18 "I am throwing a party tomorrow, to officially introduce you to the world as my wife" Derek informed her over dinner and Kathleen almost choked on her meal, a party for her? Does he really wish to introduce her as his wife to the whole world? A party means the press will pick it up and all those his ladies might be present, does it really matter? He would be introducing her but she would not think much about it, She preferred her low-key life, she loves being anonymous, she doesn't want to be dragged into his limelight, Derek was staring at her, " what do you think?" He asked in-between bits, it was the first time he was having dinner at home since their marriage and he must admit, it felt good. Kathleen shrugged, putting down her spoon, " I don't like it" she stated and for a moment he looked confused, he thought she would be happy, every woman wanted to associate with him, why was she always different? " What do you mean by you don't like it?" " I don't want to be dragged into your limelight as just another lover under the disguise of a wife". Derek brow furrowed, " where the hell are you getting all your suggestions from, the disguise of a wife?" "Why do you suddenly want public awareness of our marriage?" Derek opened his mouth and close it, he was at loss for words to say, she was staring at him patiently waiting for his answer. "I.....I....it will be good for my image" he managed at last "What image? Of being a ladies' man?" Derek's eyes darkened at her words, "must everything be an issue with you? You are the most difficult woman I've ever seen" Kathleen's eyes blazed, "I won't allow you to treat me like a toy, not ever". Derek looked taken aback at her outburst, "what do you mean treat you like a toy? What does introducing my wife have to do with the treatment of a toy?" "It has everything to do with it" she countered immediately, "you'll throw a party, parade me as the queen of your life for everyone to see, and then what after the party, you'll go back to your playboy life and I'll be portrayed in a pitiful light to everyone as the heartbroken wife, no Derek, I won't participate in your show" Derek clenched his teeth, "you'll have to, you have no choice" "I won't" she declared and rose to walk away but his next words stopped her. "I won't be a loser in this sham of a marriage, you have what you want, my name, and I'll have what I want also" he grounded out, throwing down his napkin, he stomp off. Kathleen felt his words pierced her heart, he still considered their marriage a sham, nothing had changed for him, a loser, he had said as if it was a game, if that was how he wanted it, she would oblige him and attend the party, she had to fulfill their agreement, she had asked for his name and he would give her nothing more than that, she doesn't have to be so delusional every time. Derek walked into the room and hit the shower immediately, still pissed at her, she compared herself to being a toy? He hadn't seen her that way, she had always and only seen him as nothing more than a good for nothing playboy, if only she knew he had started avoiding women since he married her, he hadn't even had sex since their marriage but she chose to see him as a scoundrel, and damn, it pisses him off each time she used the word "playboy" on him, he wondered if he will ever get redeemed in her sight. He came out of the shower to see her in the room looking pale, he knew his words had hurt her but damn it, he was hurt too, she was staring at him when he entered, "do you also wish to take your due of consummation?" Her tone was sarcastic, "due of consummation?" Derek asked carefully, although, he understood what she meant but he just can't get his head completely around it. "Yea, so as not to become a complete loser in our marriage, you'll gain everything including my body" Derek was lost for words for a moment as he stared at her as if she had suddenly grown wings, his eyes narrowed as he took deliberate steps towards her, he would teach her not to be so smart with him. Kathleen's eyes widened for a moment as her heart skipped a beat, he had