ELEVEN

Griffin and Zaylee returned to work. All eyes were on them, who walked as if they didn't care, and nothing happened. The news about Zaylee's pregnancy had become a hot topic in the company. The atmosphere became even more heated when they found out who the biological father of the baby Zaylee was carrying was.

"So it's true that Ms. Zaylee is pregnant?"

"I didn't expect Zaylee to be that low!"

"Maybe she did it on purpose so that Griffin would cancel his engagement with Miss Anna."

"I heard they used to be a couple!"

Zaylee closed her eyes, trying not to listen to the office employees' whispers, which sounded loud in her ears. Everyone blamed her, but not even one of them mentioned Griffin's name as the suspect.

BREAK…!

Zaylee slammed the door to her office, and Griffin just chuckled softly. The man was also quite surprised that his employees would talk carelessly like that. Zaylee took a deep breath.

She took a slow sip of mineral water to clear her mind. Zaylee admitted that it was indeed her idea to trap Griffin. Still, she expected the problem to be simple, getting bigger and involving many parties.

"Did you hear what they said? No one will believe that we did it voluntarily!" Griffin said to Zaylee, starting a conversation that would end in a fight.

"Everyone thinks you're the one who trapped me in this situation, shouldn't you be grateful? I'm willing to take responsibility for your pregnancy?" Griffin asked with a smirk that looked down on Zaylee.

"I don't need it!" Zaylee answered slowly, opening her work laptop. She didn't care about Griffin's annoying gaze. Her voice sounded flat and had no energy; she answered only what was necessary.

"What did my father do to you before?" Griffin asked, approaching Zaylee. The man was already sitting at his desk, which stunned Zaylee, but they returned to acting normal.

Zaylee remained silent, not wanting to answer. She let the memories be buried with her past. Her memory of that day never forgets Alex's cruelty to his family, even though Zaylee's problem was trivial.

"Answer me Zaylee!" Griffin snarled, starting to grab Zaylee's arms, erasing the distance between them to become closer. Griffin's gaze was very sharp, while Zaylee couldn't make eye contact with her ex-lover.

"If you're curious, you can ask your father directly!" Zaylee snapped, trying to release Griffin's hands, which locked her in place and prevented her from moving freely.

Griffin gave up and sat back down at his desk. His eyes continued to focus on Zaylee's movements, making the girl very uncomfortable. Griffin's gaze was busy guessing what he had missed all this time. The man felt he knew everything Zaylee had done and what the girl had gone through until now.

Dicky entered the room suddenly without a knock on the door, as usual; the man seemed surprised to see Zaylee, who had returned to work. The girl suddenly disappeared after the girl made trouble on the night of Griffin and Anna's party.

"Are you still alive, Zay?" Dicky asked spontaneously, making Griffin and Zaylee throw sharp glances at him, Dicky only replied with a horse-like smile showing his straight rows of white teeth.

"I mean, how did you escape from Uncle Alex? I heard that night they followed you to the apartment." Dicky said, explaining the meaning of his surprise with Zaylee's presence.

"I think they will find out where you are now soon, they won't be quiet, they will definitely come here." Dicky continued making Zaylee's face change from looking tense and holding back her emotions to gradually panicking.

Zaylee turned to look at Griffin, who immediately looked away, showing his indifferent expression, Dicky only took a slow breath seeing Zaylee and Griffin's interaction that was hard to predict.

"Fin! They are already on the ground floor." Dicky said softly after reading the message notification from his driver.

Unlike the girl, Zaylee was increasingly confused by Griffin. Griffin looked relaxed but deliberately showed his arrogance, trying to make Zaylee realize that the only one who had power and could protect her right now was Griffin.

"The decision is yours, Zaylee! Are you willing to marry me? Or will you die at the hands of my father?" Griffin asked while playing with a pen in his fingers.

Zaylee closed her eyes. She was fed up hearing Griffin's offer, which the man had repeatedly said. She was cornered now; even her fate was really on the brink. The thought of marrying Griffin was utterly absent; all she thought about was revenge for the hurt Griffin's parents had caused her family.

