Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge
Chapter 78: Almost

Chapter 78: Almost

At Quince restaurant,

In the private room, Aveline was having her dessert while Alaric stood by the window, talking on the phone.

Even after her many questions, he didn’t confess why he was helping her. His patience, without a frown, gave space for her embarrassment to settle softly.

Though she found herself a bit shameless, she asked yet again when he ended the call. "Weren’t you ever in a relationship in your grand twenty-nine years?"

Alaric turned around at her voice. Why was she making him sound old? And why was she interested in his past relationships?

He stalked toward her and asked, "What if I was in a relationship?"

Aveline had gotten so used to earning questions for her questions. She stood up and leaned on the table. She cut to the chase, "If you were ever in a relationship, it wouldn’t be so difficult to confess your feelings." She sounded too certain.

Alaric: "..."

Now he understood. Though she was hiding her embarrassment with the heap of questions, she was actually hunting for the answer to her only question: why was he helping her?

And she had also figured out why he wasn’t telling her the truth. Well, it wasn’t rocket science anyway.

If she was bold enough to ask it aloud instead of burying it to herself, he had no reason to hide it. He held the edges of the dining table on either side of her, watching her pull her head away.

"Confess?" He lazily looked right and then left, as if looking for somebody. "To whom?"

Aveline: "..."

She wasn’t a fool to ignore how Alaric had kept every detail about her, so carefully remembered from four years ago. In a fast-paced life where we forget about ourselves, he remembered every detail, including the month.

It was an easy guess that he liked her. Though she found it cute, she wanted to know his reason for never approaching her. She could only ask if he confessed.

She watched his lips curl into a smirk and met his eyes. They weren’t aloof but sparkled with a hint of mischief.

Was she perhaps overthinking?

Was she just his curiosity?

Then what about his actions?

"Yes, you!?" He straightened his back and sounded surprised. "I don’t confess to a married woman."

Aveline’s expression blanked. Chasing the truth, digging into her curiosity, she had forgotten that she was married.

Married to his friend.

Married to a monster called Damien Ashford.

Grabbing her bag, "Alright then." It was time she got back to work. The time she stopped being delusional.

She was marching toward the door when he suddenly caught her hand and tugged her toward him. "Ala..."

Her breath stuck in her throat as her body leaned against his, their lips a hairbreadth apart, making her heart race. Their eyes locked, his smoldering gaze warming her from the inside.

She should push him, maybe get angry. She should walk away, but her body weakened under his arms around her waist, pressing her body against his taut muscles. Her stomach clenched in anticipation while her mind was losing the ability to think.

She saw his head tilt and his soft lips part to taste hers.

Her eyes closed, but the thread of sanity made her push her head away. "No..." It was barely a whisper.

She wasn’t sure if she was stopping him or her heart from thundering in her chest. She wasn’t sure if she was against kissing him, or if it was because she was married.

Maybe she knew. But the temptation was muddling her state.

He paused, hearing her barely put up a fight against what her body craved. Watching her inviting lips, resisting was harder than he thought.

He cursed before he slowly leaned in and pecked the curve of her jawline. Just as her body eased in his arms and her clutch loosened on his shirt, his lips landed on her neck.

Her head fell back with a sweet sigh. His warm breath caressed her neck, sending shivers down her spine.

As if hooked, his lips traced down her slender neck, her subtle vanilla and floral scent teasing his senses.

Her body immediately tensed up. "Alaric..." Her sensual whisper fueled the heat.

Before he could process, he was claiming her neck, and she was clinging to him, the world ceasing behind them.

"Ala..."

Another sigh was slipping from her lips when he snapped open his eyes. Desire and restraint clashed like an intense war. He watched her flushed cheeks, making her look more delicate, her neck burning red, and her eyes dazed.

"Fuck." He cursed aloud as he helped her to the chair and walked out of the room.

Any moment longer around her, and he would devour her like a hungry wolf. He needed some air, maybe a washroom.

Whereas Aveline just sat there, breathless, disoriented. Losing his warmth helped, but her thoughts drifted to something more sinful.

She knew she was ’physically’ attracted to Alaric, but not to the extent her body craved his touch.

Well, she just blamed her ovulation days.

While a part of her was smug for guessing his feelings, another part of her just reveled in whatever happened.

"Oh my..." Aveline knocked on her head. "How am I supposed to face him?" She was embarrassed enough at NexGuard, and now...

’He can’t confess to a married woman but kiss one. His shamelessness...’

Aveline: "..."

Why was she thinking of it again?

