Shameless Man

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The day started like every other normal day for Aelia. Waking up at a set time, taking a bath, having breakfast with her family, then seeing her brothers and dad off when they went to work. She would sometimes leave the manor as well, with her mother, and visit new spots in the city or even the old ones. Today, she and the Grand Duke had made plans to pick clothes for their upcoming engagement. She first strolled around the city with her mother, Aelia had promised the Marchioness that she would take her to a new cafe which had just opened. Soon, the two were joined by the Grand Duke and her mother then took her leave.

"Enjoy the day, the weather is really great so make the most of it!" The Marchioness gave her farewells and then left in her carriage.

Aelia waved her goodbye and then took Ezekiel's arm.

"Shall we?"

The man smiled down at her, giving her a nod. They quickly arrived at a boutique known for the best dresses in the land. It was a busy day with many people bustling about here and there. The shop itself was filled with ladies, some with their maids and some with their husbands, fiancés, friends, etc. It was really a popular place and was often full of people.

"Are you sure you want to pay?" The lady looked up at the male who was escorting her.

"Yes, do not worry, Aelia. Whatever you covet will be what you receive." Ezekiel took a hold of her hand and gave it a slight peck, leaving her flustered.

Her expression soon turned dark and she seemed uncomfortable as she spotted someone in the crowd. Javier. He was with the woman from that night. Aelia swallowed, trying to ignore it and hide her feelings but Ezekiel noticed and scanned the area to see why she would have such a reaction. The man quickly spotted the reason and nervously glanced back at the lady besides him. She seemed to have recovered and was now diverting her attention towards the multitude of dresses around her. The owner of the boutique was hovering around the two, as the Grand Duke was in her shop, of course. Aelia was successful in focusing on something else and soon she had shortlisted eight dresses from which she would choose only two. One for the day and one for the night.

"Okay, I'll go try them on one by one. You have to choose the two which you like the most, okay?" She turned towards Ezekiel, giving him a smile, before following the owner towards the fitting room where she was then helped into the first dress.

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Ezekiel had simply nodded and then waited patiently outside for the lady. The man was a bit uncomfortable knowing that his fiancée-to-be's past lover was in the same space. At that moment, he silently cursed himself for not reserving the whole boutqiue for the day. Available only for him and her. Ezekiel's thoughts were cut short as his breath was taken away as soon as he saw Aelia walk out. The dress was a beautiful shade of light purple with intricate lace accentuating her pretty grey eyes. He was mesmerised as his eyes followed her as she walked towards him, the dress seemed as if it was shining.

The man was soon brought back to earth as she called out to him. "What do you think of this one?"

"It's perfect." Ezekiel blurted out suddenly before clearing his throat. "Ahem, anything would look good on you anyways.." He added, trying to seem cool but he was not fooling anyone. It was clear he was absolutely smitten.

Aelia only gave him a small smile, her eyes falling on the couple she had seen once before. She was hiding her despondence but Ezekiel could tell. He was upset, but did not show it on the outside. He knew that it would be hard for her to move on, considering the feelings she had for him. She was even waiting to marry Javier! So, he wanted to understand Aelia. But his heart was too stubborn and still felt jealous despite knowing the situation. He even felt sad. Sad because she wasn't having such feelings for him but for a man who didn't even love her. Shaking his head clear of thoughts, he then focused on the other seven dresses she came out in. For each dress, he was pleasantly surprised as each time she came out, she looked even more

beautiful.

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"Okay, now choose." Aelia left Ezekiel with the hard decision.

He, however, took the easy way out. "We will take them all."

"W-What?!" The lady's jaw dropped whilst the shop-owner looked extremely pleased.

"Very well, your grace! I'll pack these right away!!" The woman then happily left with all eight dresses, leaving the couple to go back and forth about the cost and amount of clothes.

"Ezekiel! You really do not have to..."

"But you looked so pretty in them all.. I couldn't help myself. Just take it as a gift from me, okay?" The Grand Duke gave her a soft smile.

She was unable to refuse further so she gave in. The clothes had been boxed and given to the footmen who took the packages to the carriage.

"Shall we take our leave?" Ezekiel asked her, with his arm out.

Aelia chuckled softly then took his arm, "We shall."

As they were just about to leave, they came face-to-face with Javier and Hadly. The man gave a scoff, his face turning into an unpleasant expression while the woman looked uncomfortable.

"Well, well, if it isn't the 'little' lady of House Perez." Javier rolled his eyes at her, showing no respect for the Marquess's daughter.

This ticked off Ezekiel and he glared at the other man. "Your status is less than hers, how dare you address her as such and give her such glances."

The man had just noticed the figure besides the lady and seemed taken aback. Javier was then forced to greet the man with the proper formalities, "I greet your grace the Grand Duke of South..." with a hand on his chest as he bowed slightly.

The woman besides him also did the same and looked up at the other shyly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, your grace."

"The same cannot be said for you. This is my fiancée-to-be. The engagement party will be held soon and it is the talk of the town that such plans are being made. How dare you ignore Lady Aelia and treat her as such?" The Grand Duke remained hostile towards the couple who seemed to be retreating.

"S-Sorry your grace.." Hadly gave in and kept her head down.

"It is not me who you should be sorry to but Aelia." Ezekiel scoffed and rolled his eyes, annoyed at how these two were acting.

Hadley turned towards Aelia and was about to apologise before being interrupted by Javier. "There's no need to apologise to her." He emphasised on 'her' acting as though Aelia was someone unworthy of respect.

This ticked off the Grand Duke and he put his hand on the grip of his sword, keeping his hostile glare on the man. This look and action alone forced Javier to shut up and the two had to apologise with their heads down to Aelia, then the two left hurriedly as they were embarrassed. All the while, Aelia was a bystander who just watched what went on and was hit with a sudden realisation. 'I really cannot do anything on my own.. I need to have the power higher than or equal to a Grand Duke to be able to make them cower in fear. It's not fair..' Small tears welled in her eyes as she blinked them back, not wanting to cry in front of Ezekiel. But of course, nothing leaves the Grand Duke's sight and a soft sigh was heard from him before he put an arm around her.

His voice which was hostile before was now gentle and soothing as he caressed her shoulder with his thumb, "Let's go home, okay?"

She stifled a sob, feeling comforted by him, "Y-Yea.." Aelia then kept her mouth shut in fear that she might end up crying out loud.

As the two sat in the carriage he whispered, "You can cry in front of me. I won't say a thing, I'll pretend it never happened."

Feeling so cared and loved for by someone who wasn't family, she burst into tears. While she sniffled and hiccuped, Ezekiel made a promise to himself in his mind to ruin Javier for the pain he inflicted on her. Throughout the ride back to the Perez manor, there was a silence in the atmosphere. But it was comforting for Aelia. As they neared her house, her tears were wiped away by Ezekiel.

"There, there. We are nearly home." He kept her cheek in his palm as he stroked it with his thumb, giving her a gentle smile.

Aelia cracked a smile, for some reason he made her feel better and she was grateful for that. They were soon at the manor and he helped her out.

As she got off, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for today."

He was left speechless and motionless, his ears had turned red and Aelia noticed. She suppressed a laugh but was unable to as she let out a chuckle. The woman then gently put out a hand towards his face and stroked his cheek. "See you."

"Yea, see you."

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