Divorced Heiress
Chapter 93

In a matter of seconds, the atmosphere became completely uncomfortable with Paul's presence and I couldn't help but frown at the nonsense that came out of his mouth. It seemed pathetic of him to approach our table just to mock us by inventing that Alexander and I were getting married again. It made my blood boil to see his smug smile as he alternated his gaze between my face and Alexander's. It was clear that all he wanted was to provoke us and ruin the time we spent as a family.

I gave Alexander a fleeting and piercing look because he wouldn't have even noticed our presence if he had taken the time and effort to turn off the flash on his phone. However, I noticed that Alexander's muscles were completely tense and his fists were clenched on the table as he defiantly stared at the cretin in front of us.

I decided to break the silence and put an end to this stupidity once and for all.

-Did you lose something? Or, are you following us, Paul?- I asked, although I knew that our encounter was nothing more than an unpleasant coincidence. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to come with his lover and kiss her in public.

Paul laughed humorlessly and turned his disgusting gaze towards me. My icy stare was full of indifference, but inside, I was growing more and more disgusted with him.

-Follow you? Don't flatter yourselves, you're not that important. This is just a coincidence. I come to this place very often, it brings me so much peace, you can breathe the fresh air, don't you think?- Paul spoke as if he were the kindest person in the world.

I glanced quickly at the table where he had been sitting, sharing a romantic night with lawyer Richman, but to my surprise, there were no traces of that woman. It was as if she had never been here. His lover vanished.

-Peace, fresh air.- Alexander repeated his words as he nodded as if he agreed, but he wasn't entirely convinced.

-Darling, do you agree with what Mr. Dubois is saying?- He asked me sarcastically. I nodded my head in the same way that Alexander did, pretending to agree when in reality, it was the opposite.

-Yes, of course, that's what I was feeling until the atmosphere was contaminated by the presence of this pest. - I responded, looking at Paul, making it clear that he was the pest I was referring to.

- What a great sense of humor, Sari. That's not what you told me that night on the cruise with the marvelous view of New York City, after toasting with the finest bottle of champagne.-

Every muscle in my body tensed when Paul reminded me of that day, that night when I believed in him, that day when I was still blindfolded, believing that his feelings and words were real, but it was all a strategy to get my attention. That day when Paul kissed me. Flashback.

Before I could say a word, he closed the gap between us as his lips firmly met mine.

My body froze as his soft lips, tasting of champagne, moved tentatively, urging me to follow his lead. My breath became unstable and I felt consumed by nerves.

He cradled my cheek in his hand and I let myself go with the moment, responding to Paul's unexpected kiss. I felt my heartbeats increase more and more, and when I felt his hand traveling from my waist to my back, I realized what we were doing. He was kissing me. End of Flashback.

Now that he reminded me of it, the urge to vomit appeared immediately. I must have been completely crazy to feel even the slightest thing for that wretched man with that kiss that now disgusted me, even though it happened a long time ago. I wanted to clean my mouth for allowing him to kiss me.

How disgusting.

-The cruise? What cruise are you talking about?- Alexander's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, but I didn't take my eyes off Paul. I looked at him defiantly, but also with indifference. He was very mistaken if he thought that was going to destabilize us. -Your fiancée didn't tell you? - He asked, holding his mocking gaze. I arched an eyebrow when he referred to me again as Alexander's future wife.

-What a shame. I think there shouldn't be secrets between you, but don't worry, I'll do you the favor of telling you. Sarah and I had a date that escalated. What we did is not what mere friends do, and I remember it every night.-

His eyes shamelessly roamed over me, and I let out a humorless laugh at his attempt to give incomplete information that left much to the imagination.I wanted to insinuate that we slept together and provoke Alexander. And he succeeded.

Alexander abruptly stood up from his seat, catching my attention, and I could see his flushed cheeks and angry gaze. Tristan became agitated beside me, seeing his father's reaction, and I immediately picked him up in my arms to stand up from my seat and stand between the two men who were staring each other down.

- Alex, honey, our child is here and getting scared. -

I forced a smile for Tristan, who didn't seem comfortable with the confrontation, and honestly, no one was.

- I'll handle this. I whispered the last part just so Alexander could hear and hopefully calm the visible desire he had to punch Paul in the face, and it worked, although he continued to give him an intimidating look. Alexander lifted our son in his arms and I thanked him with a glance before turning towards Paul with a fake half-smile.

- Are you going to tell me you didn't enjoy it? I bet you want to do it again. He asked, blatantly looking at me, and I approached him closely enough to grab him tightly by the tie and tighten it around his neck. His eyes widened in surprise at my action and he tried to break free from my grasp, but I held on with all my strength, feeling my contempt for Paul growing with every second I spent near him.

- Not even in your wildest dreams, Paul Dubois. Everyone can be stupid sometimes, but you abuse it. You don't have the guts to call what happened by its name. Are you so frustrated by not falling for your dirty game? I'd be sick to let you kiss me again, you disgust me, just seeing your face makes me sick... You know, I'd like to insult you right now, but looking at you closely, I'm sure I couldn't do it as well as nature did with you. -

I tightened his tie even more to the point where he couldn't breathe, and then I released him in the next second when I felt Alexander's hand on my waist.

Paul coughed once he was free from my grip and took a deep breath to recover. He adjusted his tie knot and looked at me without a hint of grace, but soon his gaze followed the path of my hands as I fixed the unruly strands of hair that fell over my forehead due to the physical effort I had just exerted, and he smiled as if he had realized something that I was unaware of.

