Leah's POV
"I've been everywhere in the world. Foreign boarding schools. Military dispatch..." Darren's voice sounded a bit playful.
"You don't come across like a soldier to me, but you do come across like a naughty boy at school."
"I was trained to be a commanding officer, but I did have a troubled childhood." He squinted and scratched his head. I realized that was his way of being shy.
He's so adorable. How can someone be so adorable? I have to stop drinking before this whole thing goes really, really wrong. Lucas is right. He didn't sign the divorce papers, so I'm still legally married to him. But at the same time, the magical encounter with Darren feels so right. I would really want to see where it's going.
"A bad boy suits up and becomes a commanding officer. You need to tell me more about it," I tittered under the influence of alcohol. Damn. He must look so hot in an army uniform.
"I will tell you everything about me, Miss Lewyn. I'm an open book." He replied with a genuine smile.
"An open book? How interesting." I sipped more wine, feeling happily tipsy. "So tell me, Mr. Bad-boy-turning-into-a commanding officer, what is your most recent thought that you can't tell anyone?"
"I want to fuck you." He replied with flames of passion and desire in his eyes.
Urgh. That's a very straightforward and honest answer.
I put the glass and bottle down and said, "Darren, you're still a very, very naughty boy, aren't you?"
Darren leaned toward me and said in a soft voice, "I'm a grown-up man and you look stunning in that dress. But as much as I like that dress, I can't wait to rip it off and see what's underneath it. I would be more than happy to take you upstairs and fuck you in the most expensive suite. Of course, with your permission."
"But I've just got out of a five-year marriage. My ex-husband rejected me. I'm not ready to make a commitment or anything. As much as I want to go upstairs with you and escape the crowd, I can't do it. It won't be fair for both of us. I do have a strong feeling for you, Darren. And I would like to see how far it takes us. I mean, of all the swimming pools in all the towns, in all the worlds, you walk to mine."
Feeling a bit disappointed, he still managed to reply to me with a confident smile.
"And that is worth a toast of something more bubbly, definitely not that dreadful Chateau Lafite you're drinking. Miss Lewyn, please stay where you are and I'll fetch two glasses of champagne right away." Darren replied in a tender voice. Then, he swiftly walked away.
As soon as Darren was gone, I saw Josephine walking toward me with a shawl covering her cleavage.
She looked around to make sure no one was around, and immediately shifted into her sinister face.
"You! Miss Cinderella-wanna-be. You're so pathetic!" She said in a harsh voice.
I stared at her without saying anything, waiting for this devilish woman to explain how pathetic my life was.
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?! You've planned everything! I know all your dirty tricks. You want to create this kind of unexpected encounter to get closer to Lucas. You want him to change his mind and take you back! You're such a shameless bitch. Why don't you leave Lucas alone? You don't deserve him! You don't deserve to be invited to this high-end gathering! You're just a poor omega, a social climber. You must pull a heck of scam to seduce Lucian. Do you think a Lycan Prince will be serious about a girl like you? A divorced woman? An omega who gets rejected by her own mate? He's just playing with you! And he will dump you after he's fed up with you, just like Lucas did!"
Josephine's hands gestured violently as she was delivering her speech. It seemed that she wanted to strangle an invisible rabbit with her bare hands. And I knew that invisible rabbit was me.
Apparently, she really had a lot of things to say regarding how pathetic my life was supposed to be.
"Josephine, you've already sabotaged my marriage. What else do you want from me?" I stared at her bluntly and asked in a cold voice.
Josephine, feeling outraged, stepped forward to close the distance between us.
"I'm Lucas' Plus One. And I will be with him every day for the rest of our lives. He loves me, not you. I won. You lost. Simple like that. By the way, you must have got a lot of alimony after you divorced Lucas. Did you spend all of them on renting the dress and jewelry you're wearing? A whore can't be a princess even if she dresses up like one. That's what I want to tell you!"
"And that's exactly what I want to tell you. Now, if you excuse me." I turned, trying to walk away.
Josephine grabbed my arm and stopped me.
"You're not going anywhere, Leah," Josephine said with an evil smile, leering at the swimming pool. "You'll have to cooperate with me for the scene I'm going to make."
"Seriously? Are you going to pull the same cheap shot all over again?" I frowned.
But deep in my heart, I was snickering. I knew that was the time that I'd been waiting for.
Time for revenge on what happened on my wedding day.
On that day, Josephine approached me, looking at me with malice, and said, "I will not congratulate you on your marriage. After all, Lucas loves me, not you. The only reason he decided to marry you is that you're his mate. You will never get his love. Let me prove it to you!" Then, she threw herself into the swimming pool. Lucas rushed to her side, and Josephine played up her injuries, blaming me for her fall. Lucas was furious with me and accused me, his mate and newly-wed wife, of being a villain. Then, he carried up Josephine and walked away without giving me a chance to explain. There I was, being left alone in front of everyone, looking like a fool.
So on Derby Day, I intentionally walked to the swimming pool. I knew she would pull the same trick again to win Lucas' love and attention. As I expected, she took the bait.
Giving me a dark look, Josephine took off her shawl and jumped into the swimming pool with a scream.
"No! Oh, mine! Help! Lucas! Help me! I can't swim!"
Lucas, who was talking to someone in the distance, heard Josephine's scream and quickly rushed to the site.
Without a second thought, he was about to jump into the water and save her.
However, I grabbed Lucas' arms and stopped him.
He looked back at me and was shocked.
Then, in front of everyone, I pulled him toward me and wrapped my arms around him.
"What...are...you...doing?" He was petrified.
"I'm hugging my ex-husband in front of everyone," I replied in a low, luring voice. "I want to know if it feels the same after we broke up."
Lucas lowered his head and stared into my eyes. He completely forgot about Josephine, who was still batting water in the swimming pool, calling for help.
"So, does it feel the same?" he asked.
I looked up at him and said, "You'll never know about it.
Lucas stared at me as if he was enchanted.