Chapter 31:

Nadia's POV:

      Putting my phone in my clutch, I took a deep breathe and tried to ease the unwelcome feeling that started consuming me the moment Mrs. Collins headed out and left me alone with my wandering thoughts. I felt like something wasn't in its right place in the puzzle, and Zack's words were just adding to my headache and pain from another kind.

      I pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on my reflection in the mirror, applying red lipstick. 'I look good' I noted to myself as I brushed the nonexistent knots of the red long dress I was wearing.

       The dress was a beautiful mermaid strapless dress, made with lace and was held with diamonds on my center; it was well fitted and it showed all of my curves, as Mrs. Collins retorted when I complained that it was tighter than I wanted.

      Before I could reapply my lipstick, the sound of the door pulled my attention to the door of the room since I knew that Zack would burst in the room in a matter of seconds. I acted as if I haven't heard him entering and just focused on my reflection on the the mirror because I didn't want to seem so eager to see him.

      I could feel his presence as he entered the room and I could sense his warm aura approaching me, while I stared blankly at the mirror since I couldn't even concentrate on the lipstick I was holding aimlessly in my hands.

He hadn't done a thing yet, and there I was already losing my breathe...!!!

"I'm thinking of locking you in the house" He put his hands on my shoulders, his fingers stroking my exposed skin as always.

"The caveman is talking" I chuckled, putting my hand on top of his.

"I can't help it" He leaned down and planted a kiss on my shoulder "You look stunning"

"Thank you" I turned to face him "You look handsome yourself"

       To say that he was handsome, was underestimating his look because he looked perfect, he looked like he just stepped out of a magazine. The way the navy blue suit with the black lapel, hugged his body marvelously, the way his hair was tugged backward, and the way his eyes were sparkling as they met mine , made my heart flutter in delight, and I couldn't help but bite my lip to suppress the feelings that started erupting my chest.

       A chuckle escaped his lips as his famous smirk covered his face and that's when I realized that he caught me checking him out. I felt heat rush in my veins at the sudden embarrassment so I just bowed my head and turned it away from him.

I was really embarrassed!!!

"I like that you're bold but yet shy" He sent his fingers to my chin and lifted my face "It gives me an urgent desire to ruin your lipstick, which is so tempting right now" He outlined the shape of my lips then ran the back of his hand on my red cheeks "I wonder what runs in men's mind when they see you, I don't think I can handle anyone else besides me, fantasying you like I do"

        His words always managed to make me lose my balance, fly on cloud nine, and most importantly fall for him deeper. He made me believe that I was the happiest girl in the world, which reminded me of my dad's words once when he told me that I was the most beautiful girl in the world and I didn't believe him'Every girl is a queen in the eyes of the right person; he gets to unfold her beauty and make her feel like she's the most beautiful girl in the world'

'Are you that right person daddy?' I asked him, turning my attention to him, waiting for an answer.

'I'm not, I'm a father' He answered then added when he saw disappointment written on my face 'You'll always be my princess but someday, you'll meet someone who will make you feel like you are the most precious thing he has ever laid his eyes on'

       Those precious moments that I shared with my dad would be engraved in my heart for ever, however, at the thought of those days, I couldn't help but wonder how my life would be different if my dad was still by my side, maybe my family wouldn't be shattered, and I would be all happy like I was in the past.

Just maybe...!!!

       Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind, I brought myself to the handsome man who was looking down at me with worried eyes and arched eyebrows. He must've sensed the change in my temper because he suddenly started drawing soothing circled on the back of my neck and stated "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just came back from the past" I smiled at him, reassuringly.

"If it saddens you, you better start thinking of the future instead" He spoke, seriously "Ours"

"I like the sound of it" I reached for his bow tie and adjusted it "We should leave"

"Let's go" He put his hand on the small of my back and ushered me out of the room after I put my lipstick back in the clutch.

       A black formal coat for gowns was laid on the sofa and I mentally noted to myself to thank Mrs. Collins for it because it was freezing outside. Before I could lift the coat, Zack held it in his hands and gestured at me to turn around so that he could help me wear it.

       I did as I had been told and turned around. Since my hair was styled in a half up do, I had to lift the falling strays of hair off my neck so that my hair wouldn't be ruined. However, the moment my neck was totally exposed, I felt Zack's lips on my skin, making me lose my consciousness for his touch and an unashamed sound left my lips.

       I knew that he was only trying to torture me with touch and every breathe he fanned on my skin. That's why, I thought of what could throw his attempts out of the window, and make the ball fall on my ground not his.

      His lips still lingered on my skin, making my entire body going crazy, but I could still compose myself and turn to face him. His eyes were flaming with feelings and I thought that I was losing my battle, however, I still managed to invade his personal space, tip toed on my feet and brought my face, dangerously closer to his.

      He was watching my every move with amusement and excitement since he obviously thought that I was about to claim his lips, but little did he know what I was thinking about. I ran both of my hands on his strong arms till they reached his shoulders, which I held onto them for support as I moved closer, still lost in the beauty and depth of his eyes.

