CHAPTER SIX

SHARON'S POV

Asshole? Sharon whispered

She felt like something had grabbed her throat all of a sudden.

Of course she had no idea who to expect, but nothing would have prepared her for what she was seeing at that point.

“I —”

Sharon could not get the words out of her mouth.

They stood, their eyes transfixed on each other.

“It's nice to finally meet you Miss Gray, I've heard so much about you”

His voice was deep and cold, but it did all the convincing and more.

Sharon could not respond

She was surprised how quickly he could switch personalities. Funny enough, that was her speciality.

“The pleasure is all mine Mr—

“Please, call me Luca”

He took a seat next to his grandfather.

“What took you so long? And what happened to your nose?” Mr Pavilochenki asked

“I had a little accident, but it's all settled now. I apologise for my lack of punctuality and I promise to do better next time.”

Luca had a warm smile on his face, one that seemed rehearsed.

Sharon grabbed a glass of water and began to sip it slowly, elegantly. She found it difficult to say a single word

“I must say, I didn't expect my wife to be so beautiful” Luca said as his eyes darted towards her

“Oh don't flatter me” Sharon said as she covered her face with her palms pretending to hide a blush.

Was he being serious?

This was the same guy that called her a whore!

Sharon knew she wasn't doing too good. She had rehearsed the whole dinner over and over again.

They would introduce themselves at the dinner table, talk about their hobbies, likes and dislikes, laugh at each others jokes and get along.

Then the romantic music would play and the guests would start dancing and they would dance under the moonlight circle created by the partition on the roof.

Pictures would be taken with fake smiles and their love will be as obvious as it possibly could

She knew she was messing up

“Excuse me please, I'm afraid I need to relieve myself” she said with a wide smile on her face.

Luca watched her go. Her heels grabbed everyone's attention, he could hear the cameras click.

He knew he was supposed to accompany her as her husband and companion and supporter, just in case she needed anything. And he hadn't done a pretty good job the past few minutes either.

“I'll see if she needs anything”

Luca said as he stood up and followed her shortly after.

“I do not think it necessary” Mr Pavilochenki said

“Oh no I think it's quite romantic”

Mr Gray said, as he smirked.

The tension was obvious between the two

Um how about you tell us about yourself Donald

Sharon wiped off a trickle of sweat on her forehead. Her nervousness wasn't going to ruin everything.

“Okay, just like you rehearsed”

She took a deep breath.

Then she heard footsteps

She closed her eyes, hoping that it wasn't who she thought it was. But when she opened them, he was standing right next to her.

His hands connected with her neck and he pinned her to the wall.

His grip was firm so she wouldn't break free, but loose enough so he wouldn't leave any visible marks or signs.

“Listen to me you whore,You're not going to mess this up. It's a marriage they want, they'll get one, they want a perfect couple impression, we'll give them.

Now I don't know how the hell you ended up in my club or my bed, but get your fucking act together because if you don't —”

He let go just before she could start gasping for breath.

Sharon delicately soothed her neck

“I hate you

I hate that it's you”

“Oh really” he said as his fingers graced her chin

“Well hate is not a good enough word to describe how much I despise you. But since we're being honest with our feelings

I utterly, completely

Loathe you”

He took her hand in his

“Now were going to act, do you understand”

He started walking toward the door, but Sharon didn't move

Her head was bowed and she didn't say a word

“If you wish to become a stupid child I suggest you cry here and now”

“I'm not going to cry”

“What was that?”

“I said I'm not going to cry!”

******************

“You see my daughter has a degree in business administration, but I don't let her work, she doesn't need to. That's the point of coming this far in life, at the end it all comes down to family”

“I admire your sense of responsibility Mr Gray but I cannot afford that luxury. My grandsons are my only successors you see, they learned to manage my business and my family from a very young age.

I'm proud to say that any of them can take over the Pavilochenki dynasty.

I had to put my best players in the game, my time is far spent”

“Oh don't say that, I think you have the stamina of a man in his early fifties”

Mrs Gray remarked.

The music started playing

Almost immediately, Luca and Sharon walked out holding hands and smiling like they had just won a lottery

Sharon raised her eyebrows and feigned a surprised look, then she looked at Luca who was staring deep into her eyes and smiled.

Luca extended his hand towards her and mouthed

“Shall we?”

“We shall” she replied while slipping her hand into his

They walked towards the moonlit centre

Other people began to dance and Claire somehow found herself in Donald's arms

Luca's hands held Sharon's waist and hers were on his shoulders.

The moonlight illuminated their features. Her beauty and his combined was a wonderful sight.

The camera lights flashed

And just when all the pictures had been taken, a small tear slipped from Sharon's eyes—