He turned away from her, and became preoccupied with his reactions. That woman moved him in a way he had never felt before. It wasn't certain, but with her he would start a family, and he understood Dester's anguish to have her all to himself.
"There's a party tonight to celebrate your engagement... I'll see you there again."
"Dester said that?"
"You must pretend to know me at that moment. Dester is clever. Don't talk to me in his presence. Be natural."
"Don't worry, I'll be natural... Thank you for everything you're going to do for me." Brianna said, but she wanted to ask him to make love to her, right there, by the lake. But she didn't know how to do it without sounding too vulgar, so she kept quiet.
Henry accompanied her to the house and was surprised when she hugged him tightly before entering. And that sorceress gave him the ideal idea for them to meet every day... or night... Or nights. He walked slowly back to the mansion. It was empty. The only sound came from the kitchen, so he went there and sat down at the table with the cooks who were having coffee. Dester's wife entered the kitchen and greeted him.
"Have you met my husband's second wife?" She asked, sitting down opposite him with a cup of coffee.
"You don't seem upset, knowing that your husband is getting married again."
"It's not really a marriage, is it? The men of the Lens family carry a secret, a need and... This unfortunate woman was my husband's choice. He was already looking for someone so that he could... do things that I would never agree to him doing to me, many years ago."
"You're his wife, and Dester doesn't seem to care what women think. If he wants to do it to you..."
"He can't. I'm not an... ordinary woman. He needs a human."
"I've heard that he doesn't seek you out to sleep in your bed..." Henry decided to tease her.
She laughed.
"He seeks me out, yes. He just refuses to have children with me as long as I refuse to humiliate myself for him... Don't kid yourself, Henry. If it were my wish, Dester wouldn't leave my bed." She said and left, taking the cup of coffee with her.
Dester finally returned from his afternoon with Sarah and excitedly told Henry about everything he had done with her and everything he still intended to do. Dester considered Sarah to be a very beautiful and attractive woman, and would indulge her until she lost interest. Afterwards, he went to the kitchen to see if everything was going as he had planned, and with the answer in the affirmative, he went to his room to change for dinner. From his bedroom window, he watched as the cars pulled up in front of the mansion, and he went downstairs excited and proud. He had bought a dress that would highlight his wife's beautiful green eyes and her curvaceous body. He didn't wait to deliver it to her personally. He left it with one of his men and asked him to take it to the mansion at dinner time. And despite his happiness, he was already prepared to correct her for being late. She was supposed to arrive before those men.
Dester was imagining a creative punishment for his fiancée when he was surprised by the beauty she radiated as she came down the stairs of the mansion, and he was wide-eyed, waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.
Brianna was far more beautiful than he had imagined possible. Dester closed his eyes and sighed. He loved her too much. He smiled sweetly at her. Since she wasn't late, he wouldn't punish her, and to reward her, he would let dinner be pleasant, and he wouldn't pinch her under the table, as he had planned. He would let her glimpse the life she would have after becoming his wife.
He wrapped his arms gently around her waist and laughed at the surprise in her eyes. He followed her into the foyer, where the men who were his allies were gathered, as well as the surprising presence of his brother, Allister, with his estranged wife, waiting for the host, and his fiancée, to go to the dining room.
Brianna noticed that most of the men and their wives were dressed socially. Some, however, stood out for the impeccable cut of their expensive suits. She saw a man who looked a lot like Dester, who could have been mistaken for his twin brother, and his wife. She was unique there. Brianna looked into everyone's eyes to see if they were werewolf or human and when she looked into the eyes of the wife of the man who looked like Dester, she saw a point of light, but it wasn't lilac. The woman gave her a friendly smile, as if she knew what she had done, and Brianna sat down, embarrassed that she was invading her privacy. Before she walked away with her husband, who was introduced as Dester's brother, she spoke quickly into his ear.
"Don't tell anyone about my secret, Bruma, and we'll be good friends." She said and walked away.
Dester continued to introduce her to everyone, but she didn't keep any names, distracted and thinking about the woman, and when she came across Henry's blue eyes watching her in a corner of the lobby, she felt lighter, and even strangely safe. They were the only eyes she wanted to see that night.
Dester approached Henry with her and introduced them. Brianna did with him as she did with everyone. She shook his hand and then looked away. Before, she had been looking for Henry, but now it was so that Dester wouldn't notice the joy that came over her at that simple touch with the man she still wasn't sure was the love of her life.
Dester spent more time talking to him than to any of the other guests, even to his own brother, which led Brianna to conclude that his importance was recognized by Dester. However, she noticed that Henry was the most indifferent to her presence. And she hoped it was just an act. Everyone else who met her congratulated Dester, praising his fiancée's beauty and saying that he was a lucky man. Except for her brother, who didn't seem to like seeing her there. Henry greeted her politely and said a cold congratulations to them, and Dester struck up a conversation with him about subjects that didn't interest her. She knew how to get away from listening to tedious conversations, because her grandfather used to have dinners like that, and she would take refuge in some good memory, so she wouldn't have to hear about murders and torture. This time, the memory she chose was that day. The moments she spent with Henry.