Elara's POV,
I didn't know so many people gave two shits about two other people getting married until now.
I have been pulled, tugged, and hugged so many times that I thought my mind would explode. Everyone feigned happiness for Lucien and me.
Even Asher was the centre of attention. No one could keep their eyes off him as he stood and chatted with his grandmother and Lucy.
"Hey, babe!" Noemi materialises beside me. "You don't look like you're enjoying yourself. At least pretend. It's your engagement party, for Christ's sake!"
"I am enjoying myself." I pop a cherry into my mouth. "I'm just tired."
Which is true. I had stayed until past midnight, trying to find the missing heir, only to come up with a blank.
"Girl, you can't be tired at your engagement party."
"Noemi, leave the poor girl alone," Camille says, coming to my rescue. She places a glass of white wine in my hand and winks. "By the way, your world is surrounded by the best of the best women."
I nod, taking a sip of the wine. "Have you taken any numbers yet?"
"Not yet," she comes to stand beside me. "But I have my eye on that one."
She jerks her head towards the lady in gold, and I smile. Just her luck, she decided to pick the lesbian doctor Mireya.
I raise my glass to her, "Best of luck to you."
"I don't need luck. I mean, look at me." She waves a hand over her body, and Noemi snorts.
"You take the ladies," she licks her lips. "I have my eyes on the men. Sexy ass men."
"Don't you have a boyfriend?"
"When has that stopped anyone?" She shrugs, "Besides, unless my boyfriend is anywhere as hot and handsome as your husband, my legs remain open for any other person every day."
"Ew," Camille mutters, and I chuckle, scanning the crowd for him.
I understand Noemi, even if I don't want to. When Lucien silently came to carry me down the stairs for our introduction, I almost choked on my breath.
He managed to surprise me every time. He looked so handsome, I wanted to lick him.
I still want to lick him.
But I didn't say anything about it because we were still not talking, and he just skimmed over my outfit, then took my hand in his. No look of impression.
After spending over three hours picking the right dress, over an hour on my makeup, and trying my possible best not to chuck my heels at the next person to "congratulate" me.
My eyes stop scanning when I feel the burn on my neck, and I turn to see him already staring at me.
He's in the midst of some people, but his eyes remain on my figure, not moving as if he's in a trance.
Then, the song for couples starts. Lucien had already told them he would pass on it, and although I wanted to dance, I didn't say a word.
I close my eyes and gently sway to the rhythm. Ever since I was a kid, I practised my dancing in the shadows, learning from Anya's teachers subtly.
Of course, I want to dance at my engagement party.
I open my eyes to find him coming towards me, and I drop the wineglass on the nearest table.
"Excuse me, ladies." He says to my friends. "Great to see you again, but may I have a word with my wife?"
"Of course." Noemi pulls Camille away before she can claim her rights, and I purse my lips.
"So…"
"Dance with me."
"W…what?"
He withdraws his hands immediately, "Oh, I thought you'd want to. Lucy told me you'd want to. I told them I'll pass because we hadn't practised an engagement dance, but since you already…"
He's rambling.
I place a finger in his hand, shutting him up and give him a small smile. "A simple ballroom dance."
He smirks, interlocking our hands. "Simple? I figured you'd like a challenge instead."
I chuckle, leading him to the middle of the dance floor. "Try to keep up, then."
The couples were still dancing, but now every eye was on us. On the random girl Lucien picked to be his wife, who might embarrass herself when she doesn't know the ropes of the elite world.
With soft and soulful music playing, his hand finds mine, steady and sure. The moment our fingers touch, the rest of the room fades into something distant. Above us, the chandeliers still burn gold, and the crowd still moves, yet none of it affects me.
There is only him.
Only us.
He pulls me gently, and I follow, my body already learning the rhythm he sets as if we've done this a thousand times before in another life.
"You take the lead," he whispers, and my hand rests on his sturdy shoulder.
"Why?"
His eyes don't leave mine, and instead of feeling small or awkward, I feel like the whole world would burn behind us, and he wouldn't care as long as I was in his arms.
"Because I'll follow."
Before I can reply, he spins me suddenly and effortlessly. The world tilts, and my dress follows. The red silk unfurls around me, blooming like fire, and sweeping across the floor in a wide, endless circle.
For a second, I'm weightless because of the way the fabric lifts, curls, dances with me.
All the while, he's still there watching me like I am the only flower in his garden, or I am something that belongs to him…and he knows it.
When I come back to him, his hand catches mine like he knew exactly where I'd land. A breath escapes me in thrill.
I grin a bit as he pulls me closer this time.
"I'm starting to think you're worth it," he murmurs, his thumb brushes lightly against my waist, and my eyes soften.
"What do you mean?"
His forehead touches mine, "Did you know I keep seeing you? Even when I close my eyes?"
He twirls me, and I come back to him almost immediately. He continues, "Especially then."
"So, you see me in your dreams."
He chuckles darkly in my ears, "And you? Do you search for me in your dreams?"
I don't need to think about it. "Always, as much as I hate it."
The music swells, and he moves again. Then his hand lifts, not to lead, but to my hair. I freeze for half a second as his fingers find the pins, and suddenly my hair falls.
Cascading down my shoulders, loose, free, and wild in a way I haven't allowed in years.
My breath catches.
"Lucien…"
"Hush, Cara." His breath is on my neck. "Have fun."
His eyes darken slightly as it settles around me with pride. A thought comes into my head at that moment.
It is a risk to fall in love. What if it doesn't work out?
He spins me again, slower this time.
Ah, but what if it does?
The red fabric trails behind me, flowing like blood and silk caught in the wind, wrapping around us as if the dance itself refuses to let me go.
And when I come back, his hand slides to my back. The music is still playing, but the surrounding movement… had stopped.
People are watching. I can feel their eyes, their curiosity, and their disbelief. But I don't look because if I do, this breaks.
And I don't want it to break.
For once, I don't want to think, don't want to plan, and I don't want to escape. I just want to stay.
…with him. Because in this space, it feels like we're the only two people left in the world. No mafia, contracts, war, or past.
Just beautiful, dangerous.
And completely, utterly… consumed by each other.