(Sapphire's POV)
"The woman he should have married instead!"
Her words sliced through the air like venom, and for a moment, I could only stare at her like she had suddenly grown two extra heads.
She was really beautiful. Long healthy hair cascading down her shoulders, with full lips painted a bold red. She was a very attractive woman.
But her eyes? It was her eyes that froze my mind. They were blazing furiously.
"I don't understand you and neither do I know what you're on about," I said carefully, though my voice trembled despite my best efforts to keep it steady.
She laughed without an iota of humor.
"Of course you don't. Why would he tell you anything about us?" She stepped closer, her heels clicking like a time bomb. "Tell me, does he even touch you, or are you just for decoration?" She asked with a wide grin.
My pulse thundered in my ears. I and Damian's marriage was not built on love, but that didn't mean it was okay for another woman to insult me because of my own husband.
"I think you should leave." I said, forcing my chin up. My hands were ice cold, but I curled them into fists so she wouldn't see them shaking.
"You think?" She laughed loudly. "Are you sure you have that ability?"
When I didn't say anything, her gaze flickered down to my folded fingers.
"Aw, is the decorative wife scared?"
Not being able to deny it, I swallowed hard.
This woman radiated something unhinged, like she could explode any minute.
She tilted her head, "Are you afraid of me? Afraid I might spoil your pretty face?" She giggled.
Good lord! This one had gone mad.
"Who are you?" I asked firmly.
She stopped giggling long enough to reply me.
"Mira. The one woman your so called husband has ever truly loved."
I don't know what she expected from me, but I didn't feel a single thing, so I didn't react in any way, and that seemed to piss her off more.
Also, her name meant nothing to me, but she had said it in a way that made it sound like I was supposed to know her.
"Mira what?" I pressed.
"You don't need to know who my daddy is, but just remember that I was in Damian's life way before you came, and will always be first in his life!"
Okay, hold on. Nobody was struggling him with you, maniac.
But did I have the mind to tell her that? No.
"Yet he choose to marry me even with you in the picture." I said before I could stop myself. I was asking to get beaten at this point.
Her expression darkened like black clouds on a stormy night.
"Oh, sweetheart. You are so gullible. Do you not know that men like Damian don't marry for love?" She gushed like I was a three year old girl she was explaining basic mathematics to.
My throat tightened, but I said nothing.
Mira straightened. "Damian didn't choose you, he settled. Always remember that."
"I'm still his wife," I managed.
She smiled too sweetly. "We will see how long that lasts."
Then she brushed past me and left the restroom without a backward glance.
As soon as the door closed behind her, my legs gave way underneath me.
I gripped the sink and stared at my pale reflection. My makeup was still intact and flawless. Not a hair out of place too, but my eyes… my eyes looked terrified.
"Get it together. You can do this, Sapphire." I whispered to myself and closed my eyes.
When I opened them, color had returned to my face and I looked better.
After a few minutes, I squared my shoulders and walked out of the rest room.
______________
The ballroom was dazzling.
Craystal chandeliers bathed everything and everyone in warm golden light.
Men and women in elegant dresses and tuxedos moved about like ghosts in a haunted castle.
I groaned at the sounds of fake practice laughters floating from one end of the room to another.
And at the center of it all stood my husband.
He looked so unbothered by the people hovering over him like bees drawn to honey.
The man's presence was magnetic.
Even I couldn't deny that.
His eyes found me then.
They sharpened and something in his posture changed at once.
He knew. Somehow, Damian Blackwood knew something was wrong with me.
Without saying anything to the people gathering around him, he walked straight to me.
"You took more than two minutes in there, Sapphire." He wasn't asking.
"I'm sorry." I muttered tiredly.
"Did something happen?" He probed.
"I…"
"Baby!" before I could say a word, shrilled voice rang out as Mira slipped between us as if she had every right to be there.
Her hands sliding possessively onto Damian's arms.
I froze.
She was smiling radiantly, totally different from the woman who had almost beaten me in the restroom a few minutes ago.
Nobody watching would believe the cruelty she had hidden in her smile.
"Did you miss me?" She purred, leaning closely towards him.
"Mira, if you do not separate yourself from me this second, you won't have a hand by tomorrow." Damian's voice was dangerously low, but very clear.
Mira removed her hands but with a flirty giggle.
"Come on! You know you're just bluffing, Damy boo. You know daddy will not allow a single hair on my head to be hurt." She whispered.
"Then, I'll have to cut his hands too, no?" Damian asked her.
This time she didn't laugh. She didn't even make a sound.
"If you disturb me again, I'll pay your father a visit, and I promise you that he doesn't like my visits, because they never end well." Damian's warning was as clear as day.
Then he turned to me, "dance with me." It was a very commanding statement.
I was now very curious about who Mira's father was, and also confused about the conversation they had just had, but I nodded and held Damian's stretched out arms.
Together, we walked to the dance floor and started twirling around gently.
But I did the mistake of looking at the spot we had just left, and came face to face with Mira's blood curdling stare.
I shuddered and looked away at once.
"Keep your eyes on mine, Sapphire." Damian demanded.
I did as he asked.
And soon, I forgot all about Mira and her trouble.
"Do you want to tell me what happened in the rest room now?" He suddenly asked.
I hesitated. I didn't know his actual relationship with Mira. Would I be safe if I tell him the truth?
"Don't worry about…" I began to say.
"Don't lie to me, Sapphire." He growled.
"It's nothing for real. I was just overwhelmed." I said with a soft smile. "I'm good now."
He just nodded once. Obviously not believing me, but also choosing not to push.
"We have given them enough to talk about for a whole year, don't you think it is time we leave this place and head back home?" Damian asked me after we had danced for a long time.
"Okay." I muttered.
"Stay beside me." He instructed and held my hands tightly.
We walked out of the hall at exactly one in the morning.
The drive back home was very quiet.
I mean, what was there to talk about?
Soon, we got home and I immediately made my way upstairs to my room, but Damian's voice stopped me halfway up.
"I have something I want you to see," he told me.
"I am honestly tired, Damian." I begged.
"It won't take a minute." He pushed.
Nodding, I followed him through the rooms until we came to a closed door.
"Go in."
I pushed open the door and the gasp that left my mouth was so loud I was certain I had startled even the bodyguards.
Paints, canvases, brushes of every kind, easels, shelves stacked with sketchbooks, two wide windows etc.
An artist's dream.
This was the most exciting thing anyone had done for me in a long, long time, and it was simply perfect.
"You said you liked to paint, so this room is yours. If you need anything else, call me."
I had my own studio. Right at home.
Tears flooded my eyes and probably clouded my judgement too, because next thing I know, my hands were tightly wrapped around Damian's body.
He went still immediately.
"Thank you!" I almost yelled.
He grunted.
Realizing my actions, I disentangled myself at once.
"I'm sorry, I just got carried away."
He nodded and walked out of the room.
The bodyguard closed the door as I left.
"Let me walk you back to your room." Damian offered.
I happily nodded.
I was no longer sleepy or tired.
He had made my night.
We returned to the parlor in awkward silence, still fully aware of the weird hug.
Then, as my leg touched the first staircase, a very unfamiliar voice spoke.
"I hope I am not interrupting anything."
Damian moved instantly.
One minute he was beside me, the next minute, he was standing right in front of me.
Using his body as a shield.
I peered around his shoulder out of curiosity.
A man was standing near the entrance with his hands casually in his pockets as if he hadn't just appeared inside a heavily guarded mansion in the middle of the night.
He was tall, and that was all I could see in the dim light.
But Damian obviously recognized him because he went totally still.
"Stanley."