The Possessive Duke

Chapter-23

"Really? I will finally get to meet the guy that's dating my little Bell! I am not going to be easy on him though." He sounds determined and Lucas shakes his head. I laugh. He leans down and places a kiss on my lips. "He is taking half of my time with you. This guy better be good."

"Trust me, Papa." My eyes meet his deep green ones. "You will love him." A smile appears on his lips and anything in the world is worth it.

"I better. See you tomorrow, my Belle." He bids goodbye.

"Bye, Papa." I cut the call and look at Lucas. He sighs.

"I am in for a treat, aren't I?" He asks teasingly and I giggle.

"Together." I lean my forehead against his as I speak. My love for him keeps blooming every minute and every second.

Don't be nervous, Angel. I got it all sorted. No one other than the ones who saw us there knows.

I sigh once I read his text as I enter the elevator for my floor in the office. I am very nervous. I have to face them now and if they ask, I decided to tell them the truth.

Thank you.

I text back and the elevator dings opening the door. I take a deep breath. Stay strong, Annabelle! Walking into the office, I find everyone there. They were all talking but once they see me coming, they all slide into their seats and look at their computer screens.

I feel a shiver run down my spine, but I walk up to my desk and pull out my chair before sitting down in it. I bite my lip. Usually, we all greet each other in the morning. But today there is nothing like that. The fact that they all saw me kissing Lucas and Lucas kissing me is causing me to turn red. I never expected that I would have to face this situation. I look at Aria who is looking at me but quickly looks away.

"Good morning, Aria!" I greet her shyly and she looks at me surprised that I did. I give her a polite smile.

"Um... Good morning, Annabelle!" She greets back with a polite smile. I don't like that. Annabelle?! No! They call me Anna! I look at Nicole who quickly looks away too.

"Hey, Nicole!" I smile again politely.

"Hey!" She just gives a tight lipped smile. Alessandro, Micheal and Daniel don't even look my way. Daniel, I understand. But Micheal and Alessandro would definitely at least give a smile every day. Did I lose my friends?! No!

I go back to doing my work. They will need some time to adjust to this and I can't expect them to be okay with this. I feel their stares as we work and I try not to be distracted by them. I can feel the questions in their mind. It's all so disturbing. I look up and look at all of them, they all go back to doing their work.

They are my only friends outside the palace. They are all so sweet and really got close to my heart in such a short amount of time. I can't be like this with them. They are all still looking at me through the end of their eyes.

"I know you guys have questions and if you want something to ask me about last night, just ask or say it." I speak loudly. I know Lucas is there behind the closed doors. He can't hear me, but I can't expect him to stand here with me. They are my friends and this is my battle. "About last night." I complete and they all look shocked that I spoke so openly. They know I am shy. Everyone knows.

All of them look at me including Daniel. But they don't say anything. They just look at each other. I bite my lip.

"You guys are my friends so please don't try to avoid the topic. It happened and I know that you all are curious. Let's just talk about it." I offer. Daniel gives me a smile and I feel Aria's hand on mine.