Chapter 4

Alena was currently in her room, getting ready to spend time with one of her friends, Andrew. They had been really close for years now. But since Andrew lived in Japan, they rarely saw each other. So they decided to have lunch and go to the mall.  

It had been a week since the last time she saw Edmund. Willa and Edmund's mother talked a lot about the wedding, the dress, and everything.  

There was a gala again tomorrow night, and her parents said Edmund wanted to go with her so everything would be official between them.  

She was scared. Everyone would know about the engagement.  

She took a shower and got ready. Once she was done, she took her phone and went downstairs to wait for Andrew to pick her up.  

It wasn’t long before she received a text from Andrew, saying he was already outside. Immediately, she grabbed her purse and went outside. She smiled big and got into his car before hugging him.  

"I missed you, A!" Andrew said, pulling away and smiling at her.  

When you were with Andrew, you could never be bored. He was one of the funniest people you would ever meet. He was only a gay friend of hers. Yes, he was gay. But he had only dated once and took a break from relationships when it ended badly.  

"I missed you too!" she said, putting on her seatbelt. "I have so much to tell you."  

They ate first because she was starving. They were in a restaurant having lunch while sitting next to a big window. They talked about things from their past while laughing together.  

"You are what?!" Andrew shouted, shocked after she told him she was getting married. "To who?" he asked, still in shock.  

"Just some guy." She threw her hand in the air in a dramatic manner.  

Andrew glared at her. "Oh, please, Alena. Your parents would never let you marry just some guy. He must be someone important," he said, growing impatient to know.  

She took a sip of her drink. "Someone important like Edmund Cardinal?"  

Andrew's eyes widened. "You're marrying a Cardinal? You are marrying Edmund Cardinal? The eldest Cardinal—the powerful, rich, and sexy one?"  

Her brows furrowed. "You know him?"  

"Of course, everyone knows him. My gosh, Alena, he's a big catch. I didn't know you were into older men."  

They laughed together.  

"You shut up! It wasn't my choice." She smacked his head.  

Andrew rolled his eyes. "It wasn't your choice, but you didn't refuse?" he teased. "Lucky bitch."  

They laughed again, but then she started feeling eyes on her. Why did she feel this way? It must be her imagination.  

She ignored it and continued talking to Andrew, enjoying his company, but she still felt uncomfortable.  

She started looking around only to meet Edmund's eyes staring straight at her with a hard expression. Andrew must have noticed her discomfort because he followed her gaze and saw Edmund looking at them intently.  

"Oh my God, A. It's him!" Andrew whispered with a giggle.  

She noticed Edmund wasn’t alone. He was with a woman. She was his cousin. She had met her the night she met Edmund.  

She looked away from him and turned to Andrew, who was already smirking—a creepy smirk, to be exact.  

"What, Andrew?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.  

"Did you notice the look he gave me? Jealous, is he?" Andrew was still smirking.  

"We are not dating!" she said defensively and got up. "I need to use the restroom. Then we can leave." She excused herself and walked away from the table.  

She left, ignoring Edmund's stare.  

After doing her business, she washed her hands and exited the restroom. While walking back to their table, she bumped into a hard chest. She took a step back to see who it was and saw Edmund and his cousin.  

"I'm sorry," she immediately apologized, looking at him to see his jaw locked.  

"Alena? Alena, right? Edmund's fiancée," his cousin asked, smiling at her. She nodded as she could still see Edmund's intense gaze on her. "My aunt is right. You are so beautiful. It's unreal."  

She didn’t know what to say, so she just smiled at her.  

"Sapphire, can you wait in the car? I need to talk to her," Edmund finally spoke, his eyes still on her.  

"Yes, of course. Take your time," Sapphire said, then hugged her. "It was nice to see you again, Alena."  

"It was nice seeing you too, Sapphire." She hugged her back, then was left alone with Edmund.  

"Who's this guy you were being so cozy with?" Edmund asked, his eyes darkening.  

"One of my friends," she simply replied.  

Edmund raised his brows. "Friend?"  

"He's gay," she added, because he looked like a jealous boyfriend right now.  

"That's good for him." A small smile tugged at his lips. "Enjoy your day. I'll see you tomorrow." He placed a quick peck on the corner of her lips before leaving.  

Her eyes widened. She stood there, shocked. She held the corner of her lips where Edmund had kissed her.  

What the hell?!