The huge hall was filled with many different kinds of personalities like politicians, celebrities and businessmen. Samantha was nervous but seeing that they were not given much attention when they entered, she relaxed a bit. With a smile on his face, Gael was glad when he saw her breathe a sigh of relief. "See? You"re blending right in."
Nodding, Samantha tried to look around to see if she knew someone. She scanned the entire hall from left to right and front to back. And if she could, she would have probably already jumped up and down just to check if there was a familiar face. Obviously, someone whose name starts with a D and ends with an L. But no matter where she looked, she did not see him.
Her heart sank from the realization that he was not there though she really wanted to see him. But a part of her was also thankful that he was not there... because if he was, she did not know how he would react when he"ll see her with Gael. They rarely had misunderstandings as they have always been honest with each other. So if they would have one now, who knows what will happen?
"Your eyes are so busy that it makes you look like you don"t want to be here," Gael commented with a grin as he handed her a gla.s.s of drink. They were by the stage where live entertainment was running.
Samantha was apologetic when she looked at him, guilty that indeed she was apprehensive about being there. She waved her hand to decline the drink, "I don"t drink."
"It"s pineapple ginger sparkler," he replied. Gael already a.s.sumed that she was not going to drink alcohol — he had observed her when they had dinner together that one time.
Receiving the gla.s.s from him, Samantha took a sip to sample and was surprised at how fresh and spicy it tasted. "Oh, this is good!" She remarked, forming a smile on her face.
Gael smiled as they clinked their gla.s.ses and the two of them enjoyed the performance on the stage whilst occasionally chatting about some of the extravagant performances that he had watched before.
"Mr. De Luca, I"m so glad that you could make it!" A man called him from the side. He was middle aged and had two other men with him as they approached the pair.
"Mr. He, it"s nice to see you again. With the invitation that you sent, I would not dare miss this." Gael shook hands with the middle aged man.
Noticing Samantha next to Gael, Mr. He tilted his head to her direction. "Is this your wife?" He mused.
Samantha stood straight up and looked at Gael, wondering how he would handle the situation. Though it wasn"t very obvious, he noticed the panic in her eyes. He smiled inwardly by the thought of her being with him but he brushed the idea off right away.
Placing a hand lightly on the small of her back, he introduced her. "Unfortunately no," he chuckled.
"I"m not married yet. This is my friend, Samantha." Gesturing his hand to the man, he added, "This is the host for tonight"s Gala Mr. He."
Samantha nodded and smiled as she extended her hand to shake hands. "It"s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. He."
After exchanging small pleasantries, the men started talking about business, making Samantha feel out of place. However, she stood there obediently though her feet had already started to ache.
After some time, Gael caught sight of her just standing there so he leaned in and whispered, "Why don"t you go and get some food for yourself? Or you can find a place to sit over there. Talking to these old geezers is going to take a while."
Samantha nodded in response and was thankful that he did not forget about her that night. "I need to go to the restroom too."
"I"ll find you later," he said before Samantha excused herself from the group.
Finally out of the room, she looked for the restroom and found it at the end of the hallway. She wanted to quickly check on Ashton after relieving herself so she hastily washed her hands and went out in just a few minutes.
The hallway was empty with just ample lighting. She casually strode towards where the elevators were but just as she pa.s.sed by a dimly lit corner, a hand suddenly reached and grabbed her wrist, pulling her into a dark and empty corridor. Samantha let out squel as her heart beat rapidly, surprised by the attack.
The man who pulled her pushed her to the wall and without delay, he smashed his lips to hers, shutting her up. Everything happened so fast in just a matter of seconds that she did not have time to shout for help as her mouth had already been a.s.saulted by a stranger.
Samantha whimpered and tried to fight for her freedom but the man was just too strong that she was not able to do anything. He continued to kiss her and pressed his body to hers, trapping her within his territory as if he was trying to savor every inch of Samantha"s body.
She was so surprised as she strived that she felt like her heart was about to leap out of her chest but her struggle slowed down until she started kissing him back, allowing his tongue to have access.
Noticing that she was no longer attempting to push him away, he let go of her wrists. He snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her towards him while the other cupped her face.
Samantha kissed him while her heart ached and drummed in her chest. The emotions that she had buried inside of her came cras.h.i.+ng down, making her vulnerable that he allowed the man to touch her all over. She was so weak that he had to hold her up to keep her steady in his warm embrace.
Deepening their kiss, she pulled him closer and hooked her arms around his neck. The kiss went on for what seemed like forever until the two of them became breathless. They were both not willing to let go but he had to pull back.
The man"s dark expression was evident as he stared into her longing eyes. He clenched his jaw as his chest heaved up in down in sync with hers before he found his words. "How dare you appear in front of me with another man?"
Her mouth trembled and her eyes watered until a tear escaped. "Daniel…" She called the gorgeous man in front of her.
His gaze turned gentle and the corners of his mouth tugged upwards as he looked at his woman, "h.e.l.lo, my love."
Samantha pounced on his embrace right away, not daring to hold back. As if she had forgotten everything else, she succ.u.mbed to her wishes and hugged him as tight as she could.