Chapter 8

The energy in the room shifted entirely when James spoke out. His sharpened, icy-cold gaze pierced through the salesperson, causing them to stiffen behind the counter.

My stomach lurched at the notion that nearly every person in the room was now staring in our direction. The salesperson glanced between James and me while struggling to find the right words.

“There must have been some kind of misunderstanding here. You see, this woman claimed to be your secretary,” she said.

Another salesperson rushed over, attempting to clear the tension between everyone. Unfortunately, I believed it only made things a bit more awkward.

“Our deepest apologies, Mr. Derek,” they said. “We did not mean to offend your companion—”

A vexing glare streaked across James’ eyes. “Companion? No, she is my wife. And she can afford anything she wants,” he stated harshly.

His statement utterly silenced the room that time around...Not only was I choking on the unbearable tension that filled the place to the very brim, but now my head was buzzing with the growing sounds of everyone’s hushed whisperings—that the James’ Dere, Alpha of the Crescent Moon pack was actually married.

I felt the heavy, burning glaring stares from the many women that stood around.

I cleared my throat and leaned into James’ side, trying to break up the awkward situation. The salesperson went on to take the necklace out of the display case.

“James, there’s no reason to make a mountain out of a molehill,” I remarked. “It’s really not important.”

He turned to glance at me, his cold stare barely broke. “On the contrary, it is important. In fact, it is imperative that you begin to adapt to your new role as my wife,” he explained. “As the new Mrs. Derek, you will not, nor ever, face being subjected to any form of disrespect.”

I knew there was no room for argument, especially when I was bearing the excessive weight of everyone’s leering. I felt like a fish out of water.

This time, we were joined by the same man James’ had been speaking to before. With a gentle smile, he came forward and openly apologized and offered to personally showcase his best pieces for us to look at.

“Here,” James gestured to a ring that I belonged on a finer hand than my own. “How about this one?”

The manager eagerly nodded his head and had all our selected items specially wrapped up. We ended up leaving the jewelers after James ended up selecting the finest diamond ring they had.

Just when I thought this nightmarish ordeal was over, he proceeded to inform me that we were now expected to visit with his personal tailor.

The older gentleman welcomed us warmly into his shop. “It’s good to see you again, Mr. Derek. Come for another new suit?”

“Indeed I have,” James said with a gentle pat on the man’s back. “A new suit, as well as a few more items from you. This young lady is going to need an entire new wardrobe. Think formal wear and elegant ball gowns.”

“Of course! Should be no problem at all,” he claimed with a bright smile. “For what occasions?”

“All of them.”

I reached out to touch some of the delicate fabric, realizing that everything in this place had to be specially hand-sewn, unique, and, undoubtedly, cost a considerable amount. Again, I felt uneasy. First the jewelers and now this.

I didn’t feel right accepting all of these expensive items. But, I thought back to what James had said earlier. If I was to be the new Mrs. Derek, then there was essentially a type of image that I needed to maintain.

Better still, none of these clothes were really who I was. “James, this is really beginning to feel like too much,” I told him. “This is merely a marriage of convenience, after all. It’s not as though I need fine attire for everyday life.”

“I want to give you the best of everything. All you need to do is follow my arrangements.”

As soon as we were through at the tailor’s, James instructed the driver to take us to a high-end restaurant that happened to be owned by Crescent Moon. As expected, we were seated immediately at a private table while James went on to order for the both of us.

“Don’t worry, Mia,” he said with a smile. “I remember your preferences.”

I arched my brow in annoyance and was getting ready to counter back when our waiter placed our dishes in front of us. Oh my...It was a perfectly crafted dish of vegetable-baked ziti, Caesar home-made salad, and fresh garlic bread.

“This looks amazing,” I said quietly. “But I really don’t need you making these kinds of decisions for me. I mean, I am capable of ordering for myself, you know.”

“Enjoy your dinner,” the waiter said. “Everything was prepared by our new head chef who's just been transferred here today. These happen to be the dishes that he's most known for.”

My, my...That was quite a coincidence.

“Did you specifically arrange for this chef to be here?” I asked.

James barely shrugged. “I merely felt like eating that particular dish and had the chef transferred to this restaurant for the occasion.

He went on to eat his meal while my gaze had become transfixed on the hypnotic way his neck arched and how his Adam's apple lifted and fell. As I reached for the wine bottle, my fingers brushed into James’ which resulted in another strange spark shooting through me.

I hastily pulled back and allowed him to pour the wine for us.

While our lovely meal came to a peaceful end, James glanced at his watch and noted how late the time was. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

I genuinely didn’t suspect that anything was a miss when we got back to the car. However, about halfway through the ride, I started to realize that we weren’t even headed in the general direction of my apartment.

“James.” My tone was laced with concern. “This isn’t the way to my home.”

“I know,” he replied. “From today onwards, we live together. We’re going to our home now.”