The Billionaire's Redemption

Chapter Seven

Alex decided to comply with his father's request by attending the gala.

"Darling, it seems I'm having difficulty zipping up this dress," Isabella said, approaching him in the living room as they were dressing for the event.

Alex wondered if she intentionally did it or not—whether she wanted to seduce him—as she turned her back to him.

Indeed, her figure was a beautiful sight, as his gaze trailed over the exposed melanie skin of her back.

Temptation threatened to overcome him, urging him to grab her from behind, but he shook off the thought after a nervous gulp.

He zipped the dress as she had requested and left the living room.

If he had found her attractive, he might have opted for the chauffeur's service, both of them sitting in the back seat, flirting. He resisted the temptation and took the driver's seat instead to distract himself from the temptation.

He struggled to control his thoughts, attempting to avoid fantasies of intimate encounters with her, but his sexual arousal seemed to take control over him as she kept on adding fuel to his burning desire.

She might have noticed his horniness.

"Here we are," Alex said as he parked in front of the venue, expecting her to alight before him.

"Aren't you supposed to treat me like a perfect gentleman? Have you forgotten we are couples?" She smiled.

He swung the car's door open in annoyance, and with a gentle groan, he descended from it.

He extended his hand to take hers as she gracefully emerged from the car. 

With a tender smile, he pressed his lips against the back of her hand.

His scrunched face turned to smiles as cameras were directed at them. 

The onlookers and media professionals focused their gaze on them, capturing their romantic moments that he only agreed to exhibit just for public view. 

Uncomfortable in the limelight, he masked his unease with fake smiles.

Isabella, aware of his discomfort, decided to heighten the charade, as she couldn't stop introducing him to others with an arm interwoven intimately with his, as it drew attention from curious onlookers.

In the midst of the soft hum of conversations and clinking glasses in the gala, Alex hesitated, feeling the weight of the moment.

Reluctantly, he sank down to one knee, his heart pounding. 

With a gulp, he presented the ring, which caught the soft glow of the gala's light that glittered from the chandelier. 

With a feigned smile, he uttered, "Isabella, will you be mine?"

Unbeknownst to him, the surrounding attendees became unwitting spectators of the unexpected drama. 

Some couldn't resist capturing the moment with their smartphones, the soft clicks of cameras punctuating the air. Others, unable to contain their reactions, alternated between delighted "awwns" and various heartfelt compliments, turning the restaurant into an unintentional theatre of emotions.

"This is definitely their plan." He thought inwardly.

It was a beautiful moment indeed, but it wasn't for him.

"Yes," she uttered, beaming with smiles.

In a swift and gentle motion, he slid the glimmering ring onto her finger, sealing the promise between them.

His tender kiss on the ring was a poignant prelude to what followed—an abrupt, forced press of her lips against his, which was filled with a hungry desperation.

It was evident that she was desperate to be his in that breathless moment.

Caught off guard, he felt the impulse to pull away but resisted in order not to make others suspicious. Left with little choice, he yielded to her persistent embrace as the surrounding crowd erupted into joyful cheers, offering their congratulations. 

The pretence dissolved immediately after they returned home, as they reverted to the enemies they were.

As he slept in his normal position and spot, he heard Isabella's footsteps approaching him after she had had a shower. The sight of what he saw aroused him more.

She knelt before the drawer that was beside him in search of something in particular, wiggling her butt that was hidden beneath her short jean bumpshot that revealed her butt cheeks.

The sight of her butt cheeks seemed to be calling his hungry gaze, as he closed his eyes to overcome the temptation of grabbing her butt.

When Isabella turned to see his action, she left there in annoyance to her normal spot on the bed to devise another plot as she was keen on having him for the night.

As they lay side by side in bed with their backs turned against each other, he sensed her body inching closer, like a magnetic pull stirring his sexual arousal.

The temptation to turn and meet her gaze full of lust, to succumb to the temptation, tugged at him, but he held firm to his vow, distancing himself physically from her. 

"Isabella, please don't," he whispered into the shadows.

