Chapter 22
Nicole Vargas
A man should always wait for his lady. That’s what I have been taught. Waiting will increase their curiosity and when they finally get to see only a glimpse of you, they will be baffled. That’s the kind of reaction I wanted from Ethan. I let him wait fifteen minutes in the living room, but instead…Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.
“Jesús Nicole, I thought you said you already prepared your outfit weeks in advance,” Ethan said frustrated. He didn’t even acknowledge my dress. He didn’t even see the bun on my head that I spend an hour on. No, to him I was late.
“Why can’t you be like any other man and compliment your woman?” I muttered, slightly annoyed. “Am I not beautiful to you or what?”
“Of course you’re beautiful, princess. You always look beautiful. It’s just that sometimes you act irresponsibly.”
“What?! I’m only fifteen minutes late. Usually, it’s up to an hour. This is progress, Ethan.” I rolled my eyes as I said that.
“The next time can you please be on time?” He asked, taking my hands in his and kissing my forehead.
“No promises.”
We walked outside where there was a car waiting for us. A black rolls Royce. “Where is the ball going to be held?” I asked Ethan as he sat down next to me.
“Asateer at Atlantis the Palm. Have you been there before?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“I went there two years ago. It’s a beautiful place for such events.”
“Are there going to be people there who I know?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe, maybe not. Are you nervous?”
“No, is there a possibility I might meet a family member of yours there?”
Ethan chuckled. “There’s a small chance. Why? Don’t you want to meet my family?”
“Of course I do, but we should date longer than this to finally introduce each other to our families.”
“Really?”
I nodded my head. “Yes.”
“Anything for you, princess. Anything for you.”
……….
Ethan was right. The Asateer was a beautiful venue with the most stunning view of Dubai’s skyline. When we arrived there were probably over a hundred guests already.
Ethan placed his hand in mine and together we walked inside. “I want you to stay close to me. I don’t like other men flirting with you, princess.”
“I will not flirt back.”
“I know.” Ethan chuckled and squeezed my hand softly. “Just… stay close to me.”
We walked inside the venue and we were greeted by the host, Mr. Abadi. “Gray, you came.” He said, smiling and giving Ethan a fistbump. “And you brought a date… who isn’t Veronica?” He looked at me and frowned his eyebrows.
“Jafar,”Ethan smiled tightly at the Arab man. “This is Nicole Vargas, my girlfriend soon-to-be fiancee.”
Mr. Abadi, who’s first name is Jafar, looked at both of us with a surprised expression on his face. He opened his mouth and closed it again. After a minute he finally said something. “Hi Nicole, nice to meet you. I am just a little shocked.”
“And why is that?” I questioned.
“Well, after Veronica I never—,”
“Jafar,” Ethan said in a warning tone. “Don’t you have other guests to welcome?” Ethan gave him one last warning look. He and Jafar then stared at each other, having a silent conversation, and then Jafar nodded his head and look at me, smiling. “Enjoy the party.”
He then walked away and I raised my eyebrows up at Ethan. “What was that?”
“What was what?” Ethan asked, pretending he didn’t know what I was talking about.
“That… What just happened. What was it all about?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I groaned and rolled my eyes at him. “You know exactly what I am talking about. The whole silent conversation? Who was it about, me or Veronica?”
“Let’s not make a scene here,” Ethan said quietly. “We will talk about it later.”
“The hell we will.” I yanked my hand out of his and stared angrily at him. “If you don’t want to talk about Veronica, I’ll not talk to you. Simple as that.”
Before he could say something, I walked away from him. Luckily the ball was held in a spacious venue. Ethan would not find me easily. I walked over towards the bar and ordered a cocktail.
While I was sipping on my cocktail, a guy dressed in a blue suit walked over towards me. He was quite handsome with his hair in a man bun and eyes so blue you could drown in it.
“Good evening, my lady.” he greeted as he gave me a handshake. “How are you?”
“I’m doing well,” I answered, smiling. “May I ask who you are?”
“Hayden Williams, CEO of Williams Enterprises. I bet you have heard of it, Miss Vargas.”
I looked at him in surprise. He knows m, so that means… “Yes, I do. Now I remember seeing you a couple of times at our house.”
He laughed. “Yeah, my dad used to do business with your father and I occasionally came with my dad.”
“Makes sense. So what are you doing here? Aren’t you from Australia or something?”
“New Zealand.” He corrected me. “And I came here for the ball, like you. Did you come with your parents?”
“No.” A voice said next to me. It was Ethan, his eyes were spitting fire. “She came here with me.”
Hayden looked shocked at Ethan and then at me. “You came here with Gray?”
I nodded my head slowly. “Yes, he’s my… uhm… boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Yes, Williams,” Ethan said annoyed. “She’s soon about to be my fiancee.”
“Fiancee?”
Hayden gave me a disapproving look. “Since when? I went to Brazil last week and your dad told me you were single. He does not know about this, does he?”
“What the hell, Hayden?” I frowned my eyebrows at him. “No, my parents don’t know it yet. But soon I will introduce Ethan to them. What’s your problem?”
“I’m not the one with the problem, you are.” He laughed and then shook his head. “Anyways, have a great rest of the night.”
He walked away and Ethan cleared his throat. “Wasn’t I clear earlier? You were supposed to stay by my side.”
“And wasn’t I clear earlier? If you don’t want to talk about Veronica, I’ll not talk to you.”
Ethan sighed deeply and went with his hand through his hair in frustration. “Fine, princess. I will tell you, but at home, okay?”
“Promise?”
Ethan nodded his head. “Promise.”
“Good, now give me a kiss.”
“Huh?” Ethan looked at me as if I was crazy.
“Give me a kiss to seal the deal, Mr. Gray.”
“So damn bossy, Miss Vargas.” He chuckled. “I love it.”
Ethan gently leans in and kissed me warmly on my lips. He then pulled apart and smiled at me. “You’re so perfect, princess.”