Page 40 of Vow to Hate You

We chatted about Tokyo while the rest of the food was served, and I bit back a laugh when Damian inspected his plate. His face was already tinged green, and he hadn’t even taken a bite yet. I’d told the caterers he loved seafood and to not give him any of the sides.

Soon, Christian steered the conversation back to their company. I stayed quiet as they spoke numbers and marketing. Damian hadn’t taken a single bite, pushing his food around with his fork. Silence fell over the table while everyone ate as I picked up my spoon, scooping up some caviar.

“This is the first dinner I’ve hosted in this house,” I said with a loving smile as I caught Damian’s eye. “I wanted it to be special. Being apart for so long was difficult.”

A muscle flexed in his jaw. “It was. I’m happy to finally have you home, sweetheart.”

I couldn’t detect a note of deceit in his voice. He was good. Putting on the perfect show for his father and their guests. Raising the spoon, I leaned a bit closer to him.

“I ordered from your favorite restaurant. Is the food not good?” I asked with a slight pout.

“It’s delicious.” This time, his words came out slightly sharper. A warning for me to stop.

“You haven’t taken a bite,” I said in a small voice.

“The food is amazing,” Georgia cut in, giving me a smile. “Your wife worked hard for this dinner, Damian. You should support her as she does you.”

I hadn’t been expecting her to jump in, but this made it even better. Damian couldn’t disappoint her. Not if they wanted her business.

“I always support her,” Damian responded, his eyes flashing with the tiniest hint of annoyance.

“Try the caviar.” I lifted the spoon to his mouth. “It’s so good.”

It took everything in me not to react. He was so tense and I wondered if I was the only one who noticed it. When he opened his mouth slightly, amusement smothered me as I pushed the spoon in.

He chewed slowly, his face completely blank as he tried to keep it down. He swallowed thickly, forcing the food down his throat. His eyes watered, his nostrils flaring as he kept his composure. He grabbed his wine glass, downing it in one go, making Christian glare at him.

“Good?” I asked, filling my voice with hope.

“You know me so well,” he murmured, his hand dropping on my thigh. “This food is exactly what I wanted.”

His fingers tightened on my leg, silently telling me this wasn’t over. Right now, I couldn’t be bothered to care. The look on his face would live rent free in my head for weeks. Since Georgia had commented about him eating, he couldn’t walk away with his plate full.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly for everyone except Damian. He forced more of the seafood down, making sure half of his food was gone by the time everyone else finished. Helooked like he was about to heave everywhere. Georgia seemed to open up more, which pleased my father.

She asked me more about myself, and I found myself enjoying her company. This was probably the best dinner I’ve had with my father here. Char talked about college, and time flew by. Soon, it was time to end the evening, and I stood up along with everyone else.

“I hope to see you again,” Georgia told me as she gave me a hug goodbye. “Seeing as I’m entertaining going into business with your husband, I’m sure we will.”

“Natalia would love to host another dinner,” Christian jumped in with a wide smile.

“Or we can eat out, so she doesn’t need to work all day,” Georgia retorted briskly. I bit my tongue, realizing she still didn’t care much for Christian or my dad.

Damian and I escorted everyone to the front door. The second we were alone, he whirled around, his eyes blazing. Nerves swirled through me, but I didn’t show it as I stared back at him. I slipped off my heels, letting out a sigh, hating how badly they hurt my feet.

“I’d say the dinner went well,” I said casually. “It sounds like she wants to work with you.”

“Did you enjoy that?” he asked in a low voice.

“Very much. Although, I did think you were going to throw up for a moment there when you ate the lobster.”

He lunged for me, but I was already running. My bare feet slapped against the wood floors as I darted down the hall and then up the steps, racing for the guest bedroom I’d claimed as my own when I first arrived here.

“You had to know I wouldn’t sit back after you served me that,” he called out from behind me.

“Worth it,” I panted, not looking back. “I think I’ll order seafood every time we have a dinner party. Since it’s my jobto choose the food and everything. Am I being the good little submissive housewife you want?”

I let out a shriek when Damian’s fingers gripped the back of my dress. I ripped away, my feet hitting carpet as I got to the second floor. I flew into the room, slamming the door, twisting the lock just as Damian hit it from the other side.

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