Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 58: Battle Royale [5]

Chapter 58: Battle Royale [5]

"And who the! Oh! It’s you, Mr. Bernard."

Jessica looked ready to screech at the new arrival but stopped when she took a good look in. She even rearranged her face to look less menacing.

She at least had the mind to realize what being the consultant for such a big project meant. And they seemed to actually know each other already.

"Do you know her too?" She asked Mr. Bernard, looking hopeful for a new ally.

"I do. I’ve heard of her and was looking forward to getting an engagement, but alas, she was already married by then." Nicholas had a regretful smile that felt venomous to me.

What would he even gain by announcing that?

"You’re saying you wanted to be engaged to this- to someone like her?" She caught herself before cursing but sounded no less malicious.

"Who wouldn’t? To get a wife who could stand her ground and choose long-term goals over short-term conveniences? Not everyone would understand that important sacrifice."

He just called her short-sighted, and I had to purse my lips at her deteriorating look.

"Speaking as someone from a consultation firm, I think that finding and resolving corporate issues as transparently as possible is a sign of good governance." He said with one hand in his pocket and sporting a comfortable stance.

Why the hell was this guy helping me? Now, I suddenly don’t want us to win.

"Mr. Bernard, I apologize for being presumptuous. It’s just that I owe Mr. Sinclair a debt of gratitude, so I couldn’t help but want the best for him. His love should go to someone deserving." Now, she looked like she was going to cry.

Missy, this would have worked for other people, but Alexa’s acting was much better than yours.

"I see. So, is your way of showing my husband gratitude by vilifying his wife? If you had really wanted to thank him properly, shouldn’t you approach him with your thanks instead? And if you’ve got things to say, you could say it to him straight."

"You won’t mind her approaching your husband?" Nicholas finally decided to actually talk to me.

"No. Lucian’s not the type to need surveillance, nor should I care about his throngs of admirers. All I should care about is my husband’s reaction."

"You seem to trust him that much?"

"That’s why I’m married to him. I appreciate how many people adore him. It shows how great he is as a person. But I don’t think he’ll appreciate this many people who keep on judging his personal decisions."

"You talk about him like you have the right to do that? Being his wife doesn’t mean you own him."

"You’re right." I grinned at her.

"Because he’s been mine long before that." Luci was mine, so my confidence was top-tier.

Gasp!

Jessica gasped but suddenly had a triumphant look.

"Eli."

People should really stop appearing from nowhere. There was no mistaking that voice and the way he called me. I’m just praying that Lucian would understand.

"Now, let’s see that confidence in yourself."

"You haven’t eaten yet?" Lucian asked as he walked.

Uh, okay? That wasn’t the question I expected to get asked.

"I was about to but was stopped in my tracks." I managed to scramble for a response.

"Why?" Lucian asked as his eyes scanned the people around me. The shameless onlookers even had the decency to turn their heads as he looked.

But Jessica, afraid that I would sell misery before she could do it, decided to nail herself onto the wall.

"Miss Eliana was just telling us about owning you. And I took the liberty to inform her that, as you’ve said before in an interview, you wouldn’t want a wife who’d suddenly act like they own you."

So that’s what made her act so sure of herself, an interview, of all things.

"True." Lucian absentmindedly said.

Jessica looked like she had won the lottery. She even clutched at her heart. But Lucian was just getting started.

"But that doesn’t apply to her. That’s for people thinking they could own me by becoming my ’wife.’"

Lucian reached my side and looked at me before saying, "But Eli could be my wife because she’s long owned me. She could’ve chosen to be my princess, queen, girlfriend, or any other title. She just went with the easiest, the wife."

"You need to eat." He was going to die on that hill.

And I need to know what you ate to be able to say spine-chilling things like that. I thought I was going to die!

"But you said-!"

"I only answered their question. I never planned on being subordinate to any wife. Marriage should be a partnership. They never asked about Eli." He cut her off, rude, but it wasn’t like she was going to say something useful.

Jessica was relentless, which may be a trait of someone who could keep on practicing the same piece for hours.

"You’ve never even mentioned her. You always say you’re not in any relationship!" Thankfully, we’ve been at this since earlier because anyone new to seeing this would assume that she was some jilted girlfriend."

"We weren’t in a relationship because she never picked a title. And there has never been a need for us to be in a relationship to legitimize such ownership."

Very dangerous words, dear husband. I thought to myself as I remembered who was saying them.

"She could’ve ended up married to someone else, but he would never own her the way I do." Lucian then looked at Nicholas, who had just squinted his eyes back at him.

This fucker, seriously! My mind wanted to shut him up, but my body was eating all this up. What kind of cognitive dissonance is this?!

He just launched a nuclear explosion-sized threat that got everyone around us gossiping.

Did you really have to look at him?!

"Then did you lie to me, to all of us?" Jessica was murmuring to herself like someone who had gone insane.

"Lie? I never once promised the world to anybody else. So how could I lie to anyone else, much less to you?"

Little Luci, my baby, once promised me the world when a classmate broke my treehouse. Saying how he’ll get me something much better than my little house.

I looked over in disbelief, but this guy actually remembered. What really happened for you to change then?

"If there’s nothing else, we’re leaving. She needs to eat." Lucian made it sound like he was willing to wait for more follow-ups, but he just dragged me by the hand towards the buffet tables.

Everyone else just stood there motionless, surprised at the words Lucian had thrown at them.

"Why do I always find you in such situations? Lucian asked.

"Don’t blame me when it’s your fault for having such deranged admirers. Don’t think I’ll let slide the fact that you didn’t give me a heads up about Jessica."

He really should rethink that list of people to watch out for. He prepared me for grilling by company heads but not for fighting love-lorn ladies.

"She never approached before, so no one knew."

"No. You just didn’t know. Even Oliver had a bad premonition, and Idris clearly had an idea. You just didn’t."

"Next time, I’ll whack you for not disclosing important information."

"So much for claiming that you don’t care about anything but my reaction. You’re a little liar." Lucian teased as he gathered food into the little plates.

I forgot he gave me a recording and transmitting device. So this bastard probably heard all of it. I blushed in embarrassment despite my annoyance.

"I don’t care about their existence, but I’ll be damned if I don’t stop you from attracting more wasps! You’re going to be the death of me, Lucian." How do we even put a stop to those people? Do I need to tattoo my name onto your forehead?

He handed me a plate of food, and I angrily ate them, etiquette be damned.

Then I remembered why he disappeared.

"Did your meeting go well?"

"No."

"What?!" I was so scared that I almost dropped my food.

"We were told that JG hired the Bernards as the official consultant and project management firm for Windham. Whoever wins will have to keep the Bernards at close hand."

I had the urge to tug on Lucian’s clothes because seriously?

What the hell just happened? The Bernards were so unrelated to this project that both of us were surprised about the presence of Nicholas.

"So don’t talk to me about deranged stalkers when you have one that’s this crazy." He looked me in the eyes, his expression actually stern.

"So what happens now?" My appetite had flown away, leaving me with a feeling of dread instead.

"For now, we could probably celebrate getting that contract."

Huh? I had a questioning look on my face.

"Because Nicholas needs us to win to get close enough."

Ah.

Just kill me now.