       The moment I realized I was starting to lose my battle and that if I stayed in that position for two more seconds I would've given in, I pulled back, lifted my coat and headed toward the door while Zack was mumbling French words.

I really got to him...

         I put my coat on and held my clutch tightly in my hand as I waited for Zack impatiently by the door, who appeared after two minutes, wearing a black coat. He was handsome, with his hair tousled back, his hands in his pockets, and his 'really don't care' attitude.

       We exited the apartment and headed immediately to the lifts where I stood still, not even daring to look at Zack, who was staring at me and eyeing me up and down. The moment we reached the lobby, I lifted the fabric of my dress, and headed out, making sure to walk with my head up high and with confidence, although my legs became weaker than I anticipated them to be.

Stupid attraction...

        The guy who replaced Collen, whom I forgot its name, opened the glass door for me and bowed his head courteously at me, while I nodded at him and looked for the car which was taking us to the Gala. Zack kept up with my pace and soon enough he was standing beside me with his hands resting in his pockets.

      A man with a black suit stepped out of the BMW m3, rushed to the back door and opened it, nodding his head at us. I loved the car, it belonged to dad so I always made sure to go to most of parties and Galas with it, since it always made me feel like my dad is close to me, like he never left, and he was telling me to stay confident and strong while facing people who only pretended to like me. 

      Many people had told me that the car was old and that I was only embarrassing myself for leaving it but I honestly couldn't care less about they said. And knowing that even Zack respected my decision, I was extremely so satisfied that I had jumped on him and kissed him since I thought he'd insist on bringing a limo. 

      Settling myself in the car with Zack beside me, super close, I turned my attention to Zack and we started going through what we would say in our speech. I never prepared myself for speeches but Mrs. Collins told me that Zack loved to prepare before, in order to avoid any possible misunderstandings, so I was gladly helping him so that we could blow it up there. 

      As the driver announced that we were ten minutes away, I reached for my red lipstick and intended to reapply it, knowing that photographers would barge on us immediately. However, nothing seemed to go as I planned for since the moment I finished putting it on, I felt Zack's fingers on my neck, messing with my skin with his fingertips. 

       I tried to control my breathe but my tries were all in vain. I couldn't even ask him to stop because I liked what he was doing although it wasn't the right time nor the right place to do so, especially when the driver looked at us in the rear-view mirror and started chuckling. 

Damn Zack, I was beyond embarrassed.

 "Zack, stop it" I could barely whisper the words as he buried his head on my neck "Zack" I uttered when he lifted my hair and bit the sensitive spot behind my ear. 

"Yeah?" Zack mumbled, huskily, trailing open kisses all over my skin. 

"Stop, we've reached the place" I breathed heavily, gathering my strength, sent my hand to his hair and pulled on its strays, which made him look at me with hooded eyes and a smirk covering his face "Now I have your attention" 

"I thought I would take my revenge for what you did earlier in the apartment" He sat back on his seat, fixing his bow tie. 

"So you're saying that the game is on then?" I simpered at him, confidently because I knew exactly what I was going to do. 

Sassy mood is on...!!! 

      For an instance, I was glad that Zack didn't do something as stupid as ruining my lipstick because I would look like a disaster on magazines, moreover, the lipstick I put would take couple of minutes to dry up so it'd make Zack look like a clown.

      The car came to a stop in front of Mr. Collin's biggest hotel in the world, and I have to say that it was huge and it screamed money, no wonder it was one of New York's best hotels. The driver stepped out of the car and went to Zack's side and opened the door for him.

      Zack stepped out of the car like a super model who just stepped out of a magazine, he posed for a second for a reporter who had asked him to then he sent me his hand to take. After struggling with the dress to move to the door, I managed to hold Zack's hand and step out of the car without embarrassing myself.

      We were immediately blinded by the flashes of cameras who made walking to the entrance pretty difficult, but since it wasn't the first time we had been in that situation, we managed to gain our composure and walk confidently to the big entrance, of course after Zack offered me his elbow like a gentleman and I hooked my right arm around it.

       We had to walk through a long hallway after we passed by the lobby where we left our coats; two men stood on each side of the double  door leading to the ballroom, they opened the door as soon as they saw us approaching them as they bowed their heads slightly when Zack nodded at them.

      The instant we stepped foot in the big ballroom, we were suddenly the center of attention as people started looking at us as if we were super stars. Zack patted my hand and started leading me to greet some guests, who waved at him as soon as they saw him.

      The colors chosen for the decorations were pale pink, gold and cream. The mixture of these three colors gave the ballroom a sophisticated charm, and I noted myself to congratulate Mrs. Collins for her extraordinary taste, knowing that she organized every single detail in the party.

      Guests were mostly friendly but you could always notice the simper in the corner of their mouths, which was something I could always notice thanks to dad, who made sure that I study body language because it helped in times when people only pretended of liking me but deep down, they were thinking of the fact that I was going to lead grandpa's fortune.

