Chapter 251: The Scratch
Before Aliana could mull over the symbol, another familiar voice cut through the crowd.
"Ali!"
All attention shifted toward Cedric, who was walking over while holding Gwen’s hand and beaming at her.
The crowd naturally parted to let them through.
Aliana smiled back, but her smile faltered the moment she noticed a faint scratch on Cedric’s face that definitely hadn’t been there when he’d welcomed them earlier that afternoon.
It looked as though... someone had clawed at him.
Her eyes instinctively drifted towards Gwen.
Gwen wore the same sugar-coated smile as usual, but what truly caught Aliana off guard was her expression. Gwen’s eyes were not focused on her. Instead, she had a strange, dazed look in her eyes as she stared past Aliana.
Following her line of sight, Aliana realised that Gwen was once again staring directly at Gavriel.
What made it worse was that Gavriel was looking right back at her with his usual icy, unreadable gaze.
Something unpleasant twisted inside Aliana.
She wasn’t sure what unsettled her more: the fact that the woman who was supposed to marry her friend tomorrow couldn’t seem to take her eyes off her husband, or that her own husband appeared unusually focused on her.
Aliana normally wouldn’t be upset about it, but she knew Gavriel well enough to know that he never paid attention to other women.
Never.
So why... why was he watching Gwen so intently?
Just as Aliana was about to kick Gavriel’s leg out of pure spite, Cedric came to a halt in front of her, pulling her attention away from her increasingly vindictive thoughts.
"Ali, remember my parents?" Cedric stepped aside, revealing a familiar middle-aged couple approaching with warm smiles on their faces.
A woman with blonde hair tied in a neat bun and warm brown eyes stepped toward Aliana. "Aliana! It is so good to see you after so long!" she quipped before pulling her into a tight hug.
"Mrs. Wilson," Aliana greeted politely.
The middle-aged woman pulled back, lightly patting Aliana’s shoulder. "What is this ’Mrs. Wilson’ nonsense? Call me Aunt Clara, just like you used to when you were little!"
Aliana chuckled, offering a soft nod as she corrected herself. "Aunt Clara."
"My, what a beautiful woman you have grown up to be! Back then, I always thought Cedric would pick you as his bride. You know, he had such a huge crush on you."
The moment the words left her mouth, hushed whispers rippled through the surrounding crowd.
At the same time, the temperature around the poolside seemed to plunge so rapidly that an icy gust of wind blew out of nowhere, making the scantily clad guests shiver in their swimwear.
Cillian side-eyed Gavriel before taking a slow, quiet sip of his drink.
Gwen’s smile dropped instantly, while Cedric’s face turned bright red.
"Mom!" he chided her hastily.
Clara froze, only just realising the social blunder she had just committed.
Richard Wilson, Cedric’s father, quickly stepped forward to salvage the situation. "Now, Clara, don’t go embarrassing the kids out here." He let out a strained, nervous laugh as his amber eyes darted toward the intimidating chairman of the Archon Group.
Clara offered a flustered giggle. "Oh, I was only joking! We are absolutely thrilled to have Gwen joining our family now."
Aliana maintained a flawless smile before turning toward Gavriel’s icy expression. "On that note, let me introduce you to my husband, Gavriel Valentine."
The older couple turned their attention to Gavriel, and Richard immediately extended his hand. "Mr. Valentine, it is an honour to finally meet you. I do hope you didn’t take my wife’s harmless joke to heart."
Gavriel accepted the man’s handshake before replying calmly, "It’s fine. I’m quite comfortable knowing what’s mine." His eyes shifted to Aliana, and a beautiful blush instantly bloomed across her cheeks at his open declaration.
The people around them were momentarily stunned by his possessive yet composed remark before warm laughter spread through the crowd at the newly married couple.
No one noticed the smiles slipping from the faces of the two people who were due to be married the following day.
Just then, Clara asked, "Oh right, where’s Jade? I heard she came with you."
"She did," Aliana replied.
Her gaze drifted past the couple until she spotted Jade in a cute orange beach dress, standing beside Andrew. She was laughing at something one of the women had said, while Andrew watched her with a fond smile.
"There she is." Aliana gestured behind the couple with her glass.
Clara smiled. "Let me go and say hello to her as well. You two enjoy yourselves. I’ll catch up with you later."
"Of course," Aliana gave the woman a warm smile and watched the Wilsons make their way towards Jade.
Aliana’s eyes unconsciously followed them and saw as Andrew leaned down and whispered something into Jade’s ear, earning another laugh from her.
Just then, Jade’s gaze shifted elsewhere.
Following her line of sight, Aliana realised she was looking at... Cillian.
What surprised her even more was that Cillian was already looking back at Jade over the rim of his glass.
Ever since they had all met during the trip, not once had Cillian shown the slightest reaction to Andrew constantly being by Jade’s side.
But now... looking at him, it almost seemed as though he... wanted to burn something to the ground.
It was a look Aliana recognised. The very same look Gavriel had been giving every man whose eyes lingered on her for a little too long.
The thought had barely crossed her mind when she suddenly felt a familiar hand settle against her waist.
She turned to find Gavriel already leaning closer.
"Hungry?" he asked softly.
Her heart skipped a beat at the tenderness in his voice, while the intensity in his eyes made it race all over again.
Before Aliana could reply, Gwen’s cheerful voice broke through the moment. "Won’t you two join us in the pool?"
They turned their attention to Gwen, only to find her smiling at Aliana. However, her eyes inevitably drifted to Gavriel once again, and a flicker of irritation flared inside Aliana.
"I think we are good, Gwen," Aliana replied firmly. She kept a small smile on her face that did not reach her eyes, but her gaze sharpened as she added, "You two should go ahead and enjoy yourselves. After all, you both are getting married tomorrow."
She deliberately emphasised the word married, because it seemed the woman was beginning to forget the very reason they were all here in the first place.
Aliana knew her husband was ridiculously attractive.
But the way Gwen openly stared at him every chance she got was beginning to get on her nerves. And she was certainly not a pushover who would stand by and watch it happen as if she did not exist.
Gwen’s eyes shifted back to Aliana, and for the briefest moment, a chill ran down her spine. There was a sharp glint in Aliana’s eyes that made every instinct in her body quietly warn her of danger.
Clearing her throat, Gwen recovered almost instantly, the sweetness returning to her expression as though nothing had happened.
"Oh, we will," she replied with a gentle laugh. "I was just hoping to get to know both of you a little better since this is our first time meeting. Cedric has spoken so much about you and... Jade."
Cedric rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward chuckle. "It wasn’t anything special," he admitted. "I just told her about how we all used to play together when we were kids."
Before Aliana could respond, Gavriel, who had remained quiet throughout the exchange, suddenly spoke.
"If I may ask..." His eyes settled on Cedric’s face with quiet scrutiny. "What happened to your cheek?"