Chapter 85
[ 1,065 words ]
Jasmine Smith
Three years later:
“Oh, Jasmine, look at this embroidery.” The queen ran her fingers over the delicate work on the sleeve of my engagement dress before stepping back to admire it again.
“It’s beautiful,” She breathed. “The moment I saw it, I knew this was the one.”
I looked at myself in the full-length mirror. Beautiful was an understatement.
The dress hugged my body perfectly before falling elegantly around my legs. The tiny stones sewn into the fabric caught the light whenever I moved.
My mother appeared behind me in the mirror, and I instantly noticed how her blue eyes were shining.
“My beautiful daughter…” She slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me against her side before pressing a loving kiss to my bare shoulder, “Look at you.”
“Mom!” I rolled my eyes to hide the embarrassment while Queen Theodora laughed along with her.
“What?” Mom chuckled, “Let me have my moment too.”
Queen Theodora came to stand beside me, “Leave her alone. You’re making my head warrior blush.”
“Head warrior?” Mom chuckled, “Not anymore. She’ll be the queen.”
Something warm fluttered inside my chest. Queen. How would it sound?
Queen Jasmine.
Oh, Goddess. I can’t believe it. I need to post it on my social media handles. I tried not to react, but the queen caught it immediately.
“Look at her. Her face has turned crimson,” She nudged my mother.
“Your Highness!” I finally gave up pretending and giggled. I was still smiling when a soft knock interrupted us.
“Come in,” The queen called.
The door opened, and a young maid entered, trying to balance a tray that had tea and some snacks.
“Your Majesty.” She bowed before glancing at me. “Lady Jasmine.”
Lady Jasmine. And soon it would be Your Highness . My Queen.
“Anything else, Your Majesty,” The maid had placed the tray on the center table. The queen dismissed her with a wave of her hand and turned to me.
“One week,” she murmured behind me, and I met her gaze through the mirror.
“One week,” I repeated dreamily.
A seamstress appeared at the door of the changing room and waited for me so she could help me out of the dress. I carefully lifted my skirt and followed her inside.
Once the dress was safely hanging away, I stood in front of the mirror in my slip and stared at my reflection.
Whenever he took me to the pack meetings as his soon-to-be mate, he always stayed attentive and caring. But he never even tried to kiss me. Not even on my cheek.
Everything will fall into place once you two get married. My mother had told me once, and I had blushed. How did she know what I was thinking?
One week and I would finally be engaged to Lucien. Would things finally change between us after that?
Lucien had always kept a certain distance. There were always unseen boundaries he never crossed.
What would he do after marriage? Would he touch me? Would he let me ride on him? How would it feel when he was lying on top of me?
Oh…
I leaned back against the wall, and suddenly I wanted to touch myself while thinking of him.
How would it feel to wake up beside him every morning?
“Goddess,” I muttered and covered my burning face with both hands.
What is wrong with you? You’re acting like a teenager, Jasmine Smith!
Soon-to-be Mrs. Volkov!
I rolled my lips to hold back the smile but failed miserably.
Goddess. Get yourself together, Jasmine.
I needed to get out of here. I quickly changed back into my clothes, fixed my hair, and took one last look in the mirror.
By the time I stepped out, I had managed to wipe that ridiculous smile off my face.
“There she is!” I stopped and found Aliya standing there with a sandwich in one hand. The second she saw me, she dropped it back onto the plate and rushed toward me.
“My favorite sister-in-law!” She wrapped her arms around me before I could protest. I laughed and hugged her back, “I’m your only sister-in-law.”
“And… you’re going to look gorgeous,” She eyed the dress that was being taken by an Omega for ironing. She got closer with a mischievous grin, “I’m sure once my brother sees you in this dress, he won’t wait to rip it off you.”
“Shut up!” My eyes widened at her boldness. I immediately turned away and reached for the tea.
A little while later, all four of us were settled on couches discussing the engagement décor while having tea.
Mom and Queen Theodora were arguing about flower selection. And Alia was busy scrolling through the jewelry designs. I was halfway through my tea when a familiar scent reached me. My hand stilled.
Lucien?
I barely had time to place my cup on the table before he walked into the room. His presence seemed to swallow the entire room, and my eyes couldn’t stop following him. His personality had always been effortlessly commanding. He always managed to make everyone else in the room fade into the background.
However, when I noticed his expression, my smile disappeared. He came straight toward me. Before I could even stand, he leaned over, planting both hands on the armrests on either side of me.
“Did you ask the media for live coverage?”
The sharpness in his voice made my stomach taut. I swallowed and nodded, “Ye…yes… I was about to…”
He didn’t let me finish as his golden eyes hardened. “With whose permission?”
My fingers curled against my dress, and I became too conscious of the audience in the room. “I thought…”
“Who told you to make such a promise on the Royal family’s behalf?”
I could feel our moms staring at us. While Aliya’s cup had stopped halfway to her lips. My throat suddenly felt dry. “I … No…”
“You shouldn’t have, Jasmine.”
“Lucien,” The queen gave a small laugh. “It… it was my idea too. Why don’t you take a seat, dear? We can discuss this.”
He didn’t even look at her. His eyes remained fixed on me for another uncomfortable second as he tightened his jaw. Then suddenly he straightened.
“I’ve better things to do.”
He turned and stormed out. I quickly hid my face behind my teacup in a failed attempt to hide the humiliation written all over my face.
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