The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 50: Shopping

Chapter 50: Shopping

The bustling market streets of the Capital City welcomed Annalise as their carriage reached the main market area.

Big stores were standing on either side of the street, dozens and dozens of stalls were lined up and people were stepping in and out of these stores. The place was exactly how she remembered it.

"My Lady, where should we head first?" Sera came to ask from outside the window as the carriage came to a stop.

Annalise spared a quick look in Lord Damian’s direction and found him sitting there with his eyes closed and hands folded over his chest. He seemed to be sleeping but she knew better than to believe that.

At this point, she could clearly sense that something was up with the second Dark Lord, however, a voice inside her head kept telling her not to confront him about it.

Letting out a small sigh, she looked out through the window and replied, "There’s a jewelry store near the end of the first street. Let’s go there first."

"Yes, My Lady," Sera responded before she moved away to convey the message to the coachman.

The carriage once again started moving and within the next five minutes, Annalise was already stepping inside the most popular jewelry store in the entire capital city.

Her mother loved the unique and beautiful designs of the jewelry of this particular shop. So, Annalise was planning to buy a new set for her mother as a present.

She chose a beautiful set of pearl jewelry and made the payment before leaving the shop and heading to another store a few blocks away to buy a present for her father. She ended up buying a calligraphy painting and a set of new writing brushes.

An hour passed by as they went from one shop to another, buying stuff for their upcoming visit to her maiden home. She made sure to not buy anything expensive other than the first presents that she bought for her parents. The rest of her purchases were just mediocre items to complete the formality.

"Aren’t you tired yet?" Lord Damian asked in that grim tone of his that he had been carrying around with him since morning.

"You haven’t left the carriage even once throughout my shopping. Why are you still in such a foul mood?" Annalise questioned as she almost glared at the Dark Lord.

"My time is still getting wasted," Damian replied in a flat tone as he kept his eyes closed. He hadn’t moved at all from his seat ever since they left the castle.

Annalise opened her mouth to speak but then closed it as words refused to come out. She wasn’t sure how to handle the man anymore. It seemed like she should have picked anyone but him to accompany her. But it was already too late to regret.

She looked out from the carriage window and found Sera standing at a distance. "Sera, let’s head back to the castle."

"But My Lady didn’t you want to buy your..." Sera started but stopped when Annalise shook her head, signaling her to stop. "Alright, we will head back now."

Annalise settled down in her seat and decided to ignore the man sitting beside her, but it seemed like Lord Damian had other plans because he spoke right at that moment. "Weren’t you going to buy some more stuff? Why return now?"

Annalise remained silent and pretended to be oblivious to his questions even though it was pretty obvious that she was ignoring him on purpose.

"I’m talking to you." Damian didn’t give up as he poked a finger into her shoulder to make her look at him. But Annalise still continued to ignore him. She was in no mood to talk to him anymore.

"Princess." This time, his voice was deep and low, and also carried a hint of challenge in it, and even though Annalise’s heart fluttered in fear for a second or two, she still managed to remain firm in her decision of ignoring him.

There was silence in the carriage for the next few seconds but then she was completely taken aback when a sharp pull on her arm sent her straight into his arms.

"My Lord...?"

Annalise stared at the man in alarm as she tried to straighten herself but the strong arms wrapped around her refused to allow her to move at all.

"What? Aren’t you going to keep ignoring me?" His tone was taunting her as looked straight into her eyes, a glint of crimson passing through his orbs for a second.

Instead of replying, Annalise tried to get out of his hold but she knew it was a futile attempt even before trying. She was no match to him. The difference between their physical forms was the biggest drawback in her current situation.

"Let me go."

The words felt quite familiar as she spoke them out loud. She was reminded of the night when she met this husband of hers for the very first time in the pool room.

"Why should I? You are my wife. If even I can’t hold you in my arms then who else can?" Damian was surely testing her, something about his tone kept telling her that he was purposely trying to incite her.

Annalise took a deep breath to calm herself down before she looked at the handsome man in front of her and spoke, "My Lord, do you really take me as your wife?"

Something crossed Damian’s eyes at her words, the surprise was clearly evident in his expression as he looked at her without saying anything in response. His arms loosened their hold around her and Annalise hurriedly settled down in a proper sitting position.

The inside of the carriage was once again filled with silence for the next few moments before Damian suddenly tapped against the carriage wall and it came to a stop.

Without a word, he climbed out of the carriage, leaving Annalise alone sitting inside. Couple of minutes passed before the carriage finally started moving again.

And this time, Lord Damian was no longer traveling with them.