Chapter Sixty five

Damien's POV;

It took a lot to get my mind off her because she looked way too beautiful. I knew I had picked the perfect dress the moment I saw her in it. She looked drop dead gorgeous. And the way she carried herself with so much poise and grace, I could not help but keep my eyes glued to her all through the day.

We were currently on our way to the wedding reception. Seeing her cry earlier did things to me. There was a high possibility that she was thinking about our wedding all through and the fact that it brought tears to her eyes gave me mixed signals. Was she crying because she reminisced on how beautiful our wedding was? Or, was she feeling like it was the day I trapped her and she knew there was no turning back? I honestly did not know what to think. I really just wanted to enjoy the moments I spent with her while it lasted and though I knew she did not plan on being around for much longer than she was supposed to, I was willing to give her all the comfort and care I could give while she stayed.

I took my feelings for her as fleeting and would die a natural death sooner or later and if she found out the truth about me and our relationship which she eventually would, I would have no choice but to let her go. No one would decide to stay after all that anyway.

I gave her a side glance and saw that she was deeply engrossed with what she was reading on her phone.

"Seems like your PR assistant has already posted something on your page." She said, looking up at me. I picked my phone out of my pocket and opened Instagram on it. I checked my page and saw that the photograph of both of us this morning had already been posted there with some cheesy caption and the likes and comments had piled up like no tomorrow. I nodded at her to let her know that I had acknowledged what she said.

"I just posted it on my page too." She said and I nodded again. I just did not feel like saying anything at that point and I low-key hoped she did not get the wrong message from my attitude.

The car came to a stop and I got out, pulling her with me as I shut the door behind us. Here, the paparazzi were in more of a frenzy than they were at the cathedral.

I walked with Ariana on the red carpet, hand in hand towards the huge banner that had the couple's names inscribed on it. There, we posed for a few pictures together before my family members joined in and we had a group picture with Ariana and I standing in the middle.

We walked in after a while and were directed to the table stipulated for the Kingstons'. The decor was done to taste, nothing less was expected for a high society wedding. Everything depicted class and high standards around here so it was a norm to see people go all out for the littlest of things. At least with a new couple making the rounds, Ariana and I could catch a breather and just enjoy the reduced attention.

I walked in and saw Aiden was just getting in as well, he could not make it to the church so he decided to attend the reception.

"Hey man." He said and we shook hands before doing a bro hug.

"Hey Ari." He said grinning at my wife widely and I subtly glared.

"Hi Aiden, how are you?" She asked mirroring his smile as she went over to give him a hug. The hug seemed to linger so I pulled her back gently. She was startled and looked at me with a confused face.

"You have one jealous husband, Ari." He said with a lopsided grin and I glared at him more clearly.

"Ariana. Her name is Ariana." I corrected. Why did he have to shorten her name?

"Damien, everyone calls me Ari." She said rolling her eyes in an exaggerated manner.

"He shouldn't. Come on, let's go." I said as I ushered her away while Aiden laughed heartily.

I pulled out a seat and made her sit down comfortably on the chair before I sat myself. Everyone was busy chattering away on the table and she joined in, talking to Fiona and Tracy, most probably about girly stuff.

Aiden soon joined us and sat next to Tracy whose countenance changed the moment he arrived.

Now this is going to be fun. I inwardly rubbed my palms whilst chuckling evilly.

"So Tracy, is he bothering you?" I asked as I sipped on a glass of later from the ones placed on our table.

"Uhm, no Damien not at all." She looked away from Aiden and continued tapping on her phone. Aiden then decided that this was the best time to talk to my wife about work. This dude sure has some nerve.

"I think you're getting really cozy with my wife, Aiden." I said observingly. They both turned to me quickly and so did everyone else.

"That's pretty much how you got cozy with Tracy and look what happened." I said without batting an eyelid.

"Ooooooo." Jesse drawled trying to hold in his laughter while everyone had stupefied looks on their face.

Tracy looked like she wanted to run and hide while Aiden looked like he could punch me at that point but I did not care about all of that.

"Damien!" My mother half yelled but I was unbothered.

I made the mistake or looking over to Ariana and if looks could kill, I'd be six feet under. I swallowed. Maybe I should not have said that but it was too late.

"Excuse me, I need to use the ladies." She got up and left before anyone could answer.

"Follow her you dumbass." Aiden whispered and smacked the back of my head lightly.

I got up and followed Ariana who was speeding away on her heels like they were Ferraris.

