Page 50 of Obsessive Love (The King #1)

Chapter Forty-Nine

Sophia

W e pull up outside a large building surrounded by shiny, top-of-the-range cars and heaps of people strolling around and walking inside, each dressed to impress. The men are decked out in suits and the women on their arms are practically blinding people with the amount of sparkling jewellery they have on.

As Kaleb and Jaylen exit the front of the car, I look down at myself, noting the butterfly necklace I always wear, the bracelet that Kaleb bought me clasped around my wrist and the blinding ring on my finger and doubt seeps into my mind.

"Was I supposed to wear more extravagant accessories?" I ask, turning to Jericho beside me.

"No, of course not. Everyone here likes to be showy and flaunt their wealth, but Kaleb and I have never been like that, so no one would expect you to either," he says, clearly understanding why I asked the question. "You look perfectly fine, Sophia. I promise you."

He pats my hand resting on the seat between us and flashes me a comforting smile.

"Ready?"

I take a deep breath and then nod, painting a wide smile on my face.

He taps his knuckles against the window and then the door is being opened, and he's sliding out of his seat, motioning for me to follow along behind him.

I scoot across the leather, being careful of my dress and when I get to the door, Kaleb is there, holding his hand out for me.

I look at it in confusion and subtly shake my head.

"Take my hand, dolcezza , and let me help you out of the car. I'm a bodyguard tonight, remember? This is the sort of shit I have to do," he grumbles quietly, displeasure evident on his face.

I giggle as I place my hand into his and allow him to help me out of the car, and hand me over to Jericho who's waiting for me with an outstretched hand.

I spot Charlie, standing by himself and I frown, heading in his direction.

"Where's Jess?" I ask.

"She got a phone call on the way here and asked me to drop her off somewhere. She said she'd text you."

Jericho subtly nudges my arm, drawing my attention back to him.

"Let's get this over and done with," he mutters. I nod and take his hand, and we begin walking towards the entrance of the large building where the auction is being hosted.

"Thank God this is almost over," Kaleb groans from where he's seated beside me as the auctioneer shows the last item up for sale. "I can't sit here any longer and watch all these old, snobby bastards with their lingering stares in your direction."

"Chill out," Jericho hisses from the other side of me.

"The lingering stares aren't what's bothering me," I chime in. "It's the holes that your father has been burning into my head the whole evening that's starting to piss me off."

People start raising their hands, bidding on the ruby necklace currently showing on the screens around the room and I take advantage of them being distracted to untangle my hand from Jericho's and stretch it out.

"Are you okay?" he asks quietly, leaning into my side.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My hand's just been cramping up for the past hour because you're acting like we're glued together."

Kaleb huffs out a laugh beside me, evidently overhearing my quiet comment.

"Sorry," Jericho says, draping his arm behind me. "After how Kaleb was in the kitchen yesterday with my father and the fact that he's watching us like a hawk tonight, I thought it was best to keep our hands linked together as we're walking around. That's a coupley thing to do, right?"

"I guess so, but you do realise that couples sometimes let each other go for a few minutes, right?"

He shrugs and then checks the time on his watch before releasing a sigh.

"The only relationship I've had was with Aria, and we were inseparable. Whenever we were together, we were glued to each other, so I'm sorry."

My heart clenches and guilt swirls in my stomach.

"Don't apologise," I tell him, placing my hand on his and smiling up at him. "Honestly, it's fine. I should've said something, but I was scared to take my hand away anyway with the way Alessandro has been watching me."

He rolls his eyes and glances around the room, presumably to see where his father is.

"Yeah, he's definitely suspicious. Charlie's also texted me to say that Alessandro has asked him five times already tonight if the perimeter is still clear or if there's any sign of trouble, so I'm unsure if he's suspicious because of how Kaleb reacted last night or if he's suspicious about the Garcias not attacking us at another public event."

The auctioneer bangs his gavel, breaking through the conversation we were having.

"Sold to Mr Kaleb Rossi for eight hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds!"

Jericho and I turn to face Kaleb in shock as he stands from his chair and walks towards the front of the room.

"What the fuck?"

"People wouldn't stop bidding," Jaylen says as he slices into the duck breast on his plate. "He wants the night to be over already so he bid as well and I guess no one wanted to go up against him."

Jericho huffs and shakes his head.

"You see what I mean when I told you he was impulsive?" he mumbles.

I watch as Kaleb shakes hands with the auctioneer and then ushers him off the stage before walking over to the microphone on the wooden podium.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming to the yearly Rossi auction. It's been an absolute pleasure. Now, if you don't mind, let's start clearing the floor so that the recent bride and groom can share a dance before the night ends."

I gape at him, along with half of the room and when his gaze scans the multiple people still sitting in their seats, he scowls at them and taps his finger against the microphone.

"I don't see people moving," he says, his voice booming across the room. "I'm going to assume that you're all either deaf, or the microphone wasn't working because I know that you wouldn't be blatantly ignoring me."

In an instant, people hop out of their chairs, and some of them even help the staff from the venue move the tables and chairs to clear a space on the makeshift dancefloor.

"Much better," he says, smiling at everyone in the room. "Thank you again."

He chuckles as he leaves the stage and walks back towards our table. When he sees me watching him, he winks in my direction.

Jericho clears his throat and stands beside me, holding out his hand.

"I guess this is our cue to dance together."