He's My Husband

Eighteen

"Emilia, you look even more beautiful than I remember. The years have been kind to you. Am I right Dora?" Mrs. Richardson asked her friend. It didn't escape Emilia that her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah, right" Dora said sipping her drink. Deciding to take the high road, Emilia smiled.

"Thank you. The two of you are so kind"

"Oh, don't flatter us. We're just speaking the truth"

"Like always it's a pleasure to see you Mrs. Richardson, Dora. We have to greet the other guests so enjoy yourself" Max cut in then pulled her closer to him. They started to leave but he turned around and added "Right, Emilia has this cream that makes her look young and keeps her skin glowing. I'm sure she won't mind sharing it. You two ladies will love it"

When they were out of their sight, Emilia burst out laughing "Did you really have to do that?"

"Do what?" Max asked with a straight face which made her laugh harder.

"Insinuate that their skin is old and dry"

"What? I didn't do that. All I said was that you'd love to share your cream with them"

"Really? What cream?"

"The one you use every night before going to sleep. I didn't mean anything else"

"I use that cream on my hands. Not face"

"Either way, I think they need it. All women should have it. Do you see how soft your hands are?"

"Please try not to insult other guests otherwise I'll look like the bad guy here"

"No promises, come on. I'll introduce you to Mr. Calloway. He's been dying to meet you" he grabbed her hand and led her towards a group of men. They were nice and even praised Max for finding a beautiful wife. At least they were sincere compared to Genevieve's friends.

An hour later, she'd been introduced to almost everyone at that party. Emilia called over a waiter and was about to take a glass of champagne when the doors opened and Lisandra walked in dressed in a white gown and a wig of the same color. It was so like that woman to try and steal the spotlight at someone else's party. All of a sudden, Emilia felt like putting her in her place. A lot of people knew she'd been Max's mistress but no one spoke ill of her. Probably because they didn't know her true colors. Taking two glasses of champagne, Emilia approached her

"Lisandra, welcome even though you're a little late. I like your costume. Who are you supposed to be?" she asked handing her the champagne. The whole room had gone quiet and were watching them which meant Lisandra had to be polite. She couldn't afford to be rude or nasty in front of her elite friends.

"Thank you so much Em. I thought that a party with Cinderella will also need Snow White. Did I get it right?"

"As always you look gorgeous. But we might have a little problem"

"Which is?"

"There's only one Prince. What should we do about that?" Emilia asked looking over her shoulder. Max who was also watching them got the message and moved forward. It was clear that she was making him choose between the two of them. Lisandra realized that and bared her teeth in what looked like a smile saying,

"No problem. I don't mind sharing him with you" then she laughed so it would come off as a joke. But they both knew it wasn't a joke. It didn't matter how civil they were with each other, inside they wanted to tear the other party to pieces.

"But you see that's where we have a bigger problem" she said linking her hand with Max's "I don't like sharing. And since he's already mine, I think you should find yourself a knight or Robin Hood over there. I'm sure no one would be able to resist someone as pure as you"