Chapter Forty one

Ariana's POV;

I reached for my potato chips as I flipped over to the next page of the book I was reading. It was a captivating autobiography of a celebrated author I had been following for years and it had me really hooked.

A knock came through my door and I yelled for the person on the other side to come in. It was one of the maids who had come in with a shopping bag, I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"What's this?" I asked as she handed it over to me.

"Sir's personal assistant said to give this to you, he says there's a note in it that would tell you all you need to know." She said and I nodded. She curtsied before exiting the room.

Curiosity got the better part of me and I opened the bag. I pulled out the content which turned out to be an ankle length straight black silk dress which had a drape that trailed down my left shoulder with a long sleeve on the right.

It was a straight dress and was not all too dramatic but for the drape it had. I picked up the blue sheet of paper I found in it and read it out.

"You'll be accompanying to me to a charity event, be ready by six."

I tsked and sighed. Just when I thought I would not have to go anywhere for the rest of the evening, this had to come up. I checked the time and saw I had about three hours to get ready for the event. Just great. I continued reading for another hour before going to take a shower.

I came out and applied light make up as usual. I had Fiona come over to give me a neat updo that would match with my dress.

"Whoa! Why are you here?" She exclaimed and questioned the moment I brought her in.

"Damien and I do not sleep in the same room anymore." I stated plainly. I beckoned for her to come and get started on my hair. She had told me during one of our many do conversations that she could style hairs pretty well.

She got busy and I thought she had forgotten about the room issue until she brought it up again soon after.

"Is this because of what happened at dinner the other night?" She asked, looking a bit sad.

"Uhmmm." Our eyes met through the mirror and the words I wanted to say got stuck in my throat.

"We just have to learn to be apart. It's not permanent at all, I just like my space a lot." I lied through my teeth. I hated that I had to lie to Fiona, but she was so sweet and loving, I could not crush her spirits at all.

"You're sure you two aren't fighting?" She inquired doubtingly. I looked up at her.

"Yes. If we were, I would not be prepping to go out with him tonight." I said confidently.

"I guess you're right." She sounded half convinced but I did not want to lie further so I kept mute.

We continued with small talks until she finished up with my hair. She helped me pick out my jewelry that comprised only of a pair of diamond stud earrings and a silver wristwatch on my left hand.

I grabbed a silver clutch and a pair of open toe pumps to complement the outfit.

Six o'clock rolled by before I knew it and I went down the stairs only to see that Damien was busy checking his watch obviously waiting for me to come out. I had no idea he was in by the way.

I went down the stairs slowly, my gaze met his for a second but I looked away. This was the first time I was seeing him in about two days. I felt his gaze on me but I did not look up at him.

"Let's go." He muttered and walked ahead of me. I followed him in silence as we walked through the lobby. Parked right in front of us was a black limousine, the chauffeur pulled the door open and I got in first. I shifted to the farthest end of the seat before Damien came in. He held his phone in hand and was not looking up at all, I took that as my opportunity to check him out.

He looked good as always in his black tux with black pants, a white shirt and black bowtie. His outfit did nothing to hide his buff body, his biceps bulged at the sides. His face was a smooth as a baby's, I kind of wanted to run my finger over his clean shaven place. His black hair was gelled to perfection and I almost wanted to feel it. I looked away quickly when I noticed him looking up.

The ride continued in silence until we arrived at a huge hotel. I saw a red carpet along with the reporters and photographers asking questions and taking pictures of the celebrities simultaneously as soon as they arrived.

My nerves were all over the place, these sort of gatherings with flashy photography had my mind spiralling out of control and made me jittery.

The chauffeur came around and pulled the door open for us. Damien stepped out first and moved aside as I slowly slid out with him holding my right hand in his left. We moved forward a bit and the flashes were non stop. I was squinting for the most part.

Damien held me by my waist and moved me to his other side. We slowly made our way to the red carpet and took pictures in front of the ELT banner that had been set up. Damien and I posed for a few pictures but thankfully he ignored the questions thrown at him from the reporters. He put his hand on the small of back and led me inside the building. We walked towards the hall that the event was being held.

I held my breath when I saw the beautiful decor of the exquisite place. It was simply amazing.

Damien and I were led to a table fixed for both of us and another man with his date whom I assumed was his wife.

Damien exchanged pleasantries with the man, seemed like they were familiar with each other.

"This is my wife, Ariana." Damien said slightly pushing me forward, I gave the man a cordial smile as Damien continued speaking.

"Babe, this is, Reginald Harrington and his fiancé, Eleanor right?"

The girl nodded quickly with a starstruck look on her face. I assumed she was a big fan of Damien's. I acknowledged them both with a smile, one that Reginald returned but his fiance had her eyes glued to Damien's face.

