Page 3 of The Devil's Fire

My fatherfound himself a new wife not long after we left. He even has a stepson, Carlos, from his wife’s previous marriage whom he treated like his own flesh and blood. I would be lying if I said it didn’t bother the shit out of me to hear he was treating someone else more like his own child than me.

Cara instantly spilled the tea, said my father had totally downgraded, and I was prepared to give the stink eye to the woman my father ended up marrying.

On the elevator ride down to the lobby, I felt myself getting more nervous, and my hands fidgeted around the little gift box I had with me. It felt like my stomach was in a thousand knots.

“Get it together, Althaia… It’s just family.” I breathed out, trying to calm my nerves.

I took a final deep breath as the elevator doors opened to the lobby and clutched the small engagement gift in my hands. It wasn’t anything grand, just two champagne glasses saying, ‘Mr. Right’ with a mustache, and the other ‘Mrs. Always Right’ with red kissy lips. It immediately made me think of Cara because she had the impression she was always right. Even in situations where she wasn’t, she still was, according to herself. She could be a little cocky sometimes.

Nearing the middle of the lobby, I stopped in my tracks when I spotted the tall, blonde-haired man in a gray suit that hugged his body to perfection.

“Michael?” I asked in shock. He spun around and grinned when he saw me.

“Althaia! Long time, no see.” He smiled at me, showing off his pearly whites. It has been so long since I last saw him. My first crush ever. Damn, now I remembered why I was obsessed with him.

Michael had the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen, a sharp jawline, and a clean-shaven face. The way he styled his dirty blonde hair gave the ‘I didn’t bother to try’ look, which made him look quite hot.

We actually dated when we were younger. He just didn’t know.

I just stared at him, my mouth ajar, as I couldn’t believe my own two eyes.

“Damn, Althaia, just take a picture if you’re just going to stare at me like that.” He chuckled, and I felt my cheeks heat. He still had an effect on me.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Michael. I was just surprised to see you here.” I laughed, hoping he didn’t notice my flushed cheeks.

“Yeah, well, I kind of overheard Cara saying that you were coming, and she was going to send someone over to come and get you. I couldn’t believe that the Althaia was coming, so I said I would come and fetch ya.” Michael smiled and tucked his hands into the pockets of his slacks.

His eyes slowly scanned me, trailing down my body, and then up again to meet my eyes, giving me a lazy smirk.

“Can’t say I regret the decision. You look stunning as ever, Althaia.” His blue eyes darkened, and my heart raced when he gave me a look.

“And you look handsome as ever, Michael.” I returned with a smile as he sauntered up to me with a sexy grin on his face.

two

Althaia

“No way! You got yourself that car?!” I gaped at the gleaming black Aston Martin as he escorted me outside.

“Sure did! Worked my ass off to get it.” He looked at his car pridefully.

When we were younger, he would always talk about wanting an Aston Martin. We used to love talking about cars when we were kids and became so excited when we saw those luxury cars in movies. I was a sucker for those cars.

Michael opened the door for me, and I immediately glanced around as I climbed inside, almost afraid to move in case I would ruin something. It was one sexy car, and just sitting in an Aston Martin felt surreal. And he was looking so fine driving it.

A sexy man deserved a sexy car.

“So, how come you’re attending the engagement party?” I asked. Sure, we all knew each other, and we were close growing up, but he was always talking about traveling the world, so I didn’t think he would have stuck around.

Michael glanced at me quickly before refocusing on the road.

“Ah, I forgot you don’t know.” He smiled, and I gave him a confused look.

“Don’t know what?”

“I work for your father now.”

Oh.

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