Chapter 29 29
MAISIE'S POV
The kiss was a ruse. At least that's why I thought to myself.
I'd barely taken a breather when Elder Steven's wife began to pepper me with questions.
“I want to know everything. How you met Jason and how he proposed.” Lydia rested her chin in her hands. “Don’t skimp on any details.”
“That was at a Tech conference in Bali last year. I saw her across the room and asked her to dinner. The rest is history.” Roman said before I could answer. He basically repeated what he'd told Xavier before.
“Ah.” Lydia frowned, looking disappointed by Roman's unromantic summary of our fake courtship before she brightened again. “And the proposal?”
I was tempted to tell her he just gave me the ring just to see how she’d react, but I didn’t have the heart to crush her hopes so it was time to brush off my acting skills.
“It happened in the Lovers-Grove Park,” I said smoothly. “It was a gorgeous afternoon and we were simply going for a walk…”
Everyone at the table listened including Xavier and Kylie, who wouldn't stop glaring at me.
Roman appeared less charmed. His frown deepened with each word out of my mouth, and when I reached the part about him singing a love song to me before proposing, he gave me a look so dark it could’ve snuffed out the sun. That wasn't part of the plan. The “engagement” part wasn't.
Maisie — 1, Roman — 1
“He sang to you? That's so beautiful.” Lydia smiled. “What a unique proposal! Look at your ring. It’s stunning.” She lifted my hand and examined the large diamond, then she turned to Kylie. “Tell us, Kylie. How did Xavier propose to you?”
All eyes turned to Kylie.
She cleared her throat to speak when Xavier suddenly brushed it off with a, “I didn't know you could sing Jason. Maybe, you'll sing for us tonight, eh?”
The room suddenly fell silent.
“Noooo. Jason only sings for his fiancee.” Lydia added, cutting through the sudden tension and everyone laughed.
“He’s so talented,” I piped up. “I was surprised when he started singing.”
The room erupted into another laughter.
At that moment, I felt holes boring into my face. I looked up and Kylie forced a smile while Xavier sipped his drink, his expression like granite. He was upset and so was his wife. And honestly, I didn't care.
Dinner was too much of a stretch but it was good.
I ignored Kylie half of the time, pretended to be in love with Roman, and fake-smiled so hard my face hurt.
After that, I decided to take a bathroom break.
I turned on the tap and leaned in to wash my hand when I found a familiar face eyeing me like I’d stolen her favorite Prada purse.
“Oh, hi there.” I forced politeness into my voice even as irritation threatened to take over.
“Hi,” Kylie replied. Her smile could’ve cut glass. Objectively, she was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever met. With her golden-brown hair, cerulean eyes, and statuesque body, she was what I imagined Aphrodite would look like had she been a real person. But there was something hard about her expression that made her not attractive at all.
“I hope you're having a great time.” Kylie added when she continued staring at me.
No, I wasn't.
“Yes.” I turned off the tap and reached for a paper towel.
I waited for her to recognize me. I knew she wouldn't with the dyed hair and contacts but part of me wished she'd take one look at me and remember the woman she'd scorn but my hopes were dashed. She did not. Instead, she looked at me like I was a woman she had bones to pick with.
“I wanted a good look at you,” She purred. “Since you captured so much of Jason’s attention.”
Of course. She must've been referring to the kiss and fake engagement story. Judging by her reaction, she must've been jealous. She still is because she's glaring at me.
“I didn’t realize you knew Jason.” I added.
“I do,” she smiled. “He's my mate's secretary. You must know him… Alpha Xavier? Ring a bell?”
“I've heard of Alpha Xavier, the CEO of the company my mate saved. Of course, I know who Alpha Xavier is.” I smirked, knowing I'd hit a nerve.
“Hmm. Well, Jason is an extraordinary man…” she washed her hands in one of the sinks and looked at me. I could almost see the jealousy gnawing at her.
“What I don’t get is why he would be interested in you.” She flicked her gaze over me.
“Excuse me?” I scoffed.
“I mean… look at you,” Kylie crossed her arms over her chest. “You're so out of his league.”
I smiled. “Really? And what's his league?”
Kylie's smirk turned vicious. “Women who are not weak. Women who control the same power as he does.”
She lowered her head so she could whisper in my ear. “I’ve seen men like Jason before and I know he's a man who commands power. You're nothing but an insignificant woman who managed to snatch a ring and soon, Jason will realize you're nothing to him and ditch you for someone better.” She straightened then smirked.
“And that someone is you?” I said, matching her poisonous tone.
“What?” Kylie scoffed.
“Instead of wasting your time poking into other people's relationships, why don't you focus on yours? I saw Alpha Holland's wife leaning too closely to Xavier. Might wanna check on that.” I wasn’t sure where my sass came from, since I wasn’t a sassy person, but Kylie brought out all my claws.
Kylie’s creamy skin flushed red with anger. “What?”
“Have a goodnight, Luna Kylie.” I beamed her a smile and walked away from the bathroom.
I was done here.
I walked back to the dining area. It was empty save for Roman leaning against the wall. I'd barely said a word when he closed the distance between us and backed me against the wall.
“Where were you?” I stared at him like he was an alien when he scanned me from head to toe.
A frown creased my brow. “I was in the bathroom. “Is everything okay? You’re acting weird.”
“I thought something happened to you.” The roughness of his voice startled me. “Next time, let me know before you run off.”
Run off?
“I didn’t run off. I went to the bathroom.” I snapped. “I don’t need to tell you every time I leave your side. That wasn’t in our agreement. Besides, you were busy with our fake-engagement story.”
I had whispered the ‘fake engagement’
“You were in the bathroom for 20 minutes?”
“Someone confronted me.” I whispered that part again.
Behind me, the door opened and Kylie walked out. Her face suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw Roman and she ran to his side.
“You're here, Jason. Why don't you come with me? Dinner looks like it's over and Xavier is probably giving his boring speech right now.” She rubbed her chest against his arm as she spoke and it irritated me.
I turned, about to leave when a hand grabbed mine. It was Roman.
“I don't care where I am. Next time, do not leave my side without letting me know.” This time, he was standing too close to me. “Understand?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” He shoved Kylie’s arm off him, just in time for Xavier to walk in on us.
“Shall we?” Roman hooked his arm around my waist and led me towards the main living room while Xavier and Kylie stared.
I didn't need to turn back to know I'd just declared war and they have too.