- Mr. Lancaster, apparently your company is not as successful as you claim if you can't buy Sarah a ring she deserves. -

I furrowed my brow, completely confused by his words. He was bringing up that topic again for God knows where.

-Oh, no, I understand now. What you told me was a lie, you're not going to get married. -

I quickly realized what he was saying and why he mentioned more than once that I was engaged to Alexander. Alexander himself had made up that story and had hidden it from me all this time.

Paul mocked us with an amused laugh, and I felt Alexander tense up behind me.

I wasn't sure if he was going to respond to the bastard Paul, so I took a deep breath while taking Alexander's left hand and exposed it for everyone to see.

-You're wrong, Paul. Do you see this?- I pointed to the wedding ring that, surprisingly, Alexander still wore on his finger, despite being a divorced man, and Paul's laughter immediately ceased. I hoped that he would believe it was an engagement ring and shut him up once and for all. I couldn't stand him for another second.

-I proposed to Alexander. Indeed, we are getting married.- I lied without hesitation, and Paul believed it very easily.

Even though Alexander hadn't been honest with me from the beginning and I knew that he was the one hiding it from me, I wasn't going to give Paul any reason to continue mocking us. With that, I left him speechless, and Alexander seemed to relax considerably. -What a shame, Sarah. I thought you were smart. I thought you wanted your parents' company, the company that several generations have worked for. You just wasted the only opportunity you had to get it back, and you know what the condition was.-

I rolled my eyes at the memory of his outrageous condition, marrying him, but I would have to be insane to accept it, no matter how much I wanted to recover my parents' company.

Deep down, I knew that I would find a solution at some point, especially with Rachel's confession and the help of my parents. Their days were numbered and everything would return to normal.

-Why don't you just leave? Get that idea out of your head before I beat it out of you. She will never marry such a despicable creature like you. It's just a matter of time before Sarah takes back what's rightfully hers. Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll continue enjoying our family night in a peaceful environment, with the excellent view and fresh air. - Alexander spoke completely seriously and took me by the waist, guiding me back to my seat.

I gave one last disdainful look to Paul and accepted Tristan when Alexander handed him back to me, sitting him next to me as we were initially.

Paul remained standing in his place, but we ignored him when Alexander took my hands in his and gave me a long kiss, before ruffling Tristan's hair, who remained confused and didn't say a word about what was happening.

Poor Tristan, I allowed him to witness such a scene and now I was internally scolding myself for letting Paul disturb our night.

Just when I thought Paul would stand there all night, I heard his heavy footsteps hastily moving away from our table.

I glanced at the place where he had been a few seconds ago, making sure he had really left, and when I realized he was nowhere to be found, I let go of Alexander's hands to give him a stern look.

-We're getting married and I was the last to know. - I said as if it were the most casual thing in the world, suppressing the urge to tell him he was a liar, that he wasn't keeping up with our agreement to tell each other everything to avoid misunderstandings or scenes like this.

-Sarah...-

-I would have found out when I was at the altar.- I interrupted him, speaking with obvious sarcasm, and Alexander looked embarrassed as he shook his head.

-What happened on that cruise with Paul?-

-I would have found out the moment I was asked if I accept marrying Alexander Lancaster.- I interrupted him again, and he ran his hands through his hair, completely unraveling it. He was getting desperate.

-Darling, if you let me explain...

-I would have found out when they say, 'You may now kiss the bride.'- I interrupted him for the third time, and this time he silenced me when he stood up from his seat, stretching enough to reach me, taking my cheeks with one hand, and pressing his lips against mine, initiating a kiss so intense and desperate that it made me tremble in my seat, almost making me forget my own name.

-Daddy, don't eat my mommy.- Tristan's concerned and tender voice made us break apart, and I couldn't help but laugh along with Alexander at the cleverness of our son's remark.

However, I moved away slightly from Alexander because I hadn't realized that we were giving such a scene to my little angel.

Alexander looked at him with an amused smile on his face, while his hand continued to hold my face lightly.

-I'm not eating her.- Alexander responded to him in an attempt to ease his worries, and he looked at me with a conspiratorial smile on his face, before whispering near my ear.

- At least not yet. -

I opened my eyes in surprise at what he had just said, and I let go of his grip so he could go back to his seat.

-Tristan, I was giving your mother a kiss, she asked for it.-

-Alexander!- I said his name alarmed by the information he was giving our son.

-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but it's the truth. You said I could kiss the bride and that's what I did. -

I raised an eyebrow and swiftly changed the subject, leaving that topic unfinished for now, as I didn't want to give Tristan another spectacle.

-The lawyer Richman's wife disappeared.- I said, looking back at the table that was now empty.

If there was one thing that was certain, it was that Paul never stopped being a womanizer, he was just very cautious, and now he was involved with the lawyer's wife.

-Despite my little mishap with the flash and the almost insignificant confrontation that nearly ruined our night, we have a compromising photo that we can use against him, and I'm not talking about making it public. - He said, showing me the screen of his phone, revealing the image of Paul and the lawyer passionately kissing. It was clear that it was Paul and the lawyer, they were unmistakable.

-We'll show it to lawyer Richman. He's aware of all the Dubois' crimes, right? Well, with this, we can try to make him turn against Paul when he finds out he's his wife's lover. Shall we give it a try?- He asked enthusiastically with his idea, and I nodded vigorously because that's exactly what I had thought.

-Let's try.-