Chapter 18

So I reached for the most expensive dress in the collection, a dream of brocade and the silk was embroidered with pearls and silvery threads forming a delicate flower pattern.

"Those are swarowski threads," the shop owner said. That explained the price.

"I think your groom will be pleased with your choice."

Then she knew him better than I did as Fu Shao was as much as stranger to me till today as he had been almost three years ago.

Our wedding would be held in the vast gardens of the Great Black Hall mansion in the W city.

Everyone was already abuzz with the preparations. I hadn't set foot into the mansion yet or even the premises yet, but my mother kept me up-to-date, not that I'd asked her to.

The moment my family had arrived in B country a few hours ago, my sisters and I had huddled together in our suite in the Troika Hotel in B City. As the Master Fu had suggested we live in one of the many rooms in the mansion until the wedding in five days, but my father had declined.

Three years of tentative cooperation and they still didn't trust each other. So I was glad as I didn't want to set foot into the mansion until I force too.

Father had agreed to let me share a suite with Qina and Qinli, so he and mother had a suite for themselves.

Of course, our bodyguard was stationed in front of every of the three doors to our suite.

"Do we really have to attend the bridal shower tomorrow?" Qina asked, her bare legs swung over the backrest of the sofa.

While Qina provoked with her words, Qinli used her body for that. She'd turned 13 years old in last months.

As a little girl, she had used her tentative curves to get a rise out of everyone around us. She looked like the teen model.

So only her hair was a bit lighter and she didn't have a gap between her front teeth.

It worried me. I knew it was her way of rebelling against the gilded cage that was our life, but while Father's soldiers regarded her flirting with amusement, there were others out there that would love to misunderstand it.

"Of course, we have to," Qina muttered.

"Big sister is the happy bride, remember?"

Qinli snorted.

"Sure."

She sat up abruptly.

"I'm bored. Let's go shopping."

As Martial Zhen wasn't enthused about the suggestion, even with another of my father's bodyguards at his side, he claimed it was almost impossible to keep us under control.

Eventually he relented as he always did.

We were shopping in a store that sold sexy lsay outfits that Qinli had desperately wanted to try on when I got a message from Fu Shao.

It was the first time he'd contacted me directly and for a long time I could only stare at my screen.

Qina then peered over my shoulder in the dressing room.

"Meet me at your hotel at six. Your Fiance."

. How nice of him to ask.

"What does he want?" I whispered.

All I'd hoped now I wouldn't have to see him until, the day of our wedding.

"Only one way to find out," Qina said, checking her reflection.

As I was nervous that I hadn't seen him in a very long time. So I smoothed my hair down, then straightened my shirt. Qina had convinced me to wear the tight navy skinny jeans that I'd bought today.

Now I wondered if something that drew less attention to my body might have been better. So I still had fifteen minutes before he wanted to meet me but I didn't even know where yet.