Page 30 of The Pakhan's Forced Bride
Ardalion turns his face away from her touch.
“Go and get yourself a drink, Lydia,” he says sternly. “Mingle, enjoy the party.” It’s a blatant, yet polite, way of telling her to leave.
She giggles and nods. “I would love a champagne. Let me grab one and I’ll be right back.”She’s utterly clueless.
Lydia steps away from Ardalion, walking towards the bar—towards me.
She doesn’t seem to recognize me. Although, to be fair, she caught me in my sweatpants and a T-shirt at home, and right now I look like a supermodel. As she nears me, I call her name.
“Lydia,” I snap.
She pauses, confused. Then recognition floods her face. “Oh, it’syou, sweetie. How lovely that Ardalion brought his assistant here—or, um—” She looks me up and down, this timewith insecurity hidden in her expression. “You do look lovely when you put some effort in,” she says, as bitchy as ever. “Who exactly are you?”
I swallow away the urge to punch her in the throat.
“Ardalion’s wife,” I say coldly, despite the smile on my face.
“W-wife?”she stammers. “Ardalion wouldn’t ever get married. He didn’t even want to date. He made that clear when we—when—he’s not the type of man a girl can take, you know—” She’s tripping over her words, denial and confusion flowing through her.
I slowly brush a curl from my face, tucking it behind my ear, letting her see the magnificent ring Ardalion purchased for me this morning.
It’s funny, because when he gave it to me, I told him straight that I didn’t want to wear it. But he insisted it was part of the deal we’d made when I agreed to come to the party with him. He said he couldn't show off his wife at the event if I wasn’t wearing a ring. It wouldn’t be authentic.
I wore it with reluctance. It felt like a trap.
But right now, I’m absolutely thrilled. The diamond is so massive, the weight of it is visible as I lift my hand.
Lydia’s eyes don’t leave it for a second. I can see the glimmer of the stone reflected in her stare.
“Hmph,” she huffs, shaking her head, still not wanting to believe me.
Then she steps around me and walks to the bar without another word.
She won’t give up that easily. She isn’t the type. She’ll want to test the waters despite what I’ve told her.
She can try.
I can sense Lydia’s eyes on me as I walk back to Ardalion. When I reach him, I slip my arm around his back and stand on my tiptoes to kiss his neck. It takes him by surprise. I can feel his body tense, but he plays it off well, and no one else seems to notice his reaction.
I snuggle closer to him as Lydia arrives back in the conversation.
Her eyes are tight on Ardalion.
“I was just talking to…" she throws me a glare.
“His wife,” I remind her again, a warning edged into my words.
“Lydia, this is Belle, my wife,” Ardalion says. “I believe you two met at the house yesterday.”
Lydia’s jaw is hanging open. “You got married,” she snaps, almost angry, trying to hide it.
“I met the right woman,” Ardalion says, and my heart flares with triumph. I run my hand up his chest and lean my cheek against him, making a show of claiming him.
Lydia carries on talking to Ardalion, but I no longer care. I slip my hand into his back pocket, groping his ass as I stand on my tiptoes again to nuzzle my face into his neck.
“I’m sorry I got distracted and didn’t get you a drink,” I whisper.
He stops listening to Lydia and turns to me, his lips inches from mine. “What are you doing?” he whispers.