"Alex, we have been living together for over two weeks, but we haven't copulated. Your dad told me that other than our marriage, giving birth should be our next priority. How can we achieve that if you keep on avoiding having sex with me?" The thought of having sex with her and carrying his child irritated him so much that he shot her a disgusted look.

"Read my lips, Isabella. I already told you that we living like a couple cannot work out from the onset. I'm only doing this because it's my parents' wish. I'll be glad if you opt out of this so-called marriage to make things easier for the both of us." He said.

"But I love you, Alex. I really do. You should have known right from when we were kids." She perched her shin on his shoulder.

He turned to face her and said, "I know, Isabella. But I just don't see you as the one for me. You are beautiful and are every man's desire, but I don't just..." 

"We can make it work, darling." Her lips met his in a sudden kiss, catching him off guard. 

His eyes widened in surprise. 

"Enough of this!" he bemoaned.

As he moved to leave the bed, she swiftly seized and pulled his arms, compelling him to collapse back onto the bed. 

Unlike their previous encounters, this time he managed to free himself from her grasp before she could fully pin him down.

He grabbed his car's key from the drawer immediately and paced outside.

He called Henry to know where he was, but he said that he was at home with his fiancee.

Fueled by the desire to act out the torrid fantasies that Isabella had ignited within him, he drove to a nightclub where Henry had introduced him to find a lady for a one-night stand.

The nightclub pulsated with rhythmic beats that reverberated through the crowded space. 

His emotions, a tumultuous mix of annoyance and horniness, drove him deeper into the pulsating heart of the nightclub.

Neon lights bathed the room in a kaleidoscope of colours, casting an otherworldly glow on the bodies swaying to the music. 

Amidst the sea of faces, his eyes caught a familiar gaze.

"Is that not the bartender who acted like no man could have her?" He smirked as a moment of recognition sparked as he navigated through the throngs of people.

The dim lights played upon her features, which amazed him because he didn't notice it the last time he saw her. 

The contours of her body were accentuated by the fitted elegance of the crimson, skimpy red gown that clung to her curves like a second skin. 

The front of the gown dipped low, revealing a strip of creamy skin that teased the valley between her breasts as her fiery hair fell down her spine.

Her figure, sculpted like an hourglass, was draped in her dress that shimmered like moonlight on water. It clung to her curves like a whisper against her skin.

His breath hitched because he had never seen anyone so captivating or so impossibly alluring. 

As the music swelled, she danced. Each sway of her hips and each flick of her wrist sent ripples of desire through him. 

He watched, mesmerised, as she glided across the spot for hookup ladies.

She was like a ghost in the midst of the living, as she was the only one that seemed present in the nightclub. 

"Fuck, I must have her for tonight, at least." He groaned as he approached her confidently, in surprise and curiosity.

He was surprised to see her there because of her display and belief the last time he saw her.

As he met his stare that was sharp as a hawk's that devoured her from head to toe head-on, a slow, seductive smile painted her lips. She adjusted the neckline of her dress to reveal a glimpse of the fruit that was hidden beneath it. 

As she did that, a tremor of discomfort ran through her because she was doing it because she had no option—it wasn't her wish.

His lips stretched into a predatory smirk, revealing teeth that gleamed like chipped bone as he was some feet away from her, realising that he was approaching her.

"Well, well..." he drawled.

"You're in for a nice time with me?" He bluntly said.

"Sorry. You mean a one-night stand?"

"I'm just curious; what brings you to this spot?"

"Uhm...erm..." She scratched her hair in embarrassment.

"You standing in the hookup spot is already evident of what you are, bitch. Are you in or not?" He scorned.

He was enjoying the moment, seeing her act like a slave to him, her master.

"I'm sorry... sir." He was glad by her inferiority complex towards her.

She had initially struggled to see his face due to the club's lightning, but as she focused on his face, he appeared familiar. A sense of confusion arose as she tried to place him. She was certain that she had met him before due to the familiarity of his baritone voice, but the details—when and where—remained elusive.

"Is this what people who do this every day face? Well, it's just a night of no-strings-attached sex between us, and I know that we won’t see each other again after this night. Overnight with him shouldn't be a big deal with the asshole." She was disgusted by his demeanour and rude remarks as she followed him behind to the room that would serve as her home for her miserable night.