The CEO’ s second choice novel Chapter 11

　　Elena

　　I hold on to Sebastian’s arm as he leads me inside Dumont Hall. I notice that all our guests have arrived before us and frowned. Did Sebastian tell his chauffeur to take us the long way around or something?

　　Seeing all these people here made me start to freeze up again, and I grip Sebastian’s arm tightly. He stares down at me, “Is something the matter?” He asks in that uppity tone of his and I roll my eyes into oblivion, “Just nerves,” I admit, but refuse to make eye contact with him, not after what transpired in the limousine.

　　“Well, I am afraid you will have to get used to the public eye, petite pâquerette. You are my wife now, so all eyes will be on you from now on, Lady Dumont.” Sebastian says with a smirk and my heart skips a beat at his impeccable French. Of course, his family had their roots in France.

　　Dumont

　　But why did he refer to me as a little daisy? I was very far from delicate or a lady, that was more my sister’s thing. My mother and grandmother always referred to me as the rebellious heiress, where Eliana was the lady. This shift in how I would need to portray myself had my head in a spin. How do I change my personality overnight?

　　Oh, he called me his wife. I was Sebastian Dumont’s wife. Lord help me.

　　We arrive at the entrance and all our guests welcome us; people who I would never recognize walking on the street. They wish us well, congratulating us and praising my beauty; something I was not used to. Eliana had always been the beauty, not me.

　　I mentally straighten my back and vow never to compare myself to my sister again. There was no point in berating myself like that anymore. Eliana had a lot of expectations of her, and in the end, she was more of a rebel than I could ever have been.

　　Sebastian turns to me and gives me a kiss on my cheek, “I see your mother over to the side there. She is struggling to get your attention, go to her.” He whispers in my ear, his low voice sending shivers down my spine. I nod, then let go of his arm and walk over to where my mother was standing.

　　For a former debutante and aristocratic socialite, my mother was behaving rather curiously. She lived for these events, yet now she was shying away from the crowd and keeping to herself.

　　When I finally reach her, I engulf her in a hug and kiss her cheek. “Mother, why are you here all by yourself?” I ask her, then see the disappointment in her eyes. Then I remember my discussion with my father this morning. “Mother, I am so sorry for the display with Mirabelle this morning. She was trying to take over and I should have stopped her.” I apologize, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

　　My mother glances at me and shakes her head, “If it was Eliana, she would never have allowed Mirabelle to take over as mother of the bride. But you allowed it, and it breaks my heart that you let her do it.”

　　My mother’s revelation had me shaking. Did she really just compare me to my sister? Everyone knew Eliana was her favourite, but she had never uttered it out loud.

　　I nod sadly, “I understand, mother. I honestly am sorry.” I say and I hear her scoff, “This was supposed to be Eliana’s day, she should have been here receiving the praise, not you.” My mother spits out and looks at me with spite.

　　Feeling a rage burning hot in my chest, I opened my mouth and knew I would regret it later.

　　“Well, mother, she isn’t. I am here repairing the tainted Wiltshire name and avoiding an even bigger scandal, consisting of the insult to the Dumonts. The least you can do is show me the common decency since I was not the one who opened her legs for her fiance’s uncle.” I spit out, taking in my mother’s fallen face as she peers around to see if anyone heard me.

　　Years and years of feeling like second best, and that was all I could muster out. I held back my tears and turned away from her, stepping straight into Sebastian’s chest. He seized me by my waist and held me against him. Peering up at him, he shoots me a smile and cocks his head towards the dance floor. “It’s time for our dance, petite pâquerette.” He states with a playful voice and I detect the bourbon on his breath.

　　I nod and he takes my hand in his and I notice that they have cleared the dance floor for us. We head to the centre of the floor, then Sebastian wraps one arm around my waist and takes my hand with his other. My heart was beating so fast, I felt faint.

　　“Relax,” he whispers in my ear and runs his palm up my naked back, then the music starts and my eyes fill with tears. I looked up at Sebastian in astonishment, “How did you know?” I ask him incredulously and catch his mischievous smile. “I made it a point to find out more about my prospective bride.” He answers me and I blink back my tears, grinning as I do so.

　　We were dancing to my favourite song, ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri.

　　Inhaling his signature Tom Ford scent, I feel my body relaxing for the first time today as Sebastian glides me over the dancefloor. Forgetting where I was for just a few minutes, we danced and the entire world slipped away.

　　When the music ended, Sebastian and I stared at each other blue eyes to hazel.

　　Then I hear someone clearing their throat behind me, and I see my father smile at me. “I know she is your wife, but do you mind if I have this dance with my daughter?” he asks and Sebastian nods, placing my hand in my father’s. Then I watch him as he strides towards his mother.

　　What was that look we shared just now? Was I imagining things developing between us?

　　My dance with my father was incredibly tense, “How are you feeling, poppet?” he asks me, and I smile at him. “As well as can be expected, father,” I respond almost robotically and I catch his nod. The rest of the dance went on like this until Spencer Dumont cut in.

　　“Elena, I must say it is a pleasure to finally have you alone. How are you finding the wedding?” He asks me as surely as if he was talking about the weather. I smile my sweetest smile, “It’s lovely, Mr Dumont. Thank you for everything.” I say politely and hear him chuckle. “Please, call me Spencer from now on. You are my daughter in law now.” He says and I smile at this. We filled our dance with polite conversation, and I realize that he was actually quite a pleasant person. We had two more dances after that, before I couldn’t anymore, and asked to sit down.

　　Gosh, that man could dance! The last time I danced in heels was at my graduation ball, and I had blisters afterwards. I reach for a glass of champagne and walk towards the bridal table, feeling rather peckish. As I sit down, I watch Sebastian disappear into the crowd and shrug. I did not wish to spend any more time with him. The man had my head in a spin and I know it would be better to stay away than to get in too deep with him.

　　Besides, we would be living past one another in his villa, anyway. I did not need to spend time with him there either.

　　I get up from my seat and walk around the hall and sipping on my champagne, deep in thought. What should I do from tomorrow onwards? Visit friends? Gosh, Charlotte and Esme would kill me when they found out what I had been embroiled in for the past 2 months. I couldn’t tell my two best friends what was really going on in my life. I had a lot to make up for and decided to call them in the morning with a brunch date.

　　“I see mother has finally given you Nanna’s beloved necklace.” I heard a voice behind me and almost dropped the champagne flute from my hand. That voice… It couldn’t be.