Ae attended the call and I could see him frown. After a few hums and alright(s), he returned back to where I was sitting. "Pete, would you like to go for a party?" he asked. "Party? But I haven't been to one and I don't know what kind of clothes to wear. I mean, I don't know what exactly will look fine." I spoke.
He cupped my cheeks making me look at him and spoke, "Don't worry about clothes. Go and get fresh. Martha will get the dress ready for you." He stated. I smiled in response and he grabbed my shirt and helped me wear it. "I'll be waiting for you so hurry up." He said and planted a soft kiss on my forehead. I nodded in response and rushed towards my bedroom.
I got into shower and cleaned myself. When I went to grab the towel, I saw my reflection in the mirror. Then my eyes landed on the marks all over my upper body and I smiled shyly remembering what has happened in the study room. My hands unconsciously trailed over the marks and I felt my insides flutter. I bit my bottom lip while recalling the touches. I shook my head, trying to erase the thoughts from my mind and dried myself.
I walked out of the bathroom and saw the clothes kept on the bed. Martha must have got it ready while I was in shower. I dressed up and then looked into the mirror to check if I looked fine. The suit fitted me perfectly and the turtle neck t-shirt was able to hide the marks. I walked out of the room and saw Ae standing in the hall waiting for me.
He was wearing his business suit and looked so handsome. He looked at me while I was descending the stairs and I could see his deep gaze landing on me. I blushed looking at him and lowered my head trying to hide my face. I saw Martha and Pond standing there with a grin on their faces. I reached the base of the stairs and made my way towards them.
"You are looking charming Pete." Martha complimented. "Thank you." I replied politely. "Pete, be careful..... You are going to invite lot of attraction. See to it that your husband doesn't get jealous." Pond teased. "Damn Pond!! Keep your mouth shut!" Ae snarled. I could see Pond having a knowing look on his face.
"Let's go!!" Ae said extending his hand forward. I placed my hand in his and we walked out of the house. There was a limo waiting for us outside and I knew that it wasn't any ordinary party. I felt a bit nervous with the thought of meeting so many people.
The guard opened the door and I slipped inside the car. This was the second time I was travelling in the limo and now I could finally admire it. I remembered the first time I had sat in this car and that time I was all scared. Ae was a total stranger back then and I wanted to escape from him. And now, I don't want to stay away from him even for a second.
Ae got into the car and the door was shut close. I snuggled closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder. "Are you nervous?" he asked. "A bit.... I have never been to party and I don't know what others will think about me." I replied. "Well.... You don't need to worry in that case, I will take care of everything." He replied while looking at me.
He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. "You are looking gorgeous." He whispered against my ear and kissed my cheek. I giggled at the soft touch and then turned around trying to hide my blush. His compliments always made my cheeks get hot.
The next moment, he pulled me to sit on his lap making me gasp and my eyes widened. "Ae.... I was comfortable sitting on the seat." I protested. "But I prefer it like this." He replied and sniffed my neck. "You smell wonderful......" he said in his raspy voice while nuzzling my neck.
His hot breathe was tickling my skin and I was losing my senses. "Ae~" I whined when he started caressing my sides. "Shhhhh..... Don't make that sound. We have a party to attend." Ae reminded. I understood the warning in his voice and tried to calm myself down but he was still playing with me. His hands were caressing my sides while he nuzzled at my neck. His play brought goose bumps over my body. I closed my eyes and bit on my bottom lip trying to hold the moans inside which were threatening to escape.
If I wasn't wearing the turtle neck t-shirt, I would have got some more bruises now. He pulled me closer and peppered my face with kisses before finally meeting my lips. When his lips touched mine, I let my senses take over. My hands got snake around his neck and he pulled me into a deep kiss. He was pulling on my lips, sucking them gently, making me moan at the feeling. I was completely lost in his touches until he pulled away and I looked at him questioningly. "We have almost reached." He stated making me realize that I need to make myself look presentable.
Finally, we reached the venue and Ae straightened himself and helped me tidy up. The door was opened and Ae stepped out, and then extended his hand towards me. I placed my hand in his hand and we were soon walking inside the venue. It was a luxurious hotel and the party was organised on the open terrace.
As we entered the place, I saw most of the people looking at us. Some came forward and greeted Ae. And Ae introduced them to me and informed them that we were married. Some had shocked expressions while others complained that they weren't invited. Ae told them that our marriage was a private affair and was a bit urgent because of some personal reason.
