carried Amelia down the stairs when she'd woken up. As soon as we arrived in the kitchen, the entire island was filled with bouquets of roses. It not only shocked me but flattered me too. Grayson is romantic when he wants to be which is rare. The air in the kitchen smelled to die for and the curtains were pushed open to allow the sunshine in through his large windows.

"How'd you sleep?" I turned around, seeing Grayson approach me from behind. He knew the answer to that. Grayson was right when he said I belong in his bed. I belong in his arms while he kisses me and strokes my body.

"Good," I walked through the kitchen, a full continental breakfast being presented in the dining room. So many questions came to mind.

"How about you, angel? Did you sleep okay? Did mommy feed you this morning?" Grayson reached to take Amelia from me. He was slow with his movements, mainly focusing on making me comfortable. I ignored the uneasy chills along my skin and turned back to the breakfast. Me being upset shouldn't mean he can't hold his baby.

"My brother is on his way for breakfast," Grayson informed me while smothering his daughter with kisses. A quick glance at my attire was all it took to point out how unfit I was for guests. I wore a tank top and shorts starting to feel small now that I know Matthew is on his way.

"What are the flowers for?" I mapped the kitchen while I made myself a cup of coffee.

Grayson sat Amelia on her high chair. "I want you. I don't just want you because of Amelia or because of the position. I would choose you a thousand times over even if Amelia and the CEO position were not in the picture. My love for you isn't contingent on the things you're willing do to for me or what you can provide me. My love for you is unconditional," he spat out these word I hadn't expected. I didn't know he had it in him to confess his emotions like this. He's blunt with everything but love. I never would've thought Grayson could love me.

"I thought you don't do love," I reminded him because maybe he was thinking with this dick and not his head.

"I didn't. I didn't do love because there was no one worthy enough of having mine. But I was saving it for you. I was saving all of it for you and I would give up everything for you. All of it. I would throw it all away if it meant proving to you what I'm feeling is real and not just some agreement. My love for you is so fucking real and I'm so fucking sorry I hurt you. Believe me when I say, if I had known it would hurt you, I wouldn't have stepped near that woman. I would've been honest about my past with her. But I wasn't. Not because there's something there, but because she's so fucking irrelevant in my mind that I hadn't even thought to share it. You and Amelia are the only things that fill my thoughts. You guys make me happy," he placed his hand on the side of my face when my eyes began to water. I felt emotional because this was never something I ever would've expected to hear from Grayson.

"I just...can't stop thinking about why you were with her. I feel embarrassed because I didn't know you'd spend your time with me in the day and then your nights with her. And I feel almost disrespected that you'd think it's okay to attend this event with her, knowing of your recent history and knowing of my lack of knowledge about you two. You should've known I never would've agreed to marry you if I was made aware of that. Omission of information is equivalent to lying. And you should've known I never would've been okay with you attending the event with her," I expressed how I felt in the best way possible.

The last thing I want is to look stupid, especially with so many eyes being in Grayson's direction.

"I realize my mistake and the only thing I can do is apologize and promise to do better in the future. It's my ignorance that put us in this position and I will use this as a learning experience to never put you in a position like this again. I mean, I hate hearing I embarrassed you, baby. That's the last emotion I ever want you to feel," he continued to stroke the side of my cheek. My mind was buzzing. Despite how business his replies sounds, I believe him. "I don't want you to ever have doubts on where my heart lies. Because it lies with you. All of me is yours." Well, fuck.

My hands went onto his chest as I looked up at him with kind eyes. The validation of knowing everything I've felt for him is how he's felt for me made all my insecurities go away. Grayson is for me and wants only me. Opening up my heart to him seemed scary, but he had done the same for me and it was beautiful and bright and I wish everyone understood how amazing he can be.

"It's me and you, remember?" He whispered with his forehead touching mine. I held his shirt as his lips touched mine for a kiss—slow and compassionate. It felt like he was spilling everything he felt onto me and I wanted to hug and kiss him to show him I'm willing to put my trust in him one more time.

I sighed into the kiss when the doorbell was rung a dozen time. "He never fails to piss me the fuck off," Grayson muttered as he went to the front door. Being around him made me forget how to breathe and I was forced to take a few deep breaths before they both returned.

"Hope you don't mind. I thought we'd start the morning off strong," Matthew held a bottle of tequila in his hands as he entered the kitchen. I wasn't completely opposed to starting the morning off with a nice drink, except for the fact that I'm still breastfeeding. A shorter woman came in close behind her. It was his wife he met in South Korea. It was my first time meeting her and I felt very uncomfortable with this being the attire I was wearing. "This is Ivy. This is Kalani," Matthew introduced the two of us. Where she was dressed perfectly for breakfast, it was clear I had just woken up two hours ago.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry I'm in...this. I wasn't expecting guests," I hugged her as she laughed.

"No. You look beautiful. If this is what you look like with pyjamas, I don't think I can be around you when you're casually dressed," Ivy complimented me.

"You are such a dick, Grayson!" I heard Paige yell from the front door. Her heels clicked through the house until she arrived in the dining room with us. "You saw me getting out of the car with my hands full and you shut the door."

"I just didn't see you," Grayson shrugged, doing a terrible job at lying. Grayson may be her older brother, but he can be so immature sometimes. He pulled my seat out before sitting at the head of the table.

"Hello my little munchkin," Paige approached Amelia at her high chair. Amelia held her finger with a smile that made me awe. She was in a happy giggly mood that uplifted the mood at the table.

"Okay, I've been dying to know, when is the wedding? Blake was really upset when we had a courthouse wedding. He must be excited for your wedding," Ivy placed food onto her plate. I awkwardly laughed, knowing that was far from the case. Blake may have kept his feelings inside, but he is far from happy about this. When he told Grayson he wanted him to marry and have an heir, I was the last type of person he wanted it to be done with. It was supposed to be a woman like Bria or Marianne.