I did not want to shout her name after her so people wouldn't think anything was wrong. So I walked casually without taking my eyes off her. I ignored the stares from people who knew me and eventually got to the bathroom area.

"Ariana?" I called when I got to the door. I couldn't go in because I was sure there were lots of ladies inside doing their business.

I took out my phone and dialed her line until she came out. She glared and tried to walk past me but I held her by her soft milky arms.

"It was a joke, I didn't mean to offend you." I confessed. She did not say anything, she just kept looking away.

"Let's go back and take our seats, the couple will soon come in and I know you would not want to miss out on that." I said trying to convince her to talk to me but she would not budge. She just released herself from my grip and walked ahead of me. I took two quick strides and I was by her side the next second.

She did not spare me a glance even when we finally got to the table and I pulled out her chair for her. She said nothing.

Lots of people came over to say hi to us-me specifically. Business associates and clients alike came over, one after the other and I quickly introduced her to each and everyone while she responded politely.

The anchor mounted the stage after a while and soon it was time to welcome the newly wedded couple.

We all stood up and applauded them with loud cheers as they walked in excitedly.

The speeches came through and bored the life out of me. The whole thing was so tiring, I just wanted to get back to work. The only wedding I ever wanted to attend was mine and now that's done and over with, weddings should be checked out of my to do list totally. Why did I have to attend these things?

I looked over to Ariana and saw that she was enjoying the whole thing as well as the other ladies who looked dreamy eyed. Typical.

I reached for Ariana's hand subconsciously and she removed her hand quickly, sliding it away from mine. Okay, this was bad, really bad. I don't think anyone else noticed because they were so engrossed in whatever was going on on stage.

The couple soon had their first dance with lights dimmed out and all. The 'awwws' and 'ooohs' would not just stop. I rolled my eyes in disinterest.

The event's anchor called for people to come join the couple on the dance floor and in as much as I would not usually do such, I had to make Ariana talk to me and the next best thing to do was, making her dance with me.

With great difficulty, I convinced Ariana to come dance with me. Everyone on the table had to egg her on before she agreed to follow me to the dance floor.

We swayed left and right slowly to the romantic song. She had her hands placed on my shoulders while I had my hands wrapped around her waist just above her ass that I really wanted to squeeze so bad but she would end my life if I did so I tried to not think about it.

"Say something." I said to her but she ignored me, I did not like it but I deserved it. I sighed heavily and thought of what else to do. This was going to be one of the hardest moments for me. I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. I tried again and the same thing happened.

"I'm sorry." I finally said after so much difficulty and she looked up at me abruptly.

She was speechless and when she eventually wanted to say something, the music stopped and I had to lead her away from the dancefloor. I could not bring myself to look at her. Those were words I hardly ever said to anyone, maybe I had not even said them before but Ariana made me say them. For the first time, someone put me in a tight spot and I had no choice but to apologize for my mistake.

What was this woman doing to me?

My thoughts got interrupted when we sat down and the couple came over to say hello to us.

Eleanor pulled Ariana into a warm embrace while the latter kept congratulating and complimenting her. I shook hands with Reginald and congratulated him as well, welcoming him to the married club.

The star struck look still did not leave Eleanor's face when she saw me and I chuckled. I stretched out my hand to give her a handshake and congratulate her on being newly married but she gave me a hug instead. I stumbled back a little but awkwardly hugged her back while Ariana held in her laughter at how uncomfortable I looked.

"Sorry. I just can't believe you actually came!" Eleanor said holding in a scream. Reginald came to her side and held her.

"Forgive my wife. She's just such a huge fan of your work and I have to fight for her affection whenever you're around." He joked and we all laughed at that.

"Sorry you have to deal with that. My wife is the same way whenever she sees her favorite actor, even on the screen." I gave an exaggerated sigh. Ariana's eyes widened and she turned crimson red, she didn't know I had observed that she was obsessed with Chris Hemsworth. Ariana could kill to see Chris Hemsworth but I would not let her leave me for him. Never!

Eleanor gasped.

"Your husband is this hot and you're crazy over someone else?" She turned to my wife in bewilderment. Ariana shrugged.

"The heart wants what it wants, I guess?" Ariana chuckled nervously before she came to my side.

"I'll choose my husband anyday though." She said and blushed while I kissed her forehead. I guess we stole the spotlight from the new couple.

"Aww." Eleanor and everyone else chorused. I shook my head at them before my eyes locked with Ariana's. She smiled and I returned it with a somewhat relieved sigh. We were okay now.

What a day...