He faked the reason stating that my parents were on the verge of dying and requested Ae to marry me. He also told them that we were seeing each other for quite some time and had planned of marrying after my studies. But due to the terrible accident, he had to take this step in hurry as my parents were on death bed.
It didn't seem like a complete lie. Yes, my parents were dead, they had met Ae, my father had asked him to take care of me, Ae had seen me before and we were married. Except for the part that my parents requested him to marry, rest everything seemed true.
After talking for a while, Ae excused himself and guided me through the crowd towards the bartender. He ordered two sodas and then turned to look at me. "Are you comfortable?" he asked. "Yes.... It's just new to me." I replied. He stayed quiet for a while and then questioned, "Are you upset about the reason I told?"
"No.... You didn't lie completely and also, I know that it's for better. I trust you." I replied. He smiled at me and stroked my cheek gently. It was his way of appreciating my words.
After a while he excused himself and asked me to wait for him in the same place. I looked around the place trying to see if I recognize any of the face. After a while, I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around. To my surprise, Atid was standing there with a beaming smile.
"I didn't know that you were going to coming to the party." He stated. "Actually, Ae got a call after I reached home. It was a short notice you can say." I replied. "So, do you like this place?" he asked. "Well.... It's not bad." I replied. He laughed out looking at my expression. My face clearly showed that I wasn't comfortable with so many people around me.
"Come... Let's go to some other place. There is lot of crowd here." He said. I looked around trying to find Ae but he was nowhere to be seen. "Atid, Ae had asked me to wait here." I replied. "Your Ae is talking to my father." Atid said pointing in the direction of the crowd.
"You know Ae?" I asked in surprise. "Yes.... He and my father have known each other for long. Ae's father was my father's friend. When Ae's family was killed, my father was there to help him go through everything and also helped him in dealing with the company matters since Ae was still studying. I was still in high school then." Atid replied. I could see him thinking deeply and understood that he was trying to recall those memories.
"So, all this while, you knew that Ae is my husband?" I asked in shock. "No... Not until that incident...." He replied and then continued, "I saw Ae walking with you the next day when Wan confessed her mistake. That was when I came to know that Ae is your husband. I knew that Ae had someone in life but didn't know it was you. When it was informed that an Intouch is going to join the college, I thought it must be Ae's cousin. Didn't know that he was sending his husband to study."
"What else do you know?" I asked. I needed to know whether he knew about my past. "Can we talk somewhere else? This place is not comfortable enough." He stated. I knew what he meant since the place was crowded and many people had their eyes on us, especially me. Some of them were eager to know about how Ae and I have met even though Ae had cleared things about it. I excused myself for a while to tell Ae that I was going with Atid. When I approached him, I recognized the man Ae was speaking to. He was the same one who was sitting with Ae at the auction.
"Ae, can I go to some other place to talk to Atid?" I asked. He smiled and then replied, "Sure.... But meet Atid's father first - Mr George". I turned to the person and smiled at him. "I am happy for you son." Atid's father said patting my shoulder. His gesture had a fatherly touch and for a moment I felt as if I was standing in front of my own father. I smiled at him and nodded in response. I couldn't say a word as I felt chocked. I suddenly started to miss my family.
Atid's father was really warm when he spoke. "T-Thank you." I replied with my voice almost breaking. "Are you alright?" Ae asked in concern and I hummed in response. He must have understood what happened and then gave me assuring smile. "You are safe son..... Don't worry about anything now." George spoke. I nodded in response and then excused myself to walk towards Atid.
Atid was already waiting for me and then gestured me to come along. We walked to the furthest corner where no one would come to disturb us. Luckily, even the sound of the music seemed to get faint while we reached the place. I turned around to face him so that I will get answers to my questions that were constantly lingering inside my head.
"So, what else do you know?" I asked Atid after clearing my throat. "I know about you. My father told me." He informed. So, Atid knows that I was bought at an auction and the story Ae had been telling others is fake. "Do you feel disgusted with me now?" I asked. "Why should I? It wasn't your fault. You were a victim just like me." Atid stated.
Wait! What does he mean by that? "What do you mean?" I asked in confusion. "Well, George is not my real father. He had saved me from the black market." Atid cleared. "Black market?" I asked. This was something new and something really unexpected.....