Forbidden Heat novel Chapter 75

“We’re here today to bring to you live the much-awaited official engagement announcement between Mister Lucien Rosenhall and Miss Angela Woodwick…” a beautiful red-head news reporter reported through the TV screen.

I watched the live program of Lucien’s and Angela’s official engagement press conference as I sipped the rose tea that Reiner had skillfully prepared. Seeing it through the screen was bad enough and this is why I chose not to be present at the actual event. I simply told Lucien that I was ‘sick’ and he gave me a very understanding look. Angela’s almost-neon pink dress that matches her lipstick is about to make me go blind as it stood out so much in contrast to Lucien’s prim and proper black suit.

I wouldn’t mind going temporarily blind just to avoid watching this. However, if you want to win battles, you must keep your eyes glued to your biggest enemy.

Reiner could sense that I was not in the best of moods. The proof is the fact that he is offering me a large piece of red velvet cake on which I munched on with my bare hands with my eyes still glued to the TV. If one of my tutors were here like back in the days, I’ll be shouted at for eating cake, of all things, with my bare hands. Reiner was much nicer so to speak.

“You both seem so in love. Would you mind sharing what attracted you to each other?” one of the reporters just had to ask.

“I don’t love her! This is just an arranged marriage that the elders forced me into. It’s a business deal and I think her boobs are FAKE!”

“Natalia…please control yourself” Reiner interrupted while trying to suppress his laughter.

Yup, that was not Lucien answering but me answering what I thought he should have said.

“What I said just now is what Lucien should have said! Give me more cake!” I exclaimed. A red velvet cake a day to keep dear Angela away.

“I fell in love with him since we first met and I started loving him more and more as I got to know him better,” Angela replied with a sweet smile.

I just turned off the TV.

“R, were you the one who took care of me that day at the lake cottage? Umm…did you bathe me?” I asked hesitantly. I had my guess but since I was still not fully conscious during the bath, I wasn’t sure.

“Yes, I did,” Reiner replied professionally.

“Umm…did you happen to see if I was wearing a gold necklace with a star-shaped pendant?” I asked softly. Since that day, I couldn’t find the necklace anywhere. Maybe I dropped it in the forest while I was running. I’m honestly still very angry at Edward and haven’t replied to any of his texts or calls. However, that was not the necklace’s fault so, if possible, I would like to get the necklace back. If it really is lost in the forest, then I guess it couldn’t be helped…

“Is it important to you?” Reiner asked in a low murmur.

“Well, I…wouldn’t go as far as to say that it was important, but Edward did give it to me so…” I explained while a little unsure of my answer myself. I was happy when Edward gave me that necklace, so I didn’t want to lose it.

‘More importantly, don’t lose your True North.’ I recalled Edward’s words. It made me feel like if I kept that necklace close, I wouldn’t lose my true sense of self.

“I see. I’ll look for it. Perhaps it got mixed up somewhere in your stuff that we brought back from the cottage,” Reiner answered smoothly.

…

**Back at the lake cottage**

I slowly undressed Natalia. Her beautiful body still feels cold to the touch and is covered in rainwater and mud. I hope there aren’t many cuts on her body. I washed the mud off her in the shower before lowering her into the warm water of the bathtub. I let her soak for a while to warm her up before reaching for the shower head in order to wash her hair for her.

Natalia still looks enchanting even in this messy situation. She moaned a little as she got warmer, but her eyes are still shut tight. I leaned in to kiss her forehead, her cheek and then the side of her neck. My lips brushed against the small golden chain of her necklace. My eyes narrowed in suspicion.

A tracking device. Apart from that dirty white lace shirt, Natalia had nothing else on except for…this star-shaped pendant necklace. Is this the tracking device? My gut tells me that it is. I’ll have to dissemble it and see for sure. Guess I’ll have to remove the tracking device first before returning this to Natalia. I can’t have Edward tracking Natalia everywhere she goes…

…

**Back to the present**

“Are you ready for tonight? I’ll pick you up. Dress sexy.”

A text message from Zak. If heaven sent me an angel, that angel today would be Zak. What are the chances that Lucien’s engagement press conference is on the exact same day as Zak’s movie premiere event? Bad news followed by good news, isn’t so bad after all.

Although it’s true that I don’t know how Lucien feels about his marriage to Angela or whether he loves her or not, I decided to believe that their marriage is an arranged one. Lucien never told me about it, so my guess is still just that, a guess. One day soon when I’ve mustered up the courage to face the truth, I’ll ask him about it. For now, I don’t think my fragile little heart could take it if he told me that he is in fact in love with Angela. Where would that leave me in all this?...nowhere.

No point thinking about something I can’t solve right now. What I can do right now is dress up pretty for the red-carpet event. I miss Zak so much. We’ve been in touch, and he calls me often, but I haven’t seen him for a while. Perhaps he’s been busy both working for the company and working on his businesses on the sidelines. Zak is certainly planning to do something very naughty tonight but the biggest problem that I must deal with tonight isn’t Zak. It’s Reiner.

Reiner will accompany me to the event as my bodyguard without a doubt. So, whatever it is that Zak does, I hope Reiner does not find out about…us.

The make-up artist, hair stylist, and my personal stylist should be arriving soon. Zak told me to ‘dress sexy’ but, he sent someone to deliver the dress he wanted me to wear to the event since yesterday. Well, that was no big surprise. The real big surprise is that Lucien is allowing me to go out, perhaps, my imposed house-arrest might be over sooner than I thought.

--To be continued...