"What do you say, bellissima?"
"Stop calling me that, Arius."
"Over my dead body, wife."
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:˚ ♡ ⋆｡˚･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Lucian West was in desperate need of a job to pay for her mother's loan. When she finally gets the job, her boss offers h...
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Oh way down we go.
The stares are getting too much, even for me. I keep feeling the weight of people's eyes on me, like I'm being inspected, evaluated, or worse, judged. What do you mean I'm not good enough for "someone like Arius"?
Man, I hate social gatherings.
Too bad that it's literally all my doing. I'm the one who agreed to this engagement, this whole circus. I'm the one who decided to play pretend. And yet, I can't seem to shake the discomfort that creeps up on me whenever people talk behind their hands, glance my way, or-ugh-just stand there, waiting for some dramatic reveal.
"You okay, love?" Arius asks, his voice calm, smooth. He's standing tall beside me, his presence radiating confidence, as always. But even he doesn't seem quite as comfortable as usual tonight.
"Never felt better." I manage a smile, the kind that feels more like a forced muscle spasm than an actual expression. The smile has to be enough-for the sake of this event, for the sake of the engagement. My hands grip my glass a little too tightly, my knuckles going white as I force myself to stand up straighter.
"You want to go to a quiet place, Lucy?" He lowers his voice, a gentle, soothing tone, almost like he's trying to read me, trying to figure out what's going on behind my blank mask. I'm sure he sees through it, but he doesn't push.
I shake my head. "No, let's just... let's just get through this, okay?" I wave to the new guests who have arrived just on time, trying to appear more composed than I feel. My heart's still racing from the past half-hour of awkward greetings and strained conversations.
A woman enters the room.
I notice her immediately-her poise, the way her heels click so deliberately on the marble floor, the elegance with which she carries herself. She's beautiful, a true vision. But what catches my attention isn't her appearance, not really. No, it's the way her eyes lock onto Arius as soon as she walks in.
She looks at me, then back to him, and there's this knowing, taunting little smile that pulls at the corners of her lips. And then, without even a second of hesitation, she walks straight toward him.
My stomach sinks, the heavy feeling creeping up my throat.
Before I can make sense of what's happening, before I can even move, I feel her hands on Arius's arm, pulling him closer. And just like that-without even an ounce of respect for the engagement, for the situation-she kisses him.
On the cheek. But it's too close to his lips. The intimacy is there, even if she's not kissing him full-on. It feels like a slap to the face.