"Okay, I will marry you on one condition when this baby is born! We're getting a divorce!" Zaylee said firmly to Griffin, who was smiling widely, while Dicky frowned at Griffin's reaction. The man shouldn't be happy; why would they get married if they would get a divorce in the end?

"Dicky, please clean up the mess downstairs, I have to take my future wife home!" Griffin replied, pulling Zaylee's tiny hand and rushing off before the guards sent by her father found her.

Dicky sighed and smiled; this wasn't the first or second time he had dealt with the mess made by his best friend; how stupid! He accepted it with an open heart and finished everything well.

Once they had gotten into the car, Zaylee pushed away Griffin's grip. Griffin chuckled at Zaylee's attitude, which seemed to disgust him. In his heart, the man cheered because Zaylee finally fell into his trap.

"Let's get married!" Griffin invited, stepping on the gas pedal of his car and leaving his company.

Zaylee was stunned by Griffin's attitude, which had permanently changed easily according to his mood. Besides, the man was very difficult to predict. Zaylee was not blind. She knew that Griffin married her not purely because he wanted to make Zaylee his life partner but because there was a hidden intention that Zaylee had not found the answer to until now.

"I have to meet my parents first!" Zaylee exclaimed as soon as they arrived at the apartment.

"For what? Isn't this marriage only temporary? Why tell your parents?" Griffin asked while throwing his body on the sofa. He had just left for work, but he felt his body was quite tired from the chaos that had happened lately.

"Still, Griffin!" Zaylee denied standing before the man, just about to close his eyes.

GREEP…

"Gosh!" Zaylee screamed as Griffin pulled her arm; in one push, the man managed to pin her down on the sofa; their position was inappropriate if it was said that their relationship was only limited to colleagues.

"Or maybe..." Griffin said softly as he moved his face closer to Zaylee's ear, making the girl close her eyes when she felt butterflies flying in her stomach.

Zaylee pushed Griffin so the man would not get too close to her, but Griffin continued to press Zaylee until there was no distance between them. Zaylee could even feel Griffin's warm breath on her face.

"Do you hope this marriage will be real and eternal like many people's dreams?" Griffin asked softly. Even if Zaylee's brain was not working correctly, the girl would be carried away by his seduction.

"Don't dream!" Zaylee sarcastically opened her eyes, her eyes full of hatred. The girl kept trying to escape Griffin even though her efforts did not make the man's body move or shift slightly.

"Get out of the way!" Zaylee snapped, annoyed because Griffin did not heed her words at all.

Instead of obeying the girl's words in his embrace, Griffin buried his face in Zaylee's neck, inhaling the distinctive scent of the girl's body, which had the status of his ex-lover. Zaylee rounded her eyes when she felt small kisses on her neck.

"Griffin!" Zaylee screamed even louder, but Griffin ignored her. The man was busy with his activities, and he began to stop when Zaylee hit his back repeatedly to make Griffin aware of what he was actually doing.

"Please get away from me!" Zaylee said, pushing Griffin's shoulder, but what happened next?

Griffin cupped his hand on Zaylee's cheek; the man pressed his lips on Zaylee's strawberry-scented lips. Only attached, no kiss at all, Zaylee continued to be surprised by Griffin's actions.

Zaylee's hand stopped pushing, letting the two lips meet. Griffin finally opened his eyes a few seconds later, realizing the girl was no longer fighting him. Zaylee deliberately waited for Griffin to be off guard and then took advantage of it to escape.

"Are you drunk?" Zaylee asked softly while wiping her thin lips. Griffin sat on the sofa, stroking her hair slowly. Griffin touched his left chest to ensure the fast beat came from his heart. A strange rush that surged overtook his body when their bodies rubbed against each other, especially Zaylee's intoxicating scent.

"No Griffin! You must not fall in love with that devil woman! Remember what he did to you first!"