Chapter 46 Not A Mistake!
Chapter Forty-Six
“Are you okay?”
Lucian asked, his voice laced with panic as his eyes roved all over Aria’s face.
Aria stared at him, blinking in surprise to see him materialize so suddenly.
He had been fussy all through that morning and had refused to come down when it was time for the party.
“I don’t need an event to re-enter society,” he has said gruffly, “I never left in the first place.”
Aria tried all she could to make him cheer up and prepare for the party.
“Come on! Don’t see it as an event just for you,” she pouted, “It’s father’s sixty third birthday party as well.”
Lucian was not moved, “Why celebrate a birthday? You’re just getting older and weaker.” He murmured in disinterest.
Aria wanted to pull her hair out but she decided to be calm.
She even tried to entice him with a suit which she had chosen herself with much care, but Lucian had only glanced at it indifferently, then returned back to his reading.
She had finally given up on him when he locked himself in his study, resigning himself to reading his business journals.
But now, here he was, standing in front of her.
Lucian was looking extremely dashing in his tailored three-piece black suit. The vest, tie, and coat were all in deep, matte black.
His long, dark hair was styled in loose, layered waves that fall just past his jawline, with a center part that framed his sharp features.
His handsome face is stretched taut with that steady, unreadable expression that gives him a cold, commanding presence.
Aria’s cheeks warmed with delight when she saw that he was wearing the suit she had picked out for him.
It complimented his eye color a lot, and Aria felt pride rise in her as she stared at her husband.
“Aria! Are you okay?!” Lucian uttered once more, his voice sharp and jerking Aria out of her reverie, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Yea, yea…” she answered softly, “I’m fine.” She eyed him warily and punched his shoulders lightly, “You said you wouldn’t come down.”
Lucian smiled, a slight lift of his lips that did strange things to her insides. He brought her hand to his mouth and his lips brushed her knuckles with a light kiss, sending fireworks in her stomach.
“I changed my mind.” He drawled, a twinkle in his eyes.
He had actually not wanted to come down to the party. He really did not see any need for it and was content with just prepping himself for his return to the company the next week.
He had sighed with relief when Aria had stopped cajoling him to come to the party, but then Zach took it upon himself to do the same.
When Zach reminded him of how heartbroken Aria must be to see him absent from the party, he started to have a change of heart.
“Look man, she picked out a freaking suit for you,” Zach had pointed out, “From the freaking Valyrian house. That’s the best freaking designer in all of Crestmont. You’d be freaking stupid to not wear this to the…”
“Shut up!”
He had finally donned the suit and walked out to the hall. He stood at the top of the staircase, watching the event with boredom etched on his face.
He searched for Aria with his eyes, and eventually found her in the midst of the crowd.
“What the hell is going on there?” He’d muttered to himself, his brows drawn in a slight frown as he did not like what he was seeing.
He took the stairs three at a time, and arrived at her side just as Jane had thrown that wine glass at her.
Rage poured through his veins, as the glass hit his back, and he felt it break into splinters. He could not even dare to think of what would have happened if the glass had hit Aria’s face.
All he wanted to know was if she was okay.
The crowd had gone silent at Lucian’s appearance, and now they just stared at him with stupefied awe.
“It’s Lucian Graves.”
“Oh. My. God! You all said he was in a coma!”
“I don’t care! He’s still as handsome as he was three years ago. Oh, what a handsome devil!”
“That’s not the point! I thought he was paralyzed and in a coma. How come he’s standing here, looking all dashing?!”
“It was obviously a lie! I’m sure he had his reasons for disappearing but who cares now that he’s back!”
Aria listened to what the crowd was saying with a slight scoff.
They were the worst. Their opinions changed like traffic light.
None of them did anything when Jane had tried to hit her earlier.
Suddenly she stopped, blinking rapidly as she recalled what had happened before Lucian had appeared before her.
Right.
That spoilt bitch had thrown a glass full of wine in her face…
Wait, the wineglass!
Aria started in alarm, looking around Lucian. She gasped when she saw that it had hit him directly on his back.
The center of his dark coat was splattered with the liquid, ruining the beautiful material.
There were the broken pieces of the wineglass at his feet, the liquid dripping down his coat.
Aria’s face hardened and she started towards Jane in anger, “How dare you throw that at him?!” She growled.
She was ready to lunge at Jane and tear her to pieces, but Lucian put his hands around her waist and drew her back.
“Hey, hey! That’s enough!” He said softly, holding her firmly in his arms.
Aria was bristling as she glared at Jane who had gone pale, “You dare to insult him and now you throw things at him?!”
“It was only a mistake, kitten.” Lucian said with a dark chuckle, as he squared his shoulders and faced the crowd, “Of course, she wouldn’t dare throw things at me.”
As he said those words, his eyes darkened and his face hardened as Mount Rushmore. His gaze fell on Minister Lee and his daughter.
They were both trembling like a leaf caught in an harmattan wind. They could not even dare to look at him and instead had their gazes on the ground.
“Lu…Lucian…” they stammered
“It was a mistake it hit me,” Lucian continued, his deep voice reverberating round the room, “But it was no mistake when you threw it at her. Isn’t that right, Jane Lee?”