Chapter 30: The facade
Aira’s POV
My entire body seems to have been frozen in ice.
I have never felt anything like this before. His lips feel so good against mine. What is going on? Why is he kissing me in front of all these people? And why is it turning me on so badly?
His hands around my waist pull me closer, and a gasp leaves my lips when he squeezes my ass softly. He slips his tongue into my mouth, and the moan that leaves my lips cannot be helped.
My goodness, what is happening?
Even though I do not have an answer to that, I kiss him back. Our lips move together in sync, and the kiss is by far the best one I have ever had. It sends waves of electricity through my veins, filling me with an emotion I cannot quite describe.
It is funny how all I wanted to do earlier was bawl my eyes out in front of Jace and Ana, but now all I could think of was how to get Alexander and I’s clothes off. Something stirs within me, something primal.
It wanted more of him, and so did I.
Sadly, our mini-make-out session comes to an end. He tears his lips away from mine and places a kiss on my forehead. The hair on my skin stands, and I can feel the eyes of everyone on us. Alexander kissed me in front of all these people.
The very same Alexander has been ashamed to call me his mate ever since the day our paths crossed.
I am sure that I am redder than a tomato at this point. I can’t even imagine my facial expression when Alexander pinches my cheeks.
What the hell is wrong with him? Did he hit his head or something?
“Don’t disappear like that again, okay?” He says it softly, staring into my eyes with an intensity that makes my brain go numb.
“Oh, okay,” I stutter dumbly, and I want to slap myself for being so foolish. He turns to Jace and Ana; the both of them have been staring at us with eyes wider than saucers and their mouths wide open. I am sure they didn’t expect Alexander and I’s public display of affection.
Neither did I, to be honest.
Alexander offers them a smile. It isn’t the same as the one he showed me; the one he offers them is tight. If not bitter,.
“And who are these wonderful friends of yours?” he asks, and I almost throw up when he refers to Ana and Jace as my friends.
Ana’s shocked face morphs into a bright smile, and she perks up. “Actually, Aira and I are-”
“Acquaintances,” I finish, and her smile drops.
She looks at me with her head reared back and her mouth slightly ajar. What the hell did she expect? That I would dare let her refer to us as sisters? As family?
I don’t think so.
“Oh, come on, Aira, don’t be-”
I cut her off once again by saying, “Yes, that is exactly what we are. I don’t even know who this gentleman here is,” I say, referring to Jace, who has been watching the whole scene like a gaping fish.
“I see. Well, if you and your acquaintances are done speaking, I would like you to come meet a few of my associates,” Alexander says, and I wrap my hand around his bicep.
“Actually we-” Ana tries to speak, but I cut her off once again. She bares her teeth at me, and her eyes grow wild. I know just how much she despised when I interrupted when she always did that to me while growing up. But I suppose the tables are turned now.
She wouldn’t dare lay a finger on me with Alexander present.
“We are done speaking,” I say. Ana narrowed her eyes at me, and I had to keep myself from laughing. She is boiling with rage now. My eyes shift to Jace, and his face is void of any emotion. His grip on his drink tightens; however, I fear it will shatter in his hands.
“Very well then; it was nice meeting you both,” Alexander says.
It really wasn’t.
Ana and I share one last glance before Alexander sweeps me away. As we get further and further away from them, it does not change the fact that I can feel their eyes boring holes into the back of my skull.
“What the hell are you doing?” I whisper to Alexander, leaning closer to him.
His smile is wide, and I cannot even begin to describe how much it is creeping me out. “I have no idea what you are talking about, darling.”
Darling? First, my love, and now, darling?Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.
He definitely hit his head. And it must have been terribly hard, too.
Before I can question him further, a man and woman walk up to us. We greet each other, but I do not pay much attention to their conversation. My mind only keeps replaying the events that happened earlier. From meeting my sister and ex-mate to being on the verge of tears and being kissed by the man I could have sworn on my life hates me, and now he is calling me sweet names.
He is actually being nice to me. and in public.
My head is starting to spin from all this thinking.
Clearing my throat loudly, Alexander stops talking to look at me. “Are you alright?”
Um, no. You are being weird as hell.
“I need to use the restroom,” I say, and he looks at me like he is about to tell me he is going to come with me. So I quickly add, “I will be fine. I can handle myself.”
