Chapter 5 :

Aaron's POV:

I had no idea what in the fucking hell I was doing at the dinner party of Ambrose Frostford. Only my father urged me to accompany him, saying that it was some sort of business meeting along with a dinner party. No doubt, many well-known businessmen could be seen around the lawn but no one was interested in business at all. Everyone's main priority was the wine and chicks. What a fucking waste of time.

I couldn't help but feel disappointed in dad. I have told him thousands of times that I was not yet ready to get married. If anything, marriage was the last thing on my mind. There were so many milestones to achieve, too much money to make, and too much power to gain. Who was the fool enough to make marriage the first priority when he had such a long journey to cover?

So, there was nothing much that I could do at that match-making party. That's why I focused on the only thing that could help me get along with the night. Yeah, the lavish Scotch.

I was on my third drink when a girl out of nowhere stepped in front of me. She gave me the pouty smile and batted her fake eyelashes to catch my attention. Her scent was so strong that I wanted to puke right there on her tiny, shimmery dress. I didn't know how she expected me to react to her fake charm but she for sure looked disappointed at my lack of reaction.

She cleared her throat and I raised my eyebrows in question. She lifted her glass higher for me to clink it. Bringing my glass up to my mouth, I gulped down its contents in one motion. A flash of rage passed across her features but she soon recovered herself. Of course, she wasn't allowed to show her true self at such an event. In order to bag a rich and successful man, she must behave like a sophisticated and elegant lady of the night.

Tossing me a thin-lipped smile she sauntered off to catch some other prey. I shook my head at the absurd fact that these people were there finding a true life partner when they themselves were drowning in fakeness from head to toe.

Just when I was about to take another sip, dad stopped beside me. He was agitated and I raised my eyebrow to inquire about the reason. In a low voice, he reprimanded, "What the hell are you doing, Aaron?"

I raised my glass, "Drinking, I guess?"

His nostrils flared, "Don't you know what kind of party it is?"

I shrugged innocently, "As far as I can remember, you told me it's a simple dinner party."

He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, "Okay, I get it. I should have told you that it was The Chosen party."

Now that he was on the track, I too was ready to confront him. In a stern tone, I said, "Yes, you should have."

"But would you have come here had I told you that?"

I swirled the contents of the glass and replied nonchalantly, "Of course, not. But if you would have mentioned then it would have saved me from wasting my time by coming here."

Words rushed out of his mouth impatiently, "Just look around. There are so many beautiful and intelligent girls, Aaron. All of them belong to elite families. Absolutely best match for you."

I glanced around boringly, "Can you please point out who is beautiful and who is intelligent because I surely can't?" Bringing my attention back to him, I voiced honestly, "Sorry, dad, but if you think that the tons of make-up makes someone beautiful and knowing the right sentences to seduce the men makes anyone intelligent, then we are not in the same boat."

I could sense that his patience was wearing thin, "Then what kind of girl do you want as your wife?"

Now, it was my turn to feel agitated, "You don't need to care about any of that. I have told you millions of times that I have no plans to get married. I am only 30 and there is still so much to achieve. Marriage can wait. I am not even sure whether I would ever get married or not"

He opened his mouth to argue further but clamped it shut after realizing that I would not buy his shit at any cost.

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It has only been half an hour and I was already done with all this glam. Anywhere my sight would land, I would see women in tiny dresses, dripping make-up, and men, trying to get into their pants. I shook my head at the sight and turned around in the search of another glass of whiskey. Right at that moment, my eyes grazed towards the entrance.

I saw a girl making an appearance at the party and everyone made a beeline for her. She had a height that made her confident, a face that didn't need any makeup, and a body that didn't need 4 inches of dresses to look attractive. She was the only girl with the least revealing dress and yet she stole all the limelight of the evening.

Not often does it happen that I would be mesmerized by the beauty of any girl but at that moment, my heart did skip a beat and I accused alcohol of that. I was popular as the man who changed girls as one changed clothes so after having enough share of girls in my bed, I was not the one to be swayed that easily. But this girl...damn, she was different.

And the funny thing was, it wasn't her beauty that struck me. It was her mysterious smile. She was wearing a mask, the mask invisible to everyone else. To people, she appeared confident with her straight shoulders but it was obvious to my eyes how fragile she was behind all that facade. All that mysterious haze around her made me want to peel away her layers slowly to find out what was hiding underneath.

Suddenly realizing that I was staring at her too hard, I immediately shook my head. I was not supposed to react to any girl's charm in that way, I never had.

I saw Mr. and Mrs. Frostford slowly making their way toward her and it registered in my mind that she must be their daughter. I rolled my eyes at the revelation that maybe, after all, she was just like all the other girls present at the party; desperate to strike a business deal with anyone having heavy pockets. I gulped down the whiskey and felt my head getting heavier and heavier. I needed to be somewhere quiet and alone so that I could get hold of my dwindling wits.

I turned around and had only taken two steps when I stopped dead in my track. Slowly, painfully slowly, I turned around and my eyes narrowed as the realization clicked in my mind. She was the same girl I met earlier in the day. The one who barged into my car. I was a bit stunned at the coincidence and cursed under my breath before turning back. I really needed to get the hell out of there.

With heavy steps, I moved to the end of the lawn and saw a path leading to somewhere quiet. I started walking and saw that it led to the backside of the villa. In one corner, I saw the gazebo. Striding toward it, I felt little relief as it was both quiet and vacant.

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