Chapter 14 - Drama At The Banquet II

Fiona’s POV.

“How dare you come here and try to seduce someone else’s fiance?!”

A woman I have never seen before in my life screams at me. Time almost feels slowed down as I watch her throw the glass of water at me. A gasp leaves my mouth as Micah’s hand wraps around my wrist and he drags me back lightning fast. The water splashes at our feet with an audible sound.

“How low will you go, Fiona? Here you are on the arm of one Lycan Prince while you manipulate the other into buying you expensive jewelry!”

She looks at me down her nose like I am not worth more than the dirt under her shoes.

I stare at her in confusion. My heart beats faster at her false accusations. I can feel whispers spread in the hall as people turn and stare at me like I am some villain.

“What are you talking about?” I whisper confused. Knowing that I haven't received any jewelry from Jeremy whatsoever and even if I did, I would have never accepted it.

“Oh don’t play dumb. You are here as Micah’s date while you wear the bracelet you fooled Jeremy into buying you. You’re two-timing them both!”

My heart constricts at her words. For a moment I am shocked at the lies she is throwing at me. My eyes trace the bracelet I wear. It’s the one Micah gave me. For her to link this with Jeremy is completely absurd.

“Uh, shouldn’t you be asking Prince Jeremy about this though?” Someone asks in the crowd, their voice curious.

Rebecca gives a derisive snort. “Oh, why should I? When I know this vile seductress is in the wrong for making him stray from his lovely fiance. It’s her who needs to be confronted!”

“You don’t think it was Jeremy, the noble Lycan prince, who tried to seduce her, do you? It can only be this filthy whore that initiated it.” Rebecca gives me another sidelong glance, showing off her condescension.

My throat closes and I feel like people are staring at me. It is like everywhere I look, I am faced with contempt and derision directed at me.

They have already decided against me.

I can’t believe she would go this low.

This is so scandalous.

Poor Jeremy must have been caught in her trap.

Stunted whispers reach my ears and I feel shaken.

Just as I open my mouth to defend myself, a snarky voice shoots through the crowd.

“Oh, this isn’t surprising at all. Typical Fiona and her harlot ways. She has always been like this since high school. Sad to see nothing has changed.”

Gloria steps forward and sneers at me. I don’t know what she is doing here. I didn’t even know she had access to the Royal family. Upon her words, I feel a shift in the crowd around me.

I lift my eyes to see one of the nobles leering at me. His invasive gaze makes me shudder in revulsion. I can’t believe these words of slander are causing people to view me differently.

“Oh Micah,” Gloria continues with a purr. “She is not worthy of you. The only one worthy of being your wife is Rowena. Pity that she couldn’t make it otherwise she would surely have put this Fiona in her place.”

I feel my body going stiff at the mention of Rowena. Ever since Micah came into my life, mentions of Rowena have been thrown at me here and there. Daughter of a powerful diplomat, Micah’s ex-girlfriend, and the one everyone wanted him to marry.

Though Micah has casually mentioned Rowena before and dismissed her as the past, still, a shiver of uncertainty courses through me. My eyes slowly lift up to look at Micah, afraid of what I will find there.

His expression gives me pause.

Micah assesses the two women like a predator. There is a hard glint in his eyes and he wears a ruthless grin.

“So, you mean to say that Rowena would dare put Fiona, a Lycan prince’s wife, My Wife, in her place? Is that what she sent you here for, Gloria? To act like her little lapdog as she tries to threaten what’s mine?”

His words are pure ice and I watch as Gloria grows pale. Her fingers shake as she looks at Micah with wide eyes.

“Ah- I-uh- no Micah. That’s not what she sent me here for- I mean, that’s not what I meant.” She stumbles on her words, already betraying that she was sent by Rowena. Her fingers twist together as she tries to come up with justifications she does not have.

“Run back to her because you really don’t want to mess with me and crossing Fiona means crossing me.”

Gloria almost trips on her feet as she scurries away, barely looking back as she disappears.

Then, Micah slowly turns to the woman standing before us. He flashes her a smile that’s all teeth. He looks like a shark that is out to hunt.

“Rebecca, you have some choice words to say about my wife. Are you sure the bracelet she is wearing came from Jeremy?”

He raises an eyebrow and cocks his head to the side, carefully laying his trap.