With all her thoughts jumbled, Aveline grimaced at the tingling in her body.

’Wait... Where did he go? Should I wait or leave?’

Unsure, she wondered if he had fled and stepped out of the private room when reality slapped her hard.

Aveline: "..."

Damien’s eyes shifted from Alaric and narrowed on her. His jaw clenched, his fury resurfacing like a volcano.

She dared to ignore his call and never call back. How dare she sit and have lunch with Alaric?

Alaric was hoping Aveline would stay inside the room, while the sight of Damien in the same restaurant doused all the fire.

He lazily turned around and watched Aveline. Her face had paled, completely contrasting the rosy flush he had admired a minute ago. Though he could still see the redness on her neck, her white overcoat covered it enough.

He hated it, but he reminded her, "Mrs. Ashford." Their eyes met. He caught the flicker of hurt in her eyes. He hoped she would understand and play along.

Aveline knew why he addressed her that way, but the twist she felt in her gut after what happened inside was irrevocable. She put on a professional look and walked to them, ignoring Damien.

"Thank you for the lunch, CEO Lancaster," she said.

He softly nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"I hope our requirements from Vantex won’t affect the time of delivery," she added, then turned to leave.

Damien realized the ’client’ Alaric mentioned was Aveline. Though it was just a lunch meeting, watching her beside Alaric made him uncomfortable in unexplainable ways.

He looked at her, expecting her to smile at him, but her face fell the moment her eyes fell on him. She tried to walk away, but he caught her hand.

Aveline looked at their hands and resisted the urge to glance at Alaric. She couldn’t believe she almost kissed one, and the other was holding her hand.

Why did she have to complicate everything?

Damien glanced at Alaric. He didn’t offer a goodbye and told Aveline, "Let’s go," and walked with her, reluctant to reveal their dispute in front of Alaric.

Alaric’s jaw clenched hard at the sight of Damien holding her hand and taking her away. Yet, he couldn’t stop him or bring her back to his side.

Though he knew they were married, he began feeling prickly all over his skin at the thought of Damien kissing her, even caressing her petite face.

His fingers curled tightly as he punched the wall beside him. No, he wasn’t going to force her to divorce just because he couldn’t stand seeing her beside Damien.

With a deep breath, he just hoped Damien wouldn’t complicate anything for her.

...

In another private room,

Aveline stood quietly, not meeting Damien’s eyes. She was in the role. The role of an angry wife toward her husband.

"Where did you go at Obsidian last night?" He had looked for her on the ground floor and expected her to be crying at the entrance. But she wasn’t there.

Aveline responded, "Terrace." She lied.

He stepped closer and held her chin gently. He turned her face to look at him. "I shouldn’t have doubted you just because you met Lawrence Ashford. My bad."

It wasn’t an apology. He needed her support to get her land. Now that she stepped out every day, he couldn’t resort to any force.

Aveline looked at him, but all she could recall was another man in his place.

Two years of Damien’s gentlemanly act failed in front of the man she had known for less than fifteen days.

She took a deep breath to stay focused. She couldn’t mess up anything else. "You don’t trust me, Damien. You don’t respect me enough to ask me directly or tell me what’s happening."

She stepped away to break his touch on her chin and continued, "I can compromise on anything, Damien. But trust and respect are the bare minimum. I won’t compromise on that."

Damien heard her unemotional tone drawing the line. He assumed that was the difference between Vivienne and Aveline. An expensive gift would win Vivienne, but Aveline wasn’t about material things. She could afford them.

But trusting her? He was always going to double-check.

Respecting her? Yes, he respected her for being a Laurent. For holding the land he needed.

Wasn’t that enough?

Anyway, he apologized. "I get it, Nina. I’m sorry. I’ll speak with you directly." She always told him the truth as far as he knew, so he was ready to do anything to please her.

"Are we okay now?"

Aveline pursed her lips and nodded. "Don’t repeat it." Her voice softened, and her expression eased.

"That’s great," he said, tugging her toward the table. "Did you eat?" he asked while checking the menu.

Aveline hummed in response, and he paused. He turned to her and spoke seriously, "Nina, avoid lunch meetings and keep it professional in the office."

"Why?" It was common to have lunch meetings.

"Alaric Lancaster is..." He failed to find the right word for her, "Do you remember Dad was angry at you in my office? And I wasn’t able to give you time when you were hospitalized," He didn’t wait for her response. "Alaric is the reason. He has interrupted my two ongoing projects and created an uproar in the company last week."

Aveline: "..."

’No wonder, you flunked at your role of doting husband.’