Chapter 7 THE CHOICE

Lily's POV

I was excited when I left Lillian's place after throwing a tantrum and faking anger and resentment for what happened. The truth is, I never loved Grayson; I was only with him because of his money and influence. I needed him for my grand scheme to take over and become an influential person.

But I am far from achieving my plan. I still need Grayson by my side, so when he said he wanted sex, I needed to decide on a plan that would satisfy his sexual urge and still make him mine. Lilian was the perfect bait. Now, not only have I ruined the stupid feelings I suspected Lillian was having for Grayson, but I am also sure Grayson is going to cherish me more than he already did.

All my life, I have always been invisible. Lilian had better grades than I, and although we are twins with a striking resemblance, I always felt inferior to her. Dad loved her much more than he ever loved me and even favoured her by getting her to work alongside him in the Caldwell industries, leaving me in the shadows. Slowly, my love for my sister grew into hatred. Lilian took all I could have had, and now, I will take all she has ever dreamt of having.

I knew Grayson was going to come begging, and I will manipulate him to fire Lilian from the company and take away everything that she will ever have access to. My days of being in the shadow will be over, and Lilian will be at my mercy. I was excited and couldn't wait for the day to come. But fate had other plans.

Grayson's POV

"What do you mean by that? Why will I need to get married to someone I do not know? That's impossible, I will never get married to Lilian, never!" I said with determination.

"Then you will be making a mistake, right now the world knows nothing about your escapades. That was because I was able to buy the story from one magazine. I don't know who else has those pictures. By the time the pictures are released, we should have a perfect story to counter them. If not, your days as the CEO of your father's company are over. And you can as well kiss the merger goodbye," he said bluntly.

"There should be something else I can do aside from marrying her, anything else, please, uncle", I said in desperation.

"I am afraid this is the only way, you have to choose one, your desire or your position. The ball is now in your court", he stated, standing to leave. He stared at me for a while before he left the office.

For the rest of the day, I could not focus on anything but what my uncle said.

"I need to talk to Lily; whatever she says is what I will do."

I dialed her line and she picked up on the second ring, her angry voice coming through, "Haven't you done enough, you slept with my sister and still have the effrontery to call me, you should be ashamed of yourself", she purred, irritation clear in her voice.

"Lily, please, we need to talk, please. Give me a chance to explain.

"Fine, text me the time and place, and I will meet you there. You had better have a good explanation for this," she said and hung up.

I arrived at the location just in time, and after five minutes, Lily arrived too. "Hey", I said.

"I'm not here for pleasantries. Start talking," she said dismissively.

"I got to the hotel, you sent me the address, got the keys from the receptionist, and went straight to the room. I met her drunk, and she was all over me. I didn't want to do it, even though I wanted to do it right there and immediately. I thought she was you. I didn't want us to have our first sex in a drunken state, but I couldn't resist either. You know how long I had wanted it. I'm so sorry, love." I pleaded.

There was an awkward silence between us for a while before she broke the silence, "If all you said is true, then I will think about forgiving you."

"There's something else", she looked on, eager to hear what I wanted to say.

"My uncle found out about that night, and he is concerned that the board of directors may find out and impeach me from the position of CEO." I paused to see her reaction, but she said nothing, so I continued. "He suggested that the only way to prevent this is to...to marry your sister," I stammered.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now, no seriously, you want to marry my sister," she roared in anger. I knew I had pulled the last string on our relationship, but I was hoping she would understand.

"I promise, it's not going to be a real marriage. It's just going to be on paper, nothing more. You know that you are the one I love, not Lilian. Please, I need this, I can't afford to be impeached."

"Fine, but how are you going to convince Lilian about the marriage? She will never agree to it", she said plainly.

"I will figure something out. Are you sure you are fine with this?" I asked skeptically. "I don't have a choice now, do I? I can't watch you lose your position as the CEO," She gazed at me with a resigned look.

Things were better than before; the atmosphere was not as cold as when she walked in. I was relieved to an extent. But, I still had to figure out how to convince Lilian. We placed our order at the restaurant, ate, and left without saying another word to each other.

We were each drowned in our thoughts. I dropped Lily off at her apartment and tried to kiss her goodbye, but she evaded it.

"Goodnight, Grayson", she said as she opened the door.

"Goodnight, Lily", I replied. She got off, and I watched her go into her house before I drove off.

Now, the only thing left is to convince Lilian about this, but I need a solid plan, maybe a weak point I can blackmail her with. I took my phone and dialed a number,

"Find out everything about Lilian Hartley and get back to me within 24 hours", I instructed and ended the call. When I got home, I took a shower and dressed in my nightwear, the thought of the past few days repeating in my mind. I knew I wasn't going to get any sleep that night, so I went to my cell and took a very strong wine. I had decided I was going to drink myself to sleep and think of the consequences later.

I got a call from my uncle a few minutes later,

"Have you made a decision?" he said as soon as I picked up the call.

"Yes, I am going to marry her, but make the necessary preparations while I find a way to convince her," I said tiredly.

"You made the right choice, Grayson. Now no one is going to take the company away from you", he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Goodnight, uncle", I didn't wait for his reply before I ended the call.