The woman, who I now know as Rebecca, turns red with Micah’s full attention.

“Y-yes I am positive! Jeremy bought this for her!” She says with a shaky voice.

“Hmmm, that doesn’t seem nice.” He turns to me and lightly chucks me under the chin. “Now, now if my wife here really is courting my brother on the side, what shall be her punishment?”

His words make me freeze but when I meet his eyes, I feel a strange warmth as he looks at me. It immediately sets me at ease.

However, when he looks back at Rebecca the warmth leeches out, until his eyes are pure steel.

Rebecca, however, does not realize it. She easily walks into the trap. Her eyes gleam as she decides my punishment.

“For starters, she does not deserve to be in a place like this and she should be thrown out of here!”

Micah pretends to think it over and after a beat, he gives her a sharp nod. His eyes are like twin blades as they sharpen and zone in on her.

“And what if you are wrong? Would the same punishment apply to you?” He asks slowly and Rebecca nods like she doesn’t have a care in the world.

“Of Course. I know I am right and I am here to set the record straight. She is trying to steal my friend’s fiance and I won’t stand for it.

The moment the words come out of her mouth, Micah smiles. It is a dangerous one and despite knowing that he is on my side, the hair on my neck stands up. Slowly, his fingers grip my wrist until he has the bracelet in his hand.

“Did you know Rebecca, that Mirage Gems only makes one centerpiece jewelry every year? It is a design that is unlike anything they have in their stores. It is almost always custom-made and created on order. So, while like all their pieces it will have the store’s signature flair, the centerpiece is more precious than all of the pieces combined.”

Rebecca stares at Micah in befuddlement, clearly not understanding where he is going with this. Slowly, Micah leaves my side and closes in on her. He dangles the bracelet slightly in front of her.

“The bracelet my wife is wearing is that centerpiece. The only one there is, that the store custom-made for us. They were nice enough to add complimentary initials on the inside of it. Oh look at that, it says FL - Fiona Lancaster. Do you know how I know all this? Because I fucking placed the order and got this for her.”

He throws the words at her like venom and I watch as Rebecca rears back with her mouth dropping open.

“There is no way Jeremy could ever give her this because well, there is only one of it in existence and I am the one who purchased it. So unless you are calling me a liar, we have a problem.”

Rebecca helplessly looks at me and then back to Micah and I almost feel bad for her. However, before I can say a word, Micah signals to the guards. A slow, wicked-looking smile makes his beautiful features turn even more deadly.

“Don’t forget the punishment you agreed to.” He says mildly. “Guards throw her out.”

Two burly werewolves step forward and grab Rebecca and drag her away. Her face turns red with humiliation and she yells curses as she is taken away, sputtering and struggling.

For a moment, a hush falls on the crowd and then the same girl who had questioned Rebecca earlier speaks up.

“Good riddance. Prince Micah’s wife doesn’t seem like the kind of wicked woman Rebecca would like us to believe anyway.”

I lift my head in gratitude, only to find out that several people are not meeting my eyes. Their faces hold guilt as they avoid my gaze. Some of them look at me with envy and a strange sort of respect. While some send small smiles my way.

With this gesture alone, Micah has made it clear that he is firmly on my side and just like that, the people’s support is shifting in my favor.

Slowly, he turns towards where Queen Alara stands with Jeremy.

“What I don’t understand,” he says. “Is why there would ever be such confusion. Did you buy a bracelet from Mirage Gems too, Jeremy?”

There is a strange undertone to Micah’s voice. Almost as if he knows more than he is letting on. However, I don’t read into it too much as Jeremy starts speaking.

“Oh, yes, I bought one for my fiance, Leah. I just hadn’t given it to her. No idea why Rebecca would make a mistake like this.”

He says listlessly.

“Well, I am glad that this misunderstanding is cleared up, then.” Micah flashes him a humorless smile and then wraps an arm around my waist.

After stopping briefly to fasten my bracelet back on my wrist, he pulls me towards the dance floor to the side of the banquet hall.

As he draws me in closer, I give him a small smile.

“Wow, that was intense. Remind me never to get on your bad side.” I say lightly.

He chuckles. A deep, throaty sound that sends butterflies booming in the pit of my stomach.

“That can never happen, darling because I am always going to be on your side.”

And, as he pulls me even closer, somehow, I believe him.