)

The ballroom buzzed with music and laughter once more as Alison opened the doors. Grayson, meanwhile, stayed out on the balcony, telling Alison to head back inside. She did as she was told without fuss, even though she really didn't want to go back to Mason. Before she left, she shared a brief outline of their plan, a plan that now weighed heavily on Grayson's mind. 

He leaned against the stone balustrade, thinking about what he'd done. Grayson had let his anger get the best of him, and now he had to deal with the consequences. 

He clenched his fists, frustration coursing through his veins. He was angry with himself for hurting Alison, and he was angry at Alison for EVERYTHING.

She had pushed him to his limits, challenging his every expectation and leaving him feeling vulnerable and exposed, as well as shattering the illusion of control he had so carefully built. Why couldn't she just let him save her? It was an instinct he couldn't ignore, an overwhelming need to protect, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he had to be the one to save her.

Grayson had always been the one in control, the one who could predict and manipulate situations to his advantage. But now, he felt like everything was spiralling out of control. Why did he let this happen to him? How?

As he continued to stand alone on the balcony, Grayson couldn't help but replay the events of the past few months in his mind.

Alison had planned everything - the rooftop meeting, partnering up in IT, even leaving her phone on purpose for him to snoop and find those breadcrumbs leading to her next clues. It stung to admit it, but she had played him, and it turned his stomach. Alison had positioned him into her plans, making him a vital cog in her intricate machine, and now it seemed she wanted to bring it all to an end.

Yet, there was something about her that drew him in, something he couldn't explain, something that unsettled him. In a way, she was like a Hawthorne – playing games and guarding secrets. Grayson couldn't help but compare her and Jameson, along with his grandfather, both of whom had a hunger for anything. But they bore the heavy weight of their choices, a fact Grayson was sure of. He believed that Alison was attempting to shed that part of herself, much like Jameson was doing, thanks to Avery.

Avery had brought significant changes in both his and Jameson's lives over the past few months. Merely thinking about her brought a sense of calm to his racing thoughts, helping him regain his focus.

He felt that Alison understood him to a certain extent, which explained her decision to keep him at arm's length, to end his part of the story. It seemed her intention was to shield him from Mason, once she was confident that Grayson had exited the storyline for good.

Her plan, she said, was straightforward. Grayson was the bait to expose Mason's true intentions, while Alison recorded it all as evidence for court. The only problem was when and where it would unfold - the one detail she hadn't shared, either intentionally or for him to piece together. At least she was sharing more with him now, or so Grayson liked to think.

He took another deep breath, the cool night air provided some relief as he smoothed out his cuffs, and pushed away from the stone balustrade towards the door. 

Grayson scanned the room, searching for Alison in the sea of faces. It didn't take him long to spot her in conversation with Mason and a few others. She had always been adept at hiding her true feelings, and it bothered him that he couldn't read her intentions or motivations completely.

He started towards the group, but before he could take a step, someone yanked him back, pulling on his suit. "I wouldn't go there if I were you."

Grayson turned to find Cora standing beside him, a sly smile on her lips as she sipped her red wine. Her sudden appearance had startled him, but he quickly regained his composure, although he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.

Cora's dark eyes seemed to bore into his, and for a moment, he felt like she was reading his thoughts. "Mason is not in a good mood." 

"What do you mean?" Grayson asked.

Cora's lips curled into a knowing smile, but she offered no further explanation. "Sometimes, it's better to watch from the sidelines." She took another sip of her wine, her gaze still fixed on the pair across the room. 

Grayson's mind raced as he tried to make sense of Cora's words. What kind of history did she have with Mason, and why did it seem like she was trying to protect him from something? She was part of Mason's inner circle, wasn't she?

Grayson kept his silver eyes on Alison and Mason, letting the silence settle between them. His curiosity gnawed at him like a persistent itch, but he knew that patience was a powerful weapon, and he was certain that Cora would eventually just tell him. 

Cora finally spoke up, breaking the silence sooner than Grayson had expected. She glanced at Mason and Alison for a moment before turning her attention to him. "He told me to find her for business stuff, but she seemed...occupied."

Grayson didn't react at all, still staring across the room. He wasn't surprised that she had caught him with Alison on the balcony, and he figured Mason had sent her to keep tabs on them.

Cora kept her eyes on him, narrowing them like she was sizing him up. "Just as I suspected from a Hawthorn," she said. "You're not as easy to control as some of the others here."

Grayson felt a bit pleased by her assessment. He had spent his life learning to read people and situations, and he wasn't going to be anyone's pawn in anyone's game, including Mason's. Mason was a master manipulator, and Grayson had long suspected that he was just one piece on a much larger chessboard. But he had his own plans, his own motivations that ran deeper than any trust to Alison or the other power players in the room.

"What did you say to her? Or, more to the point, what did she tell you?"

Grayson slowly turned his attention away from Alison and Mason to face Cora head-on. His silver eyes bored into hers, cold and unyielding, signalling that it was none of her business. His gaze always did the trick, and Cora shuddered slightly.

"I'm not your enemy, Grayson."

"Nor are you an ally."

He let his words settle in while Cora tapped a finger against the glass of red wine and took a sip. "I have my reasons, Grayson. Reasons that you might discover sooner than you think. But sometimes, in this world, you'll find that it's not just about allies and enemies. It's about survival."

Before he could respond, the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of another guest, a well-dressed man with an air of importance about him. Cora's demeanour shifted instantly, her focus shifting to the newcomer. He smiled at Cora, but gave Grayson a hard stare as if accusing him for something. But Grayson didn't hesitate, he gave an even harder stare forcing the man to turn his gaze back to Cora. 

Cora nodded, a faint smile playing on her lips as she turned her attention back to Grayson. "I wouldn't linger around much longer if I were you." And with that, she took the man by his arm and they both disappeared into the crowd. 

A sudden shiver ran through his spine. What was going to happen? He shifted his gaze across the room, tracking Mason as he made his way towards the exit, exchanging goodbyes with other guests. Why was Mason leaving, and where could he be headed?

Grayson's pulse quickened when he realized Alison was no longer at his side. He moved through the crowd, cautiously, stopping just a few feet away from Mason, relieved that Mason hadn't spotted him. Grayson searched for Alison, but before he could spot her, she stood right before him, her eyes locked onto his.

She just stood there, inches away. Her expression was blank, and for some reason, Grayson felt his heart tighten and found himself holding his breath, unable to find any words. 

Without uttering a word, Alison turned away from Grayson, her eyes never leaving his, and began to walk toward Mason. Grayson watched in silence as she joined Mason at his side once more. Their departure felt like the final, heartbreaking chapter of a story that he couldn't rewrite.

Mason nodded curtly to a guess as he passed, and Alison's blank expression remained unchanged. The two of them left the room together, and Grayson was left standing there, still holding his breath. 

As the door closed behind them, the ballroom continued to buzz with music and laughter, but for Grayson, the world had grown silent, and he was left alone with his thoughts. 

He couldn't predict where the path ahead would lead, but one thing was certain – he was in control, and the game had taken an unpredictable turn. Alison had left him to write the ending, his ending. And Grayson knew precisely where it should conclude: where it all began, at Harvard University.