       Zack never left my side since the moment we stepped in, he kept his arm wrapped around my waist securely, and he made sure to tighten his hold on it whenever a young man looked at me or even acknowledged my existence. However, I couldn't blame him because I wanted to kick women who winked or even smiled flirtatiously at Zack. 

      I fortunately knew almost everyone in the party because they were somehow related to grandpa's and dad's business, therefore keeping a conversation with them was easy and it served Zack and I, right. Luckily. Nevertheless, I was starting to get bored of being there and I could tell that Zack felt the same, since we repeated the same things for every table that we passed by. 

"I'm about to explode" I murmured to Zack after we found an empty spot to breath. 

"Tell me about it" He replied, lowly. 

"I wish we can skip this and head back home" I chuckled, well aware that Zack would like my idea. 

"Are you intending to kill me?" He whispered in my ear, seductively "You know, I can..." He started talking but he never managed to finish what he was saying because Anna suddenly came out of nowhere. 

       She was wearing a beautiful blue long dress that reached the floor, and had a split on her right, showing the skin of her leg all the way till her thigh, it had spaghetti straps and a sweetheart neckline. Overall, it was marvelous and it made her look absolutely gorgeous.

"You're finally free from the sharks" She joked as soon as she was on an arm's length then she hurried to Zack and threw her arms around his neck "I miss you"

'I miss you? Who does she think she is?' I thought to myself as I tried to study Zack's reaction.

      Zack stiffened in her arms and didn't even return the hug, in fact, his hand which was on my waist didn't move an inch as he tightened his hold on me and started drawing patterns on the fabric of my dress, that made me almost fall on the ground from the sudden rise of desire. 

Damn it... 

"Hello to you too Anna" I spoke when Anna stayed in her position and didn't step back from the embrace. 

"Oh hey, you're here" She looked at me up and down then added "Nice dress" 

"Thanks, yours is beautiful too" I retorted, hurriedly, looking at her in the eye. 

"Anyway" She looked away and diverted her gaze to Zack "Mr. Collins was looking at you" 

"Grandpa? What does he want?" Zack questioned.

"I don't know, he said something about making a choice" She answered, with a huge smirk covering her face. 

"It can be something important" Zack stated, turning his head to look at me, his eyebrows furrowed and his shoulders suddenly fell, long gone the confident guy of seconds ago, however, he masked whatever happened in his head and said "I'll go check what he wants, will it be alright if you wait here?" 

'Why can't I come?' I wanted to ask as an awkward feeling burst in my stomach but I pushed it away and just said "Of course, I will be right over here" 

"Stay away from men, I don't know what I shall do if I see one more man strip you in his mind" He stared down at my eyes intensely. 

"the same goes to you" I whispered, stepping on my tiptoes to reach his level. 

"See you in minutes" He kissed me on the lips briefly then he headed away and disappeared in the crowd in a matter of seconds.   

      I was confused of what just happened to Zack when Anna spoke about his grandfather and making decisions, his composure fell and he suddenly panicked, if not scared. But why? What happened? What decision that was so important? 

'I had to know one way or another' I noted to myself, gazing at the way he just left from. 

"It smells like fish, doesn't it?" Anna chuckled, putting her hand on my shoulder "Something isn't right" 

"What do you mean?" I suddenly felt sick in the pit of my stomach. 

What's happening? 

"Don't you feel like Zack is hiding something?" She asked, mischief obvious in her face "I know Zack more than anyone else, his body language betrayed him, but since you're his wife, what do you think?" 

"Assuming you know him that much, you tell me" I stepped away, making her hand fall to her side "What is he hiding?" 

"I can tell that he was obliged to do something that he didn't want to do" She feigned overthinking, she knew something and I have to know what he was hiding away from me. 

"Wow, Sherlock, good job" I laughed, although my feet were shaking "You know that no one can oblige Zack to do something he doesn't want to do" 

"Ah, that's where you're wrong" She pointed at me with her forefinger "No one can oblige him, except his grandpa, you can go check yourself" 

"What are you talking about?" I felt insecure out of a sudden. 

'What if his grandpa obliged him to...' I started thinking but I cut my train of thoughts because I was scared of what would happen if they were true. 

"They're in a room at the end of that hallways" She pointed at a hallway far away. 

"Why are you doing this?" I wanted to know since no one does something for another without a hidden reason. 

"I know Zack, and I know what he loves, his dreams and what he needs, so trust me when I tell you, you're not the one for him, he's just using you" She stated, calmly as if she believed every single word coming out of her mouth "I am the one for him" 

      My hand started getting itchy as I wanted to slap her for her words but I knew that it wasn't nor the time nor the place to do so, and that she was just trying to get under my skin with her words. Therefore, without even sparing her another look, I turned in my heels and headed to the hallways that Anna talked about. 

I trusted Zack but I had to confirm that my trust was in its right place. 

Hopefully. 

       I neglected