"Forgive my fiancé, she's always wanted to see Damien in the flesh and now she can't believe it." Reginald explained, chuckling while at it.

"Sorry." Eleanor whispered with a flushed face and excused herself hurriedly, claiming she had to use the ladies. I was truly amused at how ladies, both single and taken fawned over the man next to me. Who was I kidding? It was hilarious to watch.

We soon had our seats since the event was about to start. The men went on talking about business while I sat there quietly with my eyes roaming the room.

Eleanor returned after a while and we got talking while the men were in their own world talking about stocks and all what not. This was the first time I saw Damien speak for such a long time with anyone except it was on the phone and it only happened when it came to business.

The host of the event soon mounted the podium. She welcomed us guests and gave a short speech about the charity and how far they had come before declaring the event officially open. We applauded as soon she ended her speech.

There were lots of segments and performances and from the looks of things, it was going to be a pretty long night.

The waiters came in to serve while one of the speeches went on. Damien had a glass of champagne same as Reginald while Eleanor and I settled for juice. I did not drink alcohol because I was too much of a lightweight.

It was soon time to bid on some models to dance with or go on dates with the highest bidders, there were lots of models so it took a while before that was over.

Before we knew it, about five hundred million dollars had been made, it was a shocker. Damien had donated a large sum of money as well although he did not bid on any girl.

Eleanor and I got up and walked to the jewelry and painting sections of the event. We viewed most of them in awe although we were not exactly willing to purchase anything. We were just talking about stuff while we walked about.

"So for how long have you and Mr Kingston been married?" She asked out of the blue. I wondered if she was not a social media person because almost everyone knew about our wedding.

"Roughly three weeks." I replied.

"Oh you two are newly weds? Aw." She cooed dreamily. I laughed and nodded.

"Reginald and I are going to be like you two soon. I can't wait!" She exclaimed with a giggle. She was obviously so elated to tie the knot, I wish I felt that way when I was about getting married.

"Congratulations." I said to her with a warm smile.

"Promise me you'll attend our wedding." She requested. I was a bit taken aback but with how hopeful she looked, I could not turn it down.

"Sure thing." I said and she grinned satisfactorily.

"Wedding planning is not an easy job, how did you cope?" She inquiried as we picked up samosa and hors d'oeuvres from the buffet.

It was exhausting, just thinking about it. I exhaled heavily.

"Trust me hon, it was not an easy task especially considering the fact that I had just one month to plan and put everything together." I admitted to her and she gasped.

"Just one month?!" She exclaimed. I nodded.

"Reginald and I have been engaged for a month now and our wedding is in two months. I feel it's too close because there's still so much to do and here you are telling me you had just a month to plan a high society wedding?!" She rambled on and I was thoroughly amused at how shocked she was. I shrugged it off with a mild chuckle.

Damien soon came in search of me as well as Reginald for Eleanor.

He pulled me to the dance floor even when I told him I did not want to dance. We danced to the tune slowly with his arms around my waist, just above my butt and both my arms around his neck.

He leaned closer and I shut my eyes awaiting his kiss but it never came. I opened my eyes shortly after I saw that he looked amused.

"I'm not going to kiss you unless you ask for it." He said to me. I snorted.

"I'm never going to ask for you for such. I don't even want your hands on me." I said in a bid to spite him and it worked. His hands dropped from waist as he took my hands off his shoulder and walked away from me on the dancefloor, leaving me really confused.

I was stupefied for a second until I saw him walking towards the exit. What in the world?!

I rushed to our table and grabbed my clutch, I hurriedly said goodbye to Eleanor and Reginald then I speedwalked out of the room hoping that no one had noticed what had just transpired.

I managed to get into the limo in one piece and shut the door with a bang.

"Damien what the hell was that?!!" I yelled at him not caring about where we were at that point. He ignored me.

"Answer me!" I yelled again, I hated it when I was being ignored.

"I don't owe you an explanation." He said without sparing me as much as cursory glance.

"You walked out on me in the middle of a public function and left me looking stupid and if this marriage is anything to go by, you do owe me a freaking explanation!" My voice got louder than I thought it would. He suddenly grabbed me by my wrist tightly and pulled me close to him. It hurt so bad. The car was already in motion and we were speeding towards the highway.

"For the last time Ariana, stop yelling and stop acting like you mean so much to me! Stop acting so entitled and stick to being a trophy wife!" He warned in a tone that truly scared me. I knew he meant what he said but I was not going down without a fight.

I hit him hard in the face with my clutch making him release me quickly as he groaned in pain. I made the driver stop the car while I got out in haste. I slammed the door shut and watched as it sped off into the night.

I quickly ordered an Uber which picked me up in no time. It was when I got into the vehicle that I finally let the tears flow.

I hate my life.