Totally Henpecked.

Elena looked in the mirror and smiled, the woman was pleased with her appearance. Training with her beloved husband three times a week were not in vain, although they often ended in a more intimate interaction, which David was certainly more than happy about.

The presence at the White House dinner party required an official and restrained style, so Elena decided to opt for a classic black floor dress. Her shoulders were open, her back and neckline were not deep, but, nevertheless, given the general attractiveness of the woman, even the most modest outfit attracted the views of everyone around her.

She noticed this feature from the childhood, that no matter how she dressed and whatever events she attended, she was always accompanied by the gaze of other people who wanted to get closer to her, but did not dare to take the first step.

It was as if a woman was imparting an invisible energy that captivated the subconscious of others, and people themselves did not notice it.

Now, standing in front of the mirror and looking at her reflection, Elena thought that perhaps she now knew the reason for this.

The way others often looked at her was similar to the way people around looked at her mother when Amelia and Elena went for a walk or sat in the evening in some cozy cafe. These were rare moments of the time they spent together, and Elena, as a child, easily noticed the attempts of outsiders to attract the attention of her mother.

As Lina recently told her, enormous power is transmitted in the genes of the descendants of the Teser family, and people unconsciously strive to take possession of it.

And the stronger and higher the person's status is, the stronger he feels the desire to possess this power, therefore, at such events, where there are many politicians and big businessmen; Elena needs to be especially careful.

Fortunately, David was nearby and acted as a protective shield from thirsty eyes. As Lina explained, the one who was a partner of the Teser descendant had the ability to protect a loved one without even having special skills, for this only a sincere desire was enough.

Unfortunately, history also knew the opposite situation, when the closest person turned out to be a traitor who, with his selfish decisions, started a series of events that entailed an irreversible passage of time. And this chain of events confidently strove for its logical conclusion.

A knock on the door distracted Elena from deep thoughts; the woman zipped her dress and said in a calm voice,

"Come in."

A young man in a stylish tuxedo and with a seductive smile on his face walked inside confidently, "Hey, sister, you just look like a bomb!" Nick whistled and raised his finger up, "I'm surprised that your husband does not guard your chambers as a guard dog protecting the national treasure. By the way, where is he?" The guy looked around, and to his surprise did not find a cousin in the room.

"He went downstairs, the hotel manager asked him for a meeting, but I think David will be back soon," Elena answered, fingering the chain lock. Her French manicure was not an assistant in this, since she had tried again and again to open a little lock, but everything was in vain.

"Do you want to wear this pendant? Let me help you with this, you had enough time struggling with this thing," Nick took the jewelry from the woman's hands and with light movements of his fingers, like a skilled craftsman, unfastened the chain, put the pendant on Elena's neck and buttoned it back just as easily.

"Wow, you're a pro, as I see! I've been struggling with this chain for five minutes, and couldn't do anything with it, and you dexterously coped with it from the first time," Elena praised him.

"Haha, come on, this chain just has a silly kind of lock, but you can be sure that the jewelry will never fly off your neck," Nick smiled and touched the pendant from the woman's neck with his fingers,

"What an interesting ornament it has, you know, I feel like something must be hidden in this thing."

"Do you think so too? This is my mother's pendant, but I don't remember much about it, and no matter what I do with it, I can't open it," Elena sighed.

"Well, as far as I heard stories about Amelia from Lina and Aunt Lee, your mother was an interesting person who loved riddles, so I'm sure she definitely left you some kind of clue that you haven't noticed yet," Nick let go of the jewelry and looked at Elena.

"I hope," she answered quietly and raised her eyes, their eyes met and Elena caught herself thinking that for some reason the look of this young man always evoked a feeling of warmth in her and she could look into his eyes without looking up.

"You are very beautiful today, well, I mean, you are always beautiful," the young man whispered with a smile.

"Thank-," Elena wanted to thank him for the nice words, but Nick's next sentence had taken her aback completely.

"I love you."

The woman patted her eyes, in a big surprise, somehow, their conversation went into a slightly strange direction.

"Tsk, ahaha, I meant as a sister, I love you, as a sister, calm down," Nick laughed and pinched her nose, "But you are such a cutie when you are so confused, I still want to tease you a bit more."

"You are lucky that David didn't hear what you said," Elena kicked the guy in the side and shook her head.

"And what did not I hear?" A stern male voice interrupted their solitary dialogue.

Elena did not need to turn around to know what kind of facial expression her husband had; David in his reactions to her account was too predictable.

"Oh cousin, are you already free? Eh, another ten minutes and my plan of seduction would work," Nick sighed doomly, as if he had been interrupted a second before winning,

"You know, I was trying to seduce your wife, but she is inaccessible like a rock and said she loves only you, therefore I raise the white flag and admit my defeat," the young man raised his hands up and took a step away from Elena.

"A couple more of these jokes and you'll lose a couple of teeth, cousin," David growled displeased, closing the distance between himself and Elena in two steps,

"Daniel once visited a dentist on this occasion, so don't play with the elders," the man grinned, his hand lying confidently on his wife's waist, strictly outlining the boundaries of his private property.

Nick only shook his head in response, this so-called elder was completely deprived of a sense of humor when it came to his wife, "Henpecked guy," the young man muttered, but David's ears did not miss a sarcastic comment.

"Hmm, I'll take it as a compliment. I don't mind if these sexy legs knock me down and step on top of me," the man raised Elena's hand to his lips and winked playfully, leaving a light kiss on her skin.

"Will you two let it go already, both of you, I am sick and tired of your bickering," Elena pinched David's side and embarrassed turned away, the smile on her face said the opposite.

No matter how many years have passed, the languid looks of her husband made her heart tremble like an inexperienced high school student.

David's face shone with happiness, he kissed a woman on the temple, breathing in the scent of her perfume, "My Queen, a taxi is waiting for us downstairs, will you please me to accompany you to the ball?"

Nick rolled his eyes. There were too many pink hearts flying around this couple. So he just waved his hand at the couple and went forward. Elena giggled, but joyfully put her palm in David's hand and said, "With pleasure, my King."

. . .