Seven

LUCIEN DRAVEN POV 

I kicked at the tires of my car then gripped my tie, ripping it off in frustration as it got extremely suffocating.

"What the hell are you up to Kaida? Why are you suddenly acting up?"

And why the hell had she driven all the way here when she knew who owned the property? No, she didn’t. She probably missed a turn because of the horrible weather. 

Kaida was the most clueless person I knew so there was no way she would deliberately drive here. 

Letting out a breath to ease the tension in my chest, I glanced around and then entered my car. I didn’t want to spend another second on Zavian Nolven’s land.

God, just thinking about the son of a bitch made my blood boil, but he wasn’t what was important now, it was Kaida Reed.

The way she’d looked at me... It had been different. Too different.

She’d always looked at me as if I were her salvation, so why had she stared at me with so much hate and disgust, and all because of what? I was a few hours late for the engagement party. What the hell was that about?

"What are you up to, Kaida. Do you think that if you act this way, I’ll give you more attention? You’re the one dying for this marriage to happen, so how dare you say you want to call it off?" I slammed my hand against the steering wheel, the anger in my chest suffocating. "God damnit she’s pissing me off."

I turned on the ignition and drove out of the alleyway onto the main road.

I had to see Helena. Whenever I was in a bad mood, she was the only one who could calm me down. And after the shitty day I’ve had and Kaida suddenly acting crazy, I deserved a break.

My phone light came on and I glanced at it. It was Nessa. I answered the call.

"Did you find her yet? The guests are starting to get worried, and some have already left. Is she okay... Kaida looked out of it when she left and it’s been raining all night."

God damn it! This whole day was a fucking nightmare. 

"Hello. Lucien? Are you there?"

"Yes, I am," I growled, my hands clenching harder on the steering wheel. "Look, just end the party, okay? Kaida got caught up in the rain and has a cold. I have to take care of her, so just apologize on our behalf and have the people leave.

I ended the call before she could reply then stepped on the gas pedal.

******

The door opened after a few seconds of ringing it. The scent of lilac hit me first, driving away all the bad blood in my veins, and then I saw her. Beautiful, soft, and perfect. 

Helena stood there, her doe eyes blinking in surprise as she stared at me.

"Lucien?" She called, then she looked past me to scan the environment. "What are you doing here?"

Desperate to feel her touch, I pulled her in and hugged her, the tension I’d been feeling draining out of my body as her soft, warm body pressed against mine.

She suddenly shoved me off, her eyes wide with shock.

"Are you out of your mind!" She yanked me inside, slammed the door shut, and then turned to glare at me. "What are you doing here at this time of the night, Lucien, and that too on the night of your engagement to Kaida..."

"I needed to see you," I reached for her, but she thrust out her hand, her eyes glaring daggers.

"This is not what we planned Lucien," she dragged her hand through her hair agitatedly. "You can’t leave your engagement party and come here. What if you were tailed, what if some reporter followed you here?"

"No reporter followed me here because the engagement party was fucking called off! You would know that if you’d been there like I told you to be" I yelled, losing my temper for a second and regretting it as Helena flinched. 

Goddamn it!

"Baby," I took her hand. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. It’s just that, tonight has really been shitty... Please, forgive me, Helena."

She sniffed, then wiped off the tears that had slid down her cheek. "You don’t have to apologize. I shouldn’t have been so hard on you after seeing how stressed out you looked." Then she threw her arms around my neck, pulling me close. "Do you forgive me too?"

I breathed in the scent of her hair greedily. "I can never be mad at you, you know that."

She glanced up at me, her lips curving in a smile, but it was gone as soon as it appeared and then she pulled away, her brows dipping.

"But I’m confused. Why was the engagement called off... Don’t tell me, you couldn’t go through with it because of me—"

I shook my head. "No. No. It wasn’t because of you"

Her brows arched. "Then what happened?"

"You know I had to take care of some things before the party right?"

She nodded, no trace of judgment in her eyes.

"Well, after I finished with that, I went to the party, but Kaida wasn't there. Nessa told me she went looking for me... When I finally found her, she was drenched in the rain and pissed off... She said a bunch of stupid shit, then ended it by calling off the wedding"

Helena’s eyes bulged "What!" 

"I don’t know what is going on in the head of that woman. If she calls off the wedding, everything, all of our plans, is going to be ruined."

"Don’t say that," she grabbed my face and forced me to look at her. "Kaida probably said that because she was angry. I am sure she’s going to regret it tomorrow. You know just how much she loves you, right? Losing you will kill her."

"I know that, but there was something different—"

She shook her head. "Don’t overthink it, Lucien. Everyone knows Kaida cannot live without you. Do you think she’s going to call off the wedding after donating her kidney to save your sister’s life... Someone like her only knows how to bluff. I bet before the night runs out, she’ll be calling you and asking for your forgiveness"

I stared at her, and she nodded, her gaze assuring.

"You’re right. I don’t even know why I’m so bothered about this. All I have to do is ignore her and then she’ll come begging like she always does." Just like every other time I’d treated her badly.

"Exactly. She’s just doing all this to get your attention. You don’t need to beg her to stay with you. Once she sees that you don’t care about her tantrums, she’ll come crawling back."

I smirked, then yanked her close. "Hmm, you’re absolutely right. So, while I wait for that, how about a little kiss for the rest of the week?"

She grinned, her fingers trailing over my arms, her touch leaving a fire in its wake.

"Are you sure a little kiss will be enough for you," she whispered, glancing up at me from beneath her lashes. She looked breathtaking. I swallowed hard, my body heating up as she rubbed her body against mine, her hands moving between us to trace my length. "How about..." She trailed off, her voice husky with lust. "We just go all the way tonight?"

"Are you sure Helena? You can’t take back your words once I start, you know that right"

She smirked, her cherry-red lips quirking "Hmm, don’t threaten me with a good time."

I grinned, then picked her up. 

A sharp yelp of surprise escaped her lips. 

I smirked. "I’m going to make you regret being so bold Helena. Just you wait," I said, pressing my lips against hers. 

As we kissed passionately, my thoughts couldn’t help wandering to Kaida.

Just thinking about her regretting everything and begging for me to take her back increased the pleasure I felt, my dick hardening under Helena’s touch.

God damn it, I couldn’t wait.

I kissed Helena harder, my nails digging into her skin.

You are mine Kaida. You won’t ever be able to leave me. I’ll make sure of it.