3. Christian
Just as I expected, Cataleya is being a pain in the ass.
Every now and then, she meets my gaze from across the bar and sends me a coy smile. She’s trying to provoke a reaction out of me. At the same time, she’s undermining me and wasting my time.
How dare she? I have half a mind to leave and take the next jet back to Solvaria, but I’m too far in to back out now. She’s going to speak with me. I don’t care if I have to tie her down to a damn chair to make it happen.
Glancing at my watch, I realize quickly that she’s been making me wait for the past thirty minutes. I’m standing here like a fool while she dances her little heart out over there with her friends.
She’s even had the nerve to approach me a few times, all in the guise of getting another drink. “One second, Christian! I’m almost done!”
Then, she hurries back to dance with the drink in her hand. She’s doing everything she can to stall, perhaps in the hopes that I’ll storm out of here and leave her alone. I’m infuriated, without a doubt, but also mildly amused.
Does she really think I’m someone who will back down that easily? Seems like she’s forgotten exactly who I am.
Cataleya has been playing around too much tonight. This is unbecoming for a lady, much less a future queen.
Without hesitating, I snake my way through the crowd, trying to ignore the smell of cheap cologne and liquor. Cataleya’s back is towards me, blissfully unaware of my presence behind her.
Before long, I reach out and take her forearm in my grasp. “Come on.”
“Wha—? Christian, what are you doing?”
“Come.”
“Stop!”
She struggles against me, trying to claw my fingers off of her arm, but I’m stronger than her. I pull her through the bar and out to where my car is parked in the lot. Fishing for my keys, I unlock the vehicle and bring her to the passenger side.
Cataleya stares at me with a deep frown on her face.
“Get in the car,” I demand. “I’m taking you home. You’ve made a joke out of yourself tonight, and I don’t want to watch that anymore.”
“You can’t boss me around, Christian!” she replies.
At this point, I’m opening the door and sitting her inside. She tries to get out, but I nudge her in and close the door on her. She’s saying something inside, based on how quickly her mouth is moving, but I hardly care anymore.
I sit in the driver’s seat and calmly put on my seatbelt as she continues her tirade.
“How dare you? How dare you try to come here and dictate what I can and can’t do in my life? You’re not my husband, Christian. And you’re not my fiancé. You’re not even my boyfriend! You have no right to do this to me!”
“Are you done yet?” I ask brusquely, shifting the car into drive and making my way out of this seedy parking lot. There’s a flickering streetlight across the way and shady people walk the streets all around us. “My God, is this seriously the type of place you like to spend time in? It’s a dump.”
“Mind your business, Christian! How many times do I have to tell you this? Leave me the hell alone!”
“Not happening.” I’m pretty sure I noticed a drug deal happening in the alleyway across the bar. With a small sigh, I turn the corner and all but stomp on the gas to get out of there. “You can’t put yourself in a situation like this. It’s dangerous.”
“Asshole. You just separated me from my friends. You put me in a dangerous situation.”
I scoff. “You’re better off with me than anyone else in that bar.” Then I glance at her. Her arms are crossed and her knees turned to face the car window. “We need to talk.”
“No.”
My eyes trail her figure quickly. Her dress compliments her figure nicely, accentuating all of her features. The yellow dress looks magnificent on her, I can’t lie. Her dark skin looks smooth to touch and her wavy hair flows neatly down her shoulders.
As attractive as she is, I don’t ignore the fact that she’s a thorn in my side. She doesn’t listen to anything I have to say. Cataleya would be the perfect woman if she could only obey. Instead, she’s more like a fire that I have yet to contain.
“You’re not acting like a future queen. You’re like a petulant child who’s pouting because she didn’t get her way,” I reprimand, keeping my eyes on the road. “You’re 26 years old. You’re not a teenager anymore. You had your chance to party and live life to the fullest, but now you have to settle down.”
Cataleya shakes her head. “You’re out of your damn mind if you think I’m going to listen to you. I can do what I want, dress how I want, and you can’t do anything about it.”
“Actually, you can’t. If you’re going to be the Queen of Solvaria one day, you can’t step out in a dress like that. You’re leaving nothing to the imagination. You need to dress more modestly moving forward.”
“Oh, fuck you,” she mumbles.
That makes me raise a brow. “What’s that?”
“Fuck you! You’re annoying, you know that? You always have been. I don’t understand why you think you can come here and act like you’re my boss. I left Solvaria for a reason. I’m not getting dragged back there to submit to you and your family.”
Unfortunately for her, she doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter. But I won’t tell her that right now. She might make me crash the car if I do.
Anger simmers within my body, making my skin hot to touch. Cataleya has never made things easy for me, not since the betrothal. She’s always had her opinions and a strong will of her own.
Now that she’s a lawyer, her ego is probably the size of the Empire State Building. I’ve read up on her achievements thus far. Sure, she’s an accomplished lawyer. Sure, she graduated summa cum laude from one of the top law schools in the United States.
Cataleya has done her best to carve her own path, but she can’t run from her obligations anymore. She must do what’s right for her homeland.
My hand grips tightly around the steering wheel. I turn, entering the roundabout that sits at the front of her luxury apartment building. Unlocking the car doors, I gesture for her to make her way out.
“I’ll be seeing you tomorrow,” I say.
“Excuse me?” she asks, furrowing her eyebrows together. “I didn’t say I wanted to see you again.”
“That’s too bad. I’m not in the mood to talk to you anymore, so we’ll have to do this tomorrow. I have a proposition that you won’t want to turn down, but we can discuss the details later.”
My tone is firm, leaving no room for negotiation. And she knows this. Her face crinkles up as she stares at me with contempt. It seems like she’s holding back a slew of harsh words that she wants to throw my way.
To my surprise, she doesn’t say a thing. Instead, she takes her purse, hikes it up her shoulder, and exits the car. She slams the door and stomps her way into the apartment building, not even throwing a glance my way as she does.
I sigh, leaning back into my seat and allowing my hands to fall from the wheel. “What a mess.”
After a few seconds of strained breathing, I put the car into drive and get out of the area. Being around Cataleya for too long feels like I’ve breathed in some toxic waste. I’m bothered and uncomfortable, and I need a cold shower to calm down.
Harsh feelings aside, I really want to make this work with her. She’s a beautiful woman. She’s an asset to have around when she’s not in a piss-poor mood. And she has the potential to be a great queen, if only she could stop being so stubborn.
We have to fulfill our own respective roles. As her future husband, it’s my duty to support her and guide her when she’s making the wrong decisions.
She’ll come around, I can bet my wealth that she will, but I know that I have a world of problems to overcome in the meantime. With the first one being that she can’t stand to be around me.