)

Grayson had intended to go swimming but ended up sitting on the shower floor instead. He was shirtless and had his pants on, clinging to his legs. His silver blonde hair fell effortlessly, and his cheekbones were sharply defined. However, his once intense grey silver eyes now appeared dim, lifeless, and cold.

As water droplets from his hair fell onto his body, he watched them trace a path down his abs and disappear at his waist. Just then, a faint buzz startled him from his pocket. Grayson realised he still had Alison's phone. Thoughts of Alison flooded his mind, mingling with memories of Emily and Avery, creating a tangled mess of emotions.

Taking out the phone, he read a notification asking if he wanted to delete a recorded phone call to free up space. He stared at the screen, unsure of what to do. Part of Grayson wanted to simply stop, but deep down, a persistent voice, a curse of being a Hawthorne, urged him to keep going and simply win. By accident, his finger touched the screen, and instead of dismissing the call, it began to play.

"Stay away from him, Alison," Mason's twisted voice echoed in the shower. Silence lingered on the line as Alison remained quiet. Frustrated, Mason raised his voice even more, "What do you even see in him?"

"Everything you don't, apparently," Alison defiantly responded.

Mason took a deep breath and decided to play his last card. "Did he tell you about Emily Laughlin?" Grayson's grip on the phone tightened unintentionally, anger welling up within him as he strained to hear the call. "He killed her, Alison. He took a girl's life."

Silence filled the air, and Alison's voice remained quiet, leaving Mason desperate for a response. He persisted, his voice filled with urgency. "Did Grayson even tell you? The person you trust, the person you think is good. Did he?"

Finally, Alison spoke softly, in a subdued tone. "Whether he did or not, he had his reasons-"

Mason's anger reached its peak as he cut Alison off. "Don't you see? You're going to end up like her!" Grayson straightened his back, turned off the shower, and listened to the recorded phone call. "I'm going to kill that son-of-a-"

"What's so bad about that?"

Mason went silent for a few seconds, and Grayson too was speechless. Did Alison truly understand that Grayson had killed Emily?

Mason's voice trembled with a mix of anger and desperation as he asked, "How can you be with him after knowing that-"

"I don't know who Emily was or what happened, but I'm sure she was happy." Grayson listened, feeling a mixture of gratitude and guilt. He realized that Alison could have easily found out about Emily and Grayson, but she didn't. Instead, she spent time with Grayson, trying to get to know him. Then a memory struck Grayson—was that what Alison meant at the music room when she gave him her Harvard University files? Her words echoed in his head, "Do you want to know me?"

Alison's last words resonated deeply before she ended the call. "I want to be happy. And I hope happiness will be the last thing I feel in the end."