Chapter 12: Every Great Show Needs A Showman
ADRIEN’S POV
Her cane beats the floor in steady taps as she walks into the hall. She walks with the confidence of a woman who knows she has the most powerful Greek family under her control.
A family descended from Greek royalty.
Dimitra Vassilis is confident and poised but she is still not what I expected. Not at all.
With Leon and Orion looking more like the gods of their ancestors, I had hoped she’d look even more stunning. She’s definitely not ugly, but she’s not pretty either.
She’s...stately. Like a pillar instead of a flower.
"You can all take your seats." Her voice echoes across the hall, loud yet even.
She sits at the head of the table, Orion at her right, and Leon at her left. It’s uncomfortable seeing how close she is. And very nerve-wracking.
"Happy birthday, Lady Dimitra!"
As if they all rehearsed it, everyone echoes the greeting at the top of their voices—everyone but me and...Orion.
Then he opens his mouth to speak, and I begin to sweat.
"Congratulations on getting to fifty, Aunt...most stop at forty-nine though." He nods at her, face drawn in a serene smile.
Is he congratulating or insulting her?
"Happy birthday, Mother." Leon chimes in, shooting Orion a dirty look.
Maybe if I sit still and stare at nothing they’ll all forget I’m here? I mean, Louise isn’t even paying attention to me anymore, she’s putting on her best act for the matriarch.
A server places a glass of water in front of me and kindly asks me if I have any allergies, to which I respond—
"He’s allergic to pineapples, but hold off on the food for now, he’s not really hungry yet," Orion cuts in unhelpfully.
Of course he does! Even if I don’t want to draw anyone’s attention to myself, he won’t let me! Not when the only reason I’m here is to draw attention.
But, wait...how does he know that?
"Did you really think I don’t know what you’re allergic to, darling?" He waves off the server with a smile then places a hand over mine. "What kind of man wouldn’t know important things about his fiancée?"
I can feel Dimitra Vassilis’s eyes on me like a physical weight.
The guests have begun to eat, all minding their business and table manners, while the five of us— including the vulture— refuse to be served for now.
"Your fiancé, you say?" The matriarch peers at me, her eyes glinting with something I can’t read.
"Yes, he is," Orion affirms happily as he lifts my hand to show her our freshly linked hands. "Why don’t you introduce yourself to my aunt, darling?"
Yes Orion, why don’t you throw me into the ocean without a fucking life jacket?
With the hope that what I have on my face looks like a smile, I turn to Lady Vassilis. "It’s an honor to meet you, my lady. My name is Adrien Dubois, and I am Orion’s fiancé."
Her gaze narrows. "Dubois?" Her eyes flicker to Louise. "As in her sibling, Orion?"
Why the hell did I think she wouldn’t know that these two spent almost a decade together? Am I really that foolish?
"Her only sibling to be exact...even if they’re currently estranged." Orion responds cheerily.
His smile hasn’t slipped once.
"And what exactly are you trying to do here?" Her voice drops an octave, displeasure coloring her tone.
"A lot to be honest," Orion shrugs, "but firstly, I wanted to introduce my darling to you...Though I must say you are panning out to be a bad host, Aunt."
The atmosphere at the table drops by at least twenty degrees. Dimitra Vassilis simply adjusts her posture and gestures to Orion to continue speaking.
Or continue digging my grave.
"You haven’t spoken to him, not even after he greeted you. That’s too rude for me." Then he whispers, softly. "Or do you not just like him because he’s a man?"
The devil works hard, but Orion probably thinks the devil is incompetent at his job.
"Do not put words in Mother’s mouth, Orion," Leon sneers, "all she did was voice an observation about your frankly questionable behavior."
"Speak to me when you take your lips off your mother’s tits." The madman responds, not hesitating in the slightest.
The air around the table cools to a bone-chilling degree.
"You...the fiancé." Lady Dimitra ignores the two of them in favour of...questioning me. "Care to explain what’s going on?"
Orion’s grip on my hand can shatter granite. He’s warning me to behave. To obey calmly or be destroyed cruelly.
It’s not like I needed the reminder. Bastard.
"Well, it’s just as he said, my lady," I hope my voice doesn’t sound as unsure as I feel, "we are engaged."
"You expect me to believe that you’re willingly engaged to him? That you love him? Tell me Dubois, do I look like a fool to you?"
A lesser man would’ve pissed his pants at her tone, but not me. I have a psychopath’s hand in mine, and way too much to lose to even consider backing out now.
So, I take in a deep breath and steel my spine, because it’s time to sell this fucking act. And I’m going to do it like a pro.
"I do not expect you to believe that, because I am not in love with Orion."
The guests who had been eating and slyly eavesdropping all fall silent— forks dropped and food forgotten.
But the reaction at our corner of the table is more intense. Leon rests against the back of his seat, staring at me with a wicked glint in his eyes, and Louise is...still sitting calmly.
She probably thinks I’m chickening out or something.
Orion’s reaction is the worst...because he has no reaction. His expression hasn’t changed from that serenely, cheerful smile.
But I know that I either have to make this work, or I find out what’s it like to be cremated alive with extra torture on the side. Just the way he likes it.
"You don’t love him, you say?" She regards me with mild curiosity. "Then why do you have matching rings on your fingers?"
She would definitely not be happy to know that I’ve spent almost every minute of the day asking myself this same question. It’s amazing how self-reflection can almost lead to depression.
"Do not get me wrong, my lady. I simply do not love Orion...yet." It’s time to sell the act for real.
"When I reconnected with Orion, he was confused, like he had lost something and didn’t know how he lost it." I hope I don’t go to hell for this. "He latched onto me and refused to let go..."
"At first, I thought he was trying to use me to replace my sister, but then I realized that my sister is nothing like me." Louise’s gaze flickers to me for one tense second, eyes burning with hate. "She’s poised and elegant, certainly different from me..."
The entire hall is listening to me. It’s bloody embarrassing.
"So, I didn’t do anything. I just waited and went with his flow because I too wasn’t sure how I felt about anything." Orion’s smile still hasn’t dropped, but it probably will now.
"So, you’re just going with the flow?" Lady Dimitra asks in a severe tone.
It’s a good thing I expected that question or I’d have been stumped. "Not any more, my lady. Because I finally realized what was really going on."
I place my linked hands on the table for all to see, then turn to Orion and give him my sweetest smile. "I realized that he needs me!"
That damned smile finally falters.
"He needs me to stay by his side, to tend to his heart, and to never leave him!" Orion’s lips twitch imperceptibly. "You see, I’ve never given much thought to love, but seeing him need me like that made me realize something..."
I can almost feel every guest holding their breath for me to finish my sentence. I let them stew in their curiosity, ignoring them in favor of cupping Orion’s face in my hand.
We stare at each other, eye-to-eye. His dark gaze watching me intensely. He doesn’t pull back when I lean forward, but he stiffens when I press my lips to his.
I brush my lips against his and pull away in the same breath. "I learnt that I could grow to love him, and with every minute of every day I spend with him, I fall bit by bit for him."
