Chapter 3
"You're insane..." Gray uttered, anger bubbling inside him. He stood up roughly on the chair, his palms slammed the table that separates them. "You're f*cking insane!" He yelled at his father who only stayed silent while staring at him.
Silver shrugged and it angered Gray all the more to see that his father hadn't thought about his feelings at all.
Gray grabbed the papers on the table and shredded them. His father's face was telling him he had figured he would do that and that he was smart to have known.
"Maybe. But I'm serious, Gray. The proof was on the table and fortunately, those were just copies."
"I will not accept this! If you still want me to call you father, then tell me this is just a joke," he growled but his father didn't say anything.
Gray clenched his fist and tramped out of the house, not forgetting to slam the door shut. He fished out his keys from his pocket, got inside his car and drove out recklessly.
He was so furious, he couldn't calm himself. He didn't even know where he was going.
When he finally stopped, he found himself in a place he didn't recognize. He was finally starting to calm down when he remembered what his father said.
He married someone and not just anyone, it was Juvia.
Realization dawned on Gray. So his father was really not trying to make a match between him and her. Did Silver tell him all those things about her to prepare him when this day finally comes? And that ring, was that a proposal ring?
Gray slammed his fist on the wheel. There were four reasons why he was this enraged.
First, his father didn't mention anything about marriage. He just went ahead and married her with only his Uncle Gildarts and grandfather, Makarov, as witnesses.
Second, if he remembered correctly, she was just his age! Not too young, but still young compared to his father. They could pass as father and daughter if anyone saw them together! Not that he knew what she looked like.
Third, Gray wasn't ready to think of anyone other than his mother as his father's wife. Silver loved her and they were both devastated when she died. Both even turned distant and it was just in the recent years that they started to bond again. So he couldn't understand why Silver did this when he knew how fragile their relationship was.
Fourth, his father's new wife, damn it, he couldn't call her that, Juvia, was moving in together with them. It was one thing that he married her but it was an entirely different thing if she lived with them, in the house where his mother lived before. He couldn't accept it. He wouldn't!
Gray thought of moving out of the house and just stay at his penthouse, completely ignoring the existence of the two. But no, he couldn't just allow the two of them to tarnish every memory he had with his mother in that house.
Fine then, he'd give up trying to separate them since his father made sure they were already married before Gray could say anything. But he would make sure that it wouldn't be easy for the two.
Juvia's heart was beating wildly as she looked up at the two-storey house. Silver didn't mention that it was this big when they talked about it. Well, he did say there were four bedrooms, but her imaginations weren't up to par.
"Follow me," Silver spoke when he walked out of the car, carrying some of her things. He told her she would have everything she needed in the house and she just had to bring her clothes and some of her most important things.
She followed him inside, her nerves tensed. Gray was still at work, Silver mentioned, but it didn't lessen the worry in her heart. From now on, she would live with the two of them.
At first, she was reluctant to accept this idea of living with them. But Silver said that Jose might harm her, as he looked like someone who was up to no good, and Silver didn't want to risk it. Then there were the assets that Juvia hadn't received yet. Jose might search for a loophole in their marriage, present it in court, resulting in her inheritance getting delayed.
It would be too late to do something if that happened, so to make sure everything would go according to their plans, they needed to at least act like they were married. And what better way to prove it than living in the same house?
Juvia was still in awe a few hours after the house tour. The place was vast, but not enough that they wouldn't meet anyone in the hallways. But still, it was bigger than anywhere she lived at.
She was also finally able to see Mika Fullbuster—Silver's wife. She was stunning in every of her portraits in the living room and the master's bedroom.
"She was beautiful and looked so kind. No wonder you love her so much," she remarked earlier when they stopped by the master's bedroom which was unused for decades. Juvia knew what Silver felt for his wife. He would avoid speaking of her death but she could see his love for her whenever he talked about their memories—how they met or how they first went on a date.
He smiled. "Yes. But isn't this weird coming from my new wife?" He joked.
"Really, SIlver-sama?" She made a face, embarassed.
"Oh come on now," he chuckled and put his arms on her shoulders. "Fine, I won't call you wife."
Juvia shook her head as she smiled. She made him promise not to call her his wife. It wasn't awkward anymore, and Juvia could also joke about it, still it felt really weird when they treated each other as family for years. He made his own request though that he would only agree if she called him father which earned him a grimace from her.
The room she would be staying in was at the furthermost end of the hall on the second floor, west side of the house. It was Silver's bedroom, but he wouldn't sleep there with her. He would sleep in the next room which was only a few steps away. He said it was necessary for people to think they share the same room. She shrugged, not really bothered.
It was a simple room and there were barely any decorations. Juvia started unpacking, cleaning, and organizing her things in the room. She didn't move any of Silver's things and just made space for hers. She wouldn't be staying there for a long time anyways.
Someone knocked and Juvia told him to enter.
"Are you done?" Silver asked as he entered.
"Almost, Silver-sama. Have you finished cooking? Juvia told you she can help."
"It's fine. Gray will be home by 8. You should come down."
Juvia nodded and he left. She continued putting her clothes in the built-in closet before coming down. She helped Silver arrange the table while they waited for Gray to come home. She was anxiously sitting on her seat as he called his son on the phone. Apparently, Gray wasn't answering the phone.
Silver sat at the head of the table, obviously pissed.
"He doesn't like Juvia?" Juvia asked in a small voice, feeling upset, her nervousness fading away.
He sighed. "It's not like that, Juvia-chan. He's just...aggrieved. We have never really recovered from Mika's death and now this."
She looked down. "Juvia's sorry. If it weren't for her-"
"Don't say that," he cut her off. "I was the one who pushed this whole thing to help you. Let's give him some time. He'll come around," he assured her.
Hopefully he would understand. If she wasn't really desperate, she wouldn't be here. But she was and his father lent a helping hand. If only she could explain everything to him, but then again, Silver should've told him already. If he was this upset, that means even if the marriage was fake, he wouldn't be able to accept it. Which was a shame because Juvia wanted to get along with him.
They proceeded eating dinner, talking about the company or any other things to lighten up their mood. Even after they finished eating and washing the dishes, Gray didn't come home.