The man and woman he was talking to looked at us with confusion written all over their faces.
“Don’t be long now; if you are, I will have to come find you.” He says that so sweetly, but only I could identify the silent warning in his words.
“Of course,” I say before parting ways with him. I make my way into the white house and ask one of the waiters for the restroom. He gives me the directions, and I thank him before following them.
Once I am inside, I shut the door and release a breath I did not even realize I had been holding. I stare at my reflection in the mirror, and tears instantly fill my eyes.
It’s like I am staring right at Ana.
My body jolts with surprise when the door is flung open and someone walks right in.
“Hey, you can’t-”
My words are cut short when he locks the door quickly and faces me. My heart plummets to the pit of my stomach when Jace’s face comes into view.
Subconsciously, I take a step back, and I can feel my heart pounding wildly against my chest. I lift my hand to keep some sort of distance between us as I continue to back away.
“Get out.”
He takes a step towards me and places his hand right out in front of him as well. “Calm down; I just want to talk.”
“Well, I don’t want to talk to you. If you are not getting out, then I will,” I say, trying to sidestep him, but he blocks my path.
“Look, I know you are angry and hate me, and you have every right to,” he starts, and I look at him with disbelief.
“Hate you? That doesn’t even amount to ten percent of what I feel towards you. Look, I am not having this conversation. Get out of my way or I will scream,” I threaten, and I watch his patience run thin.
“Now, you listen here-”
“Aira? Are you still in there, honey?”
Jace grows pale as Alexander’s voice comes from the other side of the door. I raise an eyebrow as a silent question to see if he really wants to continue this conversation. He holds my gaze, but eventually makes room for me to pass through.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I smile at Alexander. He looks at me with slightly narrowed eyes. “You took a while,” he states. “It’s time for us to go.”
Thank God.
He takes my hand and leads me out to our car. He opens the door for me, and I hop right in. When he gets to the driver side, he shuts the door, and just like that fa? ade he has been putting on ever since the moment he walked in on Jace, Ana and I disappear.
He starts up the engine and drives out of the estate with ferocious speed.
“Now tell me who the fuck those two fools are,” he says, and just before I can open my mouth, he adds, “And don’t you dare lie to me because I will snap your neck and throw your body out of this car.”
I should have known his niceness would not last forever.
Bile rises within my throat, and I cast my gaze downward.
“That was my sister, Ana,” I say, and he isn’t even a tiny bit surprised. I suppose he would have been able to tell, seeing as our resemblance is uncanny. But what he did not expect is what I say next.
“And that man was Jace, my ex-mate.”
The tires screech to a halt, and Alexander’s eyes meet mine; they look like they belong to a demon. A devil.
When he speaks, his voice does not sound like his own. It sounds menacing, furious, and evil.
“What?”
My vision is completely blocked by tears, and I let the tears I have been holding in for so long spill out of my eyes. “He rejected me and got married to Ana.”
For a moment, Alexander does not utter a word; he is unnaturally silent. I am not even sure he is breathing because the silence was deafening.
He breaks the silence with a question: “Was he the one that sent those men to kill you?” he asks, and I nod. His anger radiates off his body, and suddenly it feels like all the air in the car has vanished.
“And was he the father of your child?”
A sharp pang strikes my heart at the memory of my deceased baby.
“Yes,” I answer. Alexander starts up the engine of his car, and my heart stops when he makes a sharp U-turn. “Wait, what are you doing?”
“I am going to rip his head off his shoulders and make that bitch you have as a sister watch.”
The scariest part about all of this is the fact that he is not joking.
I grab his hands on the wheel and plead, “No, you can’t do that.”
“Watch me,” he says through gritted teeth, and I shake my head in refusal.
“I mean it, Alexander, stop the car!” I order, and he does.
Huh, I can’t believe that actually worked.
I sink back into my chair and let out a breath. Slowly, my anger resurfaces, but I do my best to keep it at bay. I cannot let myself be taken over with rage.
“Death would be too easy for them,” I say quietly. “I want them to suffer a hundred times more than I did. It is their fault I lost everything. My money, my home.” I pause, letting a tear slide down my cheek. “My child.”
I felt his eyes on me the entire time. He places his hand on mine, and our eyes meet.
“Tell me what you have in mind, and I will make them endure the worst pain anyone ever has in this world.”