"Regardless of how he feels, he's not coming to our wedding," Grayson made clear to everyone which came as no shock to Paige. "There are a lot of things we need to prepare. Most of it will be taken care of by the wedding planner and mother. She's very meticulous about these things. The date has been set," Grayson was causal in the way he was speaking. Like this was a conversation we had at least once a week. But this was news to me. Somewhere in the past two days, a date managed to be set.

"A date?" Paige curiously asked, going to sit across from me at the table.

"It's six months from now. In May," he brushed over and didn't give me time to ask questions. "Our engagement party is January. Not much time, but it'll work." Hearing this was the first time for not only them but also me. January was only two months away and having to plan it right after Christmas and New Years seems stressful. Grayson must be really eager to gain his CEO position.

"This is insane. We need to go dress shopping. My brother is getting married," Paige squealed as she clapped her hands. Grayson shut his eyes, taking time to compose himself.

"Ivy, I need you to take her to one of your meetings," Grayson instructed and Ivy's eyes lit up, looking back and forth between Grayson and I.

I scrunched my eyebrows. "What meetings?"

"Prestige Society of Women," Paige swallowed her food before answering. Just the sound of this sounded horrible. Meeting with women who think they're the most prestige women in society? It sounds like it's filled with a bunch of pretentious women who I do not want to surround myself with.

"Wait, why am I joining this?" I asked.

"Ivy joined when she married Matthew. It's a club with young women in our society. They throw charity events and attend brunches. I'm apart of it too," Paige further explained and this sounded terrible. It seemed like I would be with women like Bria and Marianne. Those are the exact women I want to avoid. I don't have time for this sissy attitudes.

"It's not terrible. It's a good way to make friends. A lot of the girls are newly weds and have been apart of this world for their entire life," Ivy tried to make me feel better about this. Like myself, she had a normal childhood. Despite Matthew being less interested in their family company, he's still an Astor which means his wife is required to uphold a certain standard.

"It's good for networking," Grayson spoke the truth. Of course this was about work. I can't be upset about that. I would have to befriend rich trophy wives who either married rich or were birthed rich. They are convinced the world revolves around them and I would be expected to now become one of them. That seems near to impossible. As if they'd ever accept someone like me. Blake barely has.

Thankfully we transitioned from talking about the wedding and marriage as a whole. Prior to today, I hadn't talked much with Matthew. But I now understood why Grayson loses his sanity while being with him. Matthew is everything the opposite of Grayson. He's free spirited and laughs at everything.

Once we had finished breakfast, they all said their goodbyes, spending extra attention on saying bye to Amelia.

"Playtime?" I carried Amelia to the living room, setting her on the floor with a few toys. Grayson had hidden himself away in his office since they left. I sat beside her and waved around her shaker to make her giggle.

"Kalani," Grayson called out from the office. I quickly picked Amelia up to take her with me. Placing her on rug with her toys, I sat in the chair across from Grayson. "I need you to read these," he slid me this thick stack of papers stapled together.

"What is it?" I tried to skim through the pages but there were far too many words.

"It's a prenuptial agreement. I want you to read it through with a lawyer, baby. I'm serious this time. Read it over with a lawyer and get back to me with anything you don't like and want to change. I want you to feel comfortable signing this," he searched my eyes for any sign I may be offended by him asking me to sign this. "I already contacted a lawyer on your behalf. She'll help you establish what you want to gain from the marriage."

I bit the insides of my cheeks, attempting to read what this may include. Most of it seemed like promises he intended to keep. It seemed weird he needed a contract to hold himself accountable to promises. But I know this is just the way Grayson works.

Through the contract he was agreeing we would be having joint and shared custody with Amelia. He was agreeing to one and only one more child if I deemed necessary. He planned on setting up a trust fund within the first year of Amelia's life, but he also planned on setting aside money strictly for her education. He was agreeing to give me a certain percentage of his income as well as giving me shares in his family company. The only thing confusing me was him saying agreement to marry him means agreeing to ten years minimum before I'm allowed to divorce him.

"I don't need all this, Gray," I tucked hair behind my ear. I've never been interested in Grayson's money and the fact that he was going to give me portions of his hard earned money seemed wrong.

"I know I just want to take care of you. I want to make sure you're taken care of," he leaned further into his chair. I sighed. "Everything of mine is yours."

"I'll meet with the lawyer and read it over," I assured him because this time was different from the last time I signed one of his contacts. This is is the complete opposite from the first which he ripped up. "But do I really have to join that prestigious club?"

He chuckled, nodding his head. "After our engagement party, the public will be interested in hearing from you about our relationship. Aligning yourself will these women will be good for us. Many of them are married to investors and businessmen." I understood as much as our relationship no longer completely revolves around his business and he stills hopes to use this marriage to his advantage. He still has expectations from me as his wife. "It'll only be for a year or two. I think you'll like it though."

"I've also been thinking. If you don't want a big wedding, I'm okay with a super small one." Grayson never wanted marriage and despite his change of heart, he still isn't one for things like this.

His eyes found mine and they searched for reasoning as to why I opposed a wedding. "It's your first marriage." Not only is it my first wedding, but I'm marrying an Astor. He's New York royalty and a man no one ever thought would marry.

"Yeah well, I never wanted to get married in the first. So it's not a big deal to me. We don't have to do all that."

"If I have a say in the matter, this will be your one and only marriage. I want it to be special. Disregard my feelings on public events. Whatever you want, I'll make it happen," he tried to reason with me. I nodded.