~ Fake Smiles

|| 𝕰𝖕𝖎𝖘𝖔𝖉𝖊 26: 𝕱𝖆𝖐𝖊 𝕾𝖒𝖎𝖑𝖊𝖘 ||

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"𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑," 𝐍𝐘𝐗 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 as she turned to face the man who was the reason for most of her miseries.

She walked towards him, hugging him for the sake of media and then, bearing the kiss he planted on her forehead. She wanted to do nothing more than wash her face of his dirty kiss.

Astrid and her mother retreated to the background, all the attention on the ultimate Knight father-daughter duo. The angelic Astrid was now seething with hate because not only had she stolen her father's attention, she had dared to come with Noah to this ball. The fact that they wore matching outfits infuriated her but she hid her anger behind the smile plastered on her face.

She was going to have her revenge - starting from today.

"You both look amazing, Mr and Miss Knight. Now, we are eager to know as to when will Miss Knight be taking over the company? From what we have heard and seen, she is more than qualified to do so!" one of the press people asked.

Nyx tried to not let her smile falter. This wasn't the question or even the situation she was ready for. Her answer was a 'no' because she didn't want to be the rich brat who just inherited all her father's hard work. She wanted something to call her own.

"Very soon. We will be starting the process and now that she has been involved in the business of the company and has been able to secure the best of the deals, I am more than eager to retire to hand her down to the company. With her sister, Astrid, of course." her father replies.

Astrid's eyes twinkled in response and Nyx mentally groaned at the mere thought of her working with that bastard child.

"But don't you think that Miss Celeste is more than capable of handling the business? She is the face of the Knight clan and well.... Miss Astrid has done nothing notable in the business world. So are you handing the business out to her just because she is your daughter?" another media personnel asked.

She could feel her father tense beside her and was very well aware that the question had angered her. Not wanting her father to pull something off that he might regret in the future, she took charge.

"Astrid is still learning. We are aware that she is not much social but we need a brain to run the company too. She is welcome to claim her place as she likes but that will be of her choice. Also, the board will decide on the matters of who owns what and how much of the company. So, I am sure that this topic will be discussed in the future." she replies.

That seemed to shut them up.

"Mr. Knight, what about the young man accompanying your daughter? Have you approved of her dating him?" another personnel asks.

Oh, God. Shut them already.

That lead to her father acknowledging Zion's presence as her date. Nyx was sure that he didn't know his face - let alone his name. So, she had to jump in again.

"My father is very supportive of my dating life. He respects my decisions and as long as I don't get hurt in the end, he is fine with it. I am sure that will be all for the evening. Thank you all." she replies as she grabs Zion's hand and takes her bid from the media and most importantly, her father.

The sounds of media personnel yelling more questions at her still rang in her ears as she walked past all of them. The fact that she couldn't run away and had to walk gracefully while smiling at all of them irritated her. But this is the price you need to pay for fame.

When they finally entered the hall, she breathed out a sigh. It was absolute chaos out there.

She felt Zion's hand on her waist and turned to find him looking around the hall with awe. She knew that he would be surprised with all of this decoration and shameless display of wealth because he had spent most of his life belonging to the middle class.

What she wanted him to remember is that all this wealth meant nothing if you didn't have a home to come back to. You are wasting your life if you don't have a reason to live it.

The decorations were too much for her liking. Red and pink roses decorated the walls. An enormous chandelier hung at the top, the light dancing on its sharp glass pieces. Waiters walked with trays filled with wine glasses. It wasn't out of ordinary for her since she had practically grown up in such an environment.

"You should close your mouth before a fly finds its way inside it," she teased Zion.

But he was long gone. The place was too majestic for him and for once, he dreamt of having a place like this to call his own. He imagined the fountains that would adore the garden, the beautiful paintings he would buy, and how he would come home to all this grandeur. To Celeste.

The mansion intimidated him since he knew that he would have to now, work a lot. Celeste was a Queen who deserved all the riches in the world. If he had to be worthy of her, he needed to treat her like the Queen she is. So, mansions like these came with such an ambition.

Zion's attention drifted back to the Goddess standing right beside him. He knew that the moment they had walked in, all the eyes were on them. Or her, more specifically. After all, how can he ever outshine the diamond Celeste was?

But then he realized something from moments ago. Something that made him question if his Queen was hiding something from him. So, with a serious expression on his face, he turned to her.

"What was Astrid doing with your father?" he asked.

And Nyx's frown dropped instantly.

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