CHAPTER SEVEN

Arianna's POV. 

"Let him go, Ross; we don't want to cause a scene here already." Another voice called and I stopped myself from turning to feed the curiosity that was growing inside of me. 

I refused to speak and instead got on looking at him and wondering why he was not speaking as usual. 

Evan looked like he was about to pass out excreta from how hard his face was. 

"Lighten up, blud; no one is here to cause your pretty wife harm. My boys know better than to try that nonsense with you." The second man spoke before laughing.

"We are not friends. Stop passing on the opinion that we are. I don't want to have anything to do with you, and I believe the feeling is mutual, so why don't we respect each other's opinions and not try to act chummy? We are not here to discuss. It's a party. Unless you have suddenly forgotten what that means." Evan responded in a calm tone but I could see the tautness in his shoulders. 

"Evan, ever uptight. What would anyone do to make you forget the past? It happened a long time ago why don't we let it go and stop bringing it up at every whim? It's getting annoying."

Okay... Back up. These guys were making my head spin with questions but I prevented myself from asking. It seemed like they had deep-seated issues that they needed to thrash out, and my input wouldn't be needed at all. 

Evan's only response was the shake of his head. "If you don't mind, my wife and I are here to enjoy the party. You can tell your bosses that I am not interested in their Petty schemes," he said, looking around. "You can also tell that reporter to take his freaking camera out of my face." He said through gritted teeth.

"Oh really? I believe that you would have gotten past it. We do not need to fight. We are grown men for crying out loud."

Evan scoffed at the word 'grown men.' 

"Oh, I'm sorry, you must have lost me because I don't see any grown man talking to me. All I see are daddy's boys who just want to sit pretty and get paid. While that might work for you, it doesn't fly with me. The earlier you get that into your skull, the better for you."

I tugged on his arm slowly to bring him back to the present. "Why don't we just go take a drink and you can always have this conversation later on?" I suggested stepping into my role immediately. 

His eyes flashed with something which I couldn't quite place my finger on but decided not to speak. "You heard my wife. We are here to enjoy the party. Stay the hell out of my way." He responded before kissing the back of my hand. 

All for a show. 

"What was that about?" I whispered immediately. We moved a few feet away from those men whom I knew and stared daggers into the back of my head. I was pretty sure that if they could, they would pry my head open. 

"It's none of your business." He said returning to his usual demeanor. 

I kissed my teeth in anger. Well, what was I expecting from a man who was the devil's spawn? "Don't look at them. They want to catch us arguing and begin a rumor. I am going to make them pay." He muttered aloud. 

As much as I didn't want to be friends with him. I couldn't help but be curious about their relationship. I have always seen Evan in control but at that moment, he looked like he was about to snap and punch them in the jaw. I guess it was one of those business deals that didn't go through. 

"You should also learn to take your advice. Your face is as hard as granite; I don't think that speaks well for a man who is newly married." I responded in a matching tone. 

Evan didn't bother to pay me any attention and it almost seemed that even holding my hand made him repulsed. 

"I would have been thankful if I were you. I just saved you from a lot of questioning from those people you did not like but here you are behaving like I am a pest. You asked me to come out and not the other way around." I said, prodding him further. 

He looked away and I cut his gays staring at the bum of another lady. Imagine the nerve! 

"I'm standing by beside you and here you are lusting after someone else that's not your wife." I snapped at him. 

He didn't bother to turn and my head was spinning violently at that moment. He didn't deserve my loyalty in any way and I was going to stop giving him the attention that I did. "An apology would be better, but I guess it's not your thing," I whispered and picked up a flute of champagne from a server walking by. 

"You are going to get tipsy. I don't want to have to drag your ass half drunk out of this place. It won't speak well of you. You are going to regret your actions soon." He advised still without looking at me. 

"You are just a brute, looking for people who would jump at everything you say, but that's not going to work around here. Get it into your head that I'm not your slave. I can decide to drink as much as I want, and nobody would say a thing about it. They don't own my life."

His grip tightened on my arm, inching closer to me. "I understand that you are highly emotional but that's not an excuse for this nonsense. You might not have a reputation to protect because I'm the one doing your favor. But I wouldn't take trash from anyone, including you, my beloved wife." He smirked at me making me almost punch his face. 

"That reminds me, we are leaving the country in the morning..." His smirk widened, "To see my parents."

Wait, what?!