"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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《♡°♡°♡°☆°♡°♡°♡》
ARIUS
The engagement party is in full swing, an endless swirl of polished laughter, clinking glasses, and the murmur of carefully curated conversations.
I should be paying attention. Should be nodding at the right people, shaking the right hands, exchanging pleasantries with the guests I barely tolerate. Instead, my gaze is fixed on her.
Lucy moves through the crowd with effortless grace, a vision in deep emerald green. She’s smiling, tilting her head slightly at something someone says—a gesture that appears natural, easy. But I know better.
It’s rehearsed. Polite. Controlled. A well-placed performance for the sake of appearances.
She’s playing her part.
And then, he appears.
Tristan.
I should have expected it. He was never the type to pass up an opportunity to poke at a wound, to turn a knife just because he could. And, of course, he’d find her first.
Lucy startles just slightly as he leans in, murmuring something too low for me to hear. His hand ghosts along the small of her back, fingers brushing lightly before lingering, just long enough to make a statement.
Mine.
The word should not feel possessive. But it does.
My fingers tighten around my glass, the cool surface pressing into my palm.
Beside me, Rowan lets out a low whistle, his tone amused but edged with something sharper. “Well, that’s bold.”
I don’t respond. Because if I do, I might say something I regret.
Tristan knows exactly what he’s doing. He wants a reaction. He thrives on them. And still, I find myself moving before I can stop it.
I approach smoothly, masking the sharp edge of my irritation with a smirk. “Darling,” I say, sliding an arm around Lucy’s waist as I step between them. “I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.”
Her shoulders stiffen under my touch. For a fraction of a second, something flickers in her eyes before she tamps it down.
Tristan smirks, his gaze flicking between us with amusement. “Arius. I was just congratulating your fiancée.”
“Of course you were.” My grip tightens slightly at her waist.
Lucy exhales, her fingers brushing mine in an unspoken warning before she steps forward. “I should go check on Char.”
I don’t let go immediately. Not until she looks at me. Not until I see that flicker of something unsteady in her eyes.
