CHAPTER 5, THE PAWN: ANXIETY AND SUSPICIONS

Flash. Flash. Flash.

The moment the black SUV pulled up the red carpet of the Vanguard Estate, the night exploded.

Ethan led Cassandra out of the vehicle and they started towards the entrance. 

The paparazzi were all over the place. 

“Ethan! Who is she?”

Cassandra squinted against the stretch of camera lights on her face, a wave of nausea suddenly hitting her.

“Since you are with a new woman today, Ethan Gray, does this mean things are really over between you and Tiffany?”

“Mr. Gray, a comment on the merger with Queens Group… Will that be dissolved now you ended things with Queens Heiress?”

Cassandra blinked. Tiffany Queens? The Tiffany Queens that was Queens Heiress of Queens Group? Even she knew that name. 

California's golden heiress. Beautiful. Rich. Powerful. And apparently Ethan's ex. 

The sudden feel of Ethan's arm sliding around her waist, jerked Cassandra out of her thoughts.

Her breath hitched as the heat of his palm through the thin silk of her emerald custom piece dress sent an unmistakable jolt of flutters straight up her spine.

“Oh, her?” 

Ethan paused just long enough to throw a devastatingly handsome smirk at a lead reporter. He was wearing a bespoke black tuxedo that fit his broad shoulders with lethal precision. 

“I’ll be making a special announcement to reveal her identity later. Be patient.”

The cameras exploded again.

Inside the ballroom, things weren't much better. Crystal chandeliers illuminated hundreds of guests dressed in designer gowns and custom suits. Waiters moved through the crowd carrying silver trays. Soft classical music floated through the air.

Everything looked elegant. Everything felt hostile. At least to Cassandra… As they navigated the room, she couldn’t help but feel the weight of a hundred gazes.

“Smile, Cassandra.” Ethan leaned closer to whisper, his lips grazing her ear in a way that looked, well, doting to the onlookers. 

“Everyone is watching.”

Cassandra drew in a sharp breath and managed a not-so-forced smile.

They reached a private circular booth reserved for The Gray Family. Cassandra suddenly felt a wave of nerves hit her.

A gray-haired man, apparently Ethan's father, sat at the head of the table. Even seated, he radiated power. He looked like an older, more weathered version of Ethan, with jade-green eyes in contrast to Ethan's stormy-blue ones. 

“My father, Silas Gray.” Ethan introduced. 

Cassandra offered a curt nod and a smile. Silas Gray gave no reaction. 

Cassandra bit her lower lip, and then followed Ethan's gaze to the beautiful blonde woman sitting beside Silas Gray. She was draped in pearls and a cold, polite smile that didn't reach her eyes. 

“My Mother, Beatrice Gray.” 

Again, Cassandra offered a curt nod and a smile.

Beatrice Gray's gaze merely travelled openly down Cassandra's body. Her ocean-blue eyes lingered briefly on Cassandra's stomach, and then she looked away.

Cassandra shifted under her weight uncomfortably. Ethan noticed and immediately pulled her closer before gesturing towards the other three men in the table. 

“My brothers... Julian.” He gestured to the oldest of the three men. Dark blonde hair. Stormy blue eyes.

“Marcus.” Ethan gestured to the second. Dark-haired. Stormy blue eyes.

“And Leo.” Ethan gestured to the youngest. Dark-haired. Hardened jade-green eyes.

Cassandra offered polite smiles to the three brothers. Nobody returned it.

Then Beatrice suddenly cleared her throat, her gaze settling on Cassandra again. “So this is her.” Her smile was picture-perfect yet pretentious. “She's... charmingly simple.”

Ethan smiled coolly. “Well, she's my fiancée.”

Beatrice reached across the table, grabbing her wine glass and taking a slow sip from it. “Of course she is.”

“Fiancée?” Leo laughed out loud. Too loud. “Or temporary solution?”

Julian smirked. “Where exactly did you find her, little brother?” His gaze swept over Cassandra in a very condescending manner. “I mean, she doesn't exactly look like she belongs here.”

Marcus chuckled. Tauntingly. “At least she's pretty.”

The laughter that followed felt like knives. Surprisingly, Cassandra managed to keep the smile on face. But her fingers clenched the hem of her dress.

Ethan noticed and enclasped her hand in his, and then, he leaned towards her cheek to brush a kiss on it.

“Ignore them, Fireball.” He started to lead her away. 

Cassandra's face suddenly felt hot. The feel of Ethan's lips on her skin just now... Well, it made her feel things she didn't want to.

Just then, a waiter approached carrying a tray of champagne. Absentmindedly, Cassandra reached toward one of the glasses.

Ethan caught her wrist immediately. The movement was so quick she barely registered it.

His gaze dropped briefly to her stomach. Then returned to hers. 

Realization immediately dawned on her. That's right. The baby. How could she forget? 

Damn! She really did need to get a grip!

“Tiffany, I can't believe this… Why is that trashy looking girl with your man?”

Across the room, a sudden commotion immediately drew attention. The mention of the name Tiffany jerked Cassandra out of her train of thoughts. 

Her head turned to a group of three women standing near the ballroom entrance. They were all elegantly dressed but the one in the centre was especially stunning in a way that made Cassandra feel suddenly plain. 

Cassandra knew immediately that she was Tiffany especially when she noticed Ethan and her exchange a look, and then Ethan tensed. Cassandra could feel it as Ethan's hand was still at the small of her back.

“It's only been weeks since you two broke up. What a downgrade!” One of the women spoke again. 

Tiffany simply smiled. Calmly. Her eyes met Cassandra's and her smile stretched. And then she started to approach the duo.

“Ethan.” She leaned in when she reached them, giving Ethan a hug and then a kiss on his cheek. Ethan let her. Cassandra frowned.

“You always did like a project, Ethan,” Tiffany murmured, a cruel smile playing on her lips as she spared Cassandra a quick condescending glance. “But this is certainly an interesting choice.”

Her smile widened. The insult was subtle. 

Ethan slipped an arm around Cassandra's waist. “Well, this 'interesting choice' is carrying my child.”

The smile immediately vanished from Tiffany's face. But only for a second. Then it returned. Sharper than before. “Oh, congratulations.”

Even her heels clicked a melodic rhythmic sound as she turned and walked away.

The atmosphere remained tense afterwards. A short while later, Ethan led Cassandra to the podium at the front of the ballroom. The room immediately fell into a hush.

“Tonight,” he began, “I'd like to introduce someone important.”

His hand found Cassandra's. Drawing her beside him.

Every eye in the ballroom followed. Every camera turned. Every phone lifted. Cassandra's stomach tightened nervously. 

“This is Cassandra Greene. My fiancée.”

Whispers erupted instantly. Camera flashes hit Cassandra's vision hard from virtually every direction. It was almost like the room was spinning. 

Ethan turned to Cassandra, passing her a perfectly-feigned affectionate gaze which she easily returned.

“And more importantly, she is carrying the next heir of the Gray Dynasty.”

The ballroom immediately exploded into a torrent of whispers. 

“He is engaged to… her?”

“Wait… She is pregnant?”

“Is this a shotgun wedding announcement?”

“How could he choose someone like her to carry the Gray's heir? It doesn't look like she is from our circle…”

“I am sure she seduced him.”

“Who knew Ethan Gray had such… taste?”

As Ethan led Cassandra down the stage, she tried to block out all the malicious whispers… and the hostile stares. These people didn't matter to her anyway. And it helped because Ethan didn't even seem to care either. 

He kept her close, his palm resting naturally at the small of her back, perfectly selling the act of the doting fiancee. 

Cassandra had to resist hard the urge to roll her eyes. Was all of this act really necessary? Really?

The party progressed. Surprisingly, despite the tension, guests kept approaching with pretentious smiles, to say their congratulations, while tactfully steering towards business collaboration deal talks and the likes with Ethan.

It was suffocating. The pretense. The subtle hostility. And there was also the nausea which just kept growing stronger and stronger. 

Just when Cassandra thought she would pass out, Ethan turned to her and leaned towards her ear. “Want to get out of here?”

She didn't even need him to ask twice. “Yes, please!” Her voice came out a half-scream.

A smile slowly crept up Ethan's lips. An actual genuine smile that squinted his eyes.

Cassandra was left stunned for a moment. It was disorienting just how charming the sociopath in front of her was when he smiled like that.

Then her own lips curved, slowly.

His palm lowered, then fell from the small of her back. And then he offered her his arm. “Alright, Fireball. Let’s go, shall we?”

She gave him a nod, the smile still lingering on both their lips as she slipped her arm into his.

They began to make their way toward the exit, but as they neared the grand foyer, a man stepped out from behind a marble pillar, bumping squarely into them.

“Oh, sorry. Ethan Gray, leaving so soon?” 

The man was older, dressed in a sharp silver suit. Ethan recognized him immediately. David Hudson of the Hudson Group, top player in the business world and rival to the Gray Group.

The feel of Cassandra's fingers digging into his arm made Ethan turn to her and he noted her breathing was suddenly heavier.

Ethan returned his gaze to the man who now had his gaze fixed on Cassandra with a smirk pulling up his lips.

“Is there something you want?” Ethan asked as Cassandra looked away, her eyes darting frantically toward the door. 

“We haven't been properly introduced,” the man said, his voice smooth as oil. “But I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other now that you’ve found such a… precious treasure.”

The man then gave a mock bow and walked away, disappearing inside.

“You know him?” Ethan turned to Cassandra sharply.

“I… I don't,” Cassandra's voice was a whisper. Her eyes were wide, darting everywhere but at Ethan.

Ethan didn't say another word, but his jaw tightened. He had seen that look before—the look of a woman with a secret. 

As he led her to the car, his mind raced. He had been right all along. This woman, she definitely had something up her sleeves.

What the hell did she have to do with his family's group rival? Was she working for the man?