Chapter 3

Jade

“Bells. You made it!”

My best friend turned around with a whip of her glossy gold hair and immediately squeezed me into a tight hug.

“Oh my God, Jades. Happy birthday! I’ve missed you so fucking much!” she said into my hair before releasing me and stepping back to properly take in my appearance.

“Let me see the ring.” She grabbed my left hand. “Ouuu, look at that huge eight-carat diamond. I’m so jealous.” She fanned herself with a dramatic lift of her plucked brows. “Saw you guys walk in together and the room’s jaws collectively dropped. I see why BuzzFeed ranked your man high on that list now. You snagged yourself an Adonis, I’m telling you.”

I tried to preen but it was just off and she immediately caught on to it.

“What’s wrong, babe? You look a little pale.” She set her drink back on the bar and leaned closer, abandoning the guy she had been flirting with when I came over. “Is it your corset? Did Rosa force you into a size 4 dress again?”

“Yes, but… it’s not that.” I waved her off, cautiously glancing around at the large number of people in attendance who had their eyes on my every move. “I can’t tell you here but it’s pretty serious.”

“There you are.” My mom suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a hand on my shoulder. “What are you doing not by your fiancé’s side?”

“Hi, Rosa.” Bells greeted her, saving me from having to answer her question.

“Hm, yes. I see you came.” She turned up her nose in barely hidden distaste before returning her attention to me.

She had never liked my best friend, Isabella Garcia, which wasn’t a surprise because she never truly liked anyone. Just tolerated them. Or sucked up to their asses like she did with Julian and his parents.

But she especially didn’t like Bells because she had immediately devoted herself to her travel-blogging career the moment she graduated from the university instead of finding a husband and settling down like a proper lady of the society did.

Barf.

Because she was following her passion and doing what she loved, Bells was almost never around. She was always traveling from one country to the next, in and out of cities on most days. We hadn’t seen face-to-face in months but she had promised to show up today which was why I had been so excited to see her earlier.

“Did you hear me?” My mom’s grating voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “I asked where your fiancé is.”

Of course she wasn’t going to let it go that easily. “He was greeting his friends at the other side of the room when I excused myself to use the ladies.”

“Well you aren’t using the ladies now, are you? So get back to him. People are watching!” She hissed at me through slightly parted lips and kept her expression pleasant so people didn’t suspect what was going on.

“I just came to greet Bells. Can’t I do that?”

“You should be doing that with your fiancé.” Her eyes shot daggers at me. “Now, not another word. Go meet him right this instant. You’re causing a scene.”

She was the one causing a scene but I didn’t dare mention that or she was going to make me regret it.

Bells gripped my hand and gave me a sympathetic smile. “We’ll catch up later,” she told me with a reassuring nod.

Usually, she wouldn’t just allow me give in to my mom’s demands this easily. But she knew we were in public with flashing cameras and wagging tongues. The slightest hint of drama and they’d all pounce on it like rabid dogs and twist the story when it gets splashed across gossip tabloids all over the country.

So I gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand before releasing her and walking away with my mom, apprehension stiffening my every step.

The rooftop garden shimmered under city lights, presenting an opulent space that radiated quiet grandeur and effortless luxury. I stopped and smiled every once in a while to greet guests while a string quartet played in the background, ninety-five percent of them strangers to me.

My palms started to sweat when I spotted Julian. He turned around from the group of businessmen he was chatting with and gave me a dazzling smile that would have blown me away if I didn’t know any better.

The man was just a really good actor.

“Sweetheart, what made you take so long?” He slipped his hand around my waist when I came to stand beside him, pressing a lingering kiss to my temple that caused a shiver to race down my spine.

“Um, I just—”

“It’s time to open up the floor with your first dance.” Mom interrupted, her entire set of veneers on blinding display.

“Shall we?” Julian led me onto the dance floor amid the applause of the guests, staring down at me with such an endearing expression that my heart began to pound painfully in my chest, hoping if only it was real.

Pulling me closer when the music started up, he leaned down towards my ear with a smile only for the cameras and whispered harshly,

“You need to stop looking at me like I killed your puppy.”

No. He did much worse, which was crush my heart into pieces.

I said nothing, just tried my best to smile through the dance steps. Despite his warnings and my broken hopes, my body still buzzed in his arms as his touch ignited me in ways that caused a permanent blush to linger on my cheeks, the feeling of being in the right place with the right person washing over my entire being.

He held me like I was the most precious thing to him and it sent the wrong signals to my brain. If I could only ignore the fact that he was acting, this would easily be the happiest moment of my entire life.

Other couples joined us when the first song ended. Later, a lavish buffet was served, then our parents gave their individual speeches, acknowledging the high-ranking guests in attendance.

Expensive gifts and heartfelt well-wishes flowed freely as Julian and I made rounds thanking the people for their generous donations while cameras captured every moment from the sidelines.

Until we finally left in his Mercedes Maybach, Julian acted like the most perfect fiancé, always touching me in some way. Kissing my cheek, squeezing my waist, pretending to whisper sweet nothings into my ear while I shivered from the deep, husky tone of his voice.

Now though, the night was over. The charade was done and he was back to his usual cold self.

Plastered to my side of the backseat, I silently watched as he talked business on his phone, completely ignoring my existence.

My own phone pinged from my clutch and I immediately grabbed it to check who it was, thankful for the distraction.

Bells: Hey, sorry we didn’t get another chance to talk better. Your fiancé was so impatient to drag you out of there, whew. Can’t wait to hear all the details tomorrow. Most especially the size of his dick. We need to finally put the speculations to rest, xx.

I immediately clicked off my phone, horrified at reading that kind of message while Julian was seated just a few inches away.

Speaking of inches, I wondered how many his own would be. Seven? Eight? Ten??

Bloody Bells. Her and her dirty mouth was what had put these thoughts in my head.

I was feeling all kinds of hot and bothered now, constantly shifting around to try and alleviate the ache that was steadily building between my legs.

I imagined how his mouth would feel on my skin, how his cock would feel invading the most intimate part of my body.

Would he be rough or gentle? Would he take me in all kinds of positions or just one? Would he put his mouth on my pussy? Make me scream and squirt on his face while he whispered the filthiest words and called me ‘good girl’?

“Hey.” Fingers snapped in my face and I jerked out of my dirty fantasies, turning with pink cheeks to see Julian staring at me with an annoyed expression. “What the hell are you daydreaming about?”

My blush deepened and I fiddled with the diamond ring around my finger. “It’s technically nighttime already so I don’t think you can say daydreaming any longer.” I tried to joke and cracked a smile but he didn’t even move a single muscle in his face in humor.

Jeez, tough crowd.

“We’re here already. Get out.”

His expression was so hard and a bit scary-looking that I couldn’t help but immediately scamper out of the car so as not to trigger any harsh words out of him.

Just as I was about to close the door, I realized he wasn’t stepping out from his own side.

I lowered my head back into the car. “Um, aren’t you coming?”

“No.” He wasn’t even looking at me. “Stop asking stupid questions and shut the door.”

I stepped back and did as he said then watched as the car drove off without hesitation, leaving me standing in front of our new house alone.