Chapter 5

"You'll have to make an appearance," he said, fastening his cufflinks. "Everyone's already asking questions about our marriage. This will calm the rumors."

I crossed my arms. "So I'm just going to smile and pretend to be a happy wife?"

His sparkling blue eyes met mine. "Exactly."

I had a dry, humorless laugh. "You're unbelievable Adrian."

"You’re adaptable," he countered. "You’ll manage."

The words shouldn’t have felt like a compliment, but they did.

I stood in front of the bedroom mirror, wearing a gown so beautiful it seemed like it belonged to someone else. The midnight blue material was tightly hugging my body, with a slit running up the side of my leg. I wasn't completely at ease with it but I couldn't complain. Adrian's present, a diamond necklace, lay across my collarbone, a visible token of privilege and ownership.

I belonged in his universe. But in the real sense, I didn't.

"You look good," Adrian said behind me.

I turned to find him standing in the doorway, his black tuxedo razor-sharp. He looked lethal. The kind of man who commanded attention the instant he walked into a room.

"You say that like I do not look good on normal days," I snarled.

He grinned. "Well you look better. I bet you know that."

I rolled my eyes, defying the way my heart skipped a beat when he held out his arm.

"Shall we?" he asked.

I inhaled a calm breath and settled my hand into his. Time to pretend.

The gala was taking place in one of London's finest hotels, its majestic ballroom thrumming with society's elite. The moment Adrian and I stepped inside, the room became hushed save for the snap of cameras, eyes swiveling to regard us as if we were bugs on a slide.

I heard the murmurs.

"That's her? The girl he married out of thin air?"

"She doesn't impress."

I ground my teeth, fighting to smile as Adrian led me through the room.

"Ignore them," he whispered into my ear.

Easy for him to say.

We rode the circuit, greeting business magnates, politicians, and society matrons all of whom meant something to Adrian.

I smiled where I should, nodded nicely when necessary. But I walked a tightrope, balancing on thin air. And finally, it crashed.

"Well, well," a smooth voice lazily said from behind me. "If it isn't my favorite newlyweds."

I turned to see Damian standing there, a glass of whiskey in his hand, his smirk lazy and fierce.

"Damian," Adrian said calmly.

"Brother." Damian leaned his head towards me. "And dear Valentine."

I shivered at the tone he used to say my name.

"Having a good time?" he asked.

I raised my chin. "It has its moments."

His smirk grew. "I bet it does."

Adrian shifted fractionally in front of me, his stance tensed. "If you're here to cause trouble, Damian..."

"Relax," Damian interrupted. "I'm being polite. Can't I greet my new sister-in-law properly?"

Something in the intonation of his voice made my flesh crawl.

"Valentine isn't playing your games. If you want to play, face me," Adrian snapped.

Damian drank his whiskey, a smile in his eyes. "Are you sure of that?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What is it you want, Damian?"

Adrian was clearly surprised that I was standing up for myself. His eyes flashed with something unfamiliar but it was gone in a blink.

"I just wanted to remind you, darling," Damian murmured, so that only I could hear but loudly enough that Adrian could. "Things in this family aren't as they seem. Watch your back.”

“I would say you watch yours too Damian. I'm not someone you would want to play games with,neither is my husband. But I'm sure you're aware of that already."

That was it. I took hold of Adrians hand  turned around and walked away, leaving behind a tension so thick that someone watching could sense it and an expression on Damian's face that left me feeling like a heroine.

"Are you alright?" Adrian asked gently.

I exhaled hard, forcing myself to let go of the unease in my stomach.

"I'm fine," I lied. I wasn't.

Because something told me that Damian was not done with me yet and that frightened me. But Adrian was not going to allow him to harm me and that gave me a semblance of comfort.

As the evening wore on, I tried to hide the unease Damian's words had instilled. But it was not easy.

Adrian's unusual silence, with his expression turning unfathomable, did not help.

He suddenly,he turned to face me. "Dance with me."

I blinked. "What?"

He indicated the ballroom floor, where people were dancing lovely together to the live orchestra. "It's expected."

"I.." I stumbled. "I don't actually know how to "

"I will show you what to do."

Before I could protest, his hand was around mine, and he was pulling me onto the dance floor. The moment his arms circled me, I could feel the weight of every interested eye.

"Relax," Adrian whispered.

We moved in perfect synchrony, his steps measured and precise. I wasn't used to being so close to him, to feeling the hard warmth of his body against mine.

"You're stiff," he noted.

I glared at him. "Maybe because I wasn't born in a castle taking ballroom dancing lessons Mr Adrian."

His mouth curled. "Would it be too much to ask for you to pretend like you're enjoying yourself?"

"Would it be too much for you to smile?" I snapped.

For a moment, something flickered across his face. Then, to my absolute astonishment, a shadow of a smile tugged at his mouth.

"You're impossible," he whispered.

"And you're insufferable."

His grip around my waist tightened a bit. "We certainly make an interesting couple."

I wasn't sure how to react to that.

But for one moment, swept up in the middle of a dance that I had not been looking for, with a man that I didn't even recognize, I remembered the whispers. I remembered the contract and remembered that this was not real.

For some stolen moments, it was almost close enough to real and that was more deadly than anything Damian would ever do to me.

……….

That night, in the mansion, I stayed at my window, looking out over London. I should have felt relieved. But all I could do was feel bewildered.

I was confused about him, Damian I mean.

I was confused by all the things I didn't know but needed to know because one thing was for sure: this marriage was not a corporate deal. It was warfare. And I had no idea if I'd survive.

I barely passed my first real test in Adrian's world and tonight, as I lay in the giant bed that still didn't feel like home, I couldn't help but think that something had shifted.

Adrian had danced with me.

Not out of obligation, but because… I don't know, But I sensed it.

The knowing look, the tension,the war in silence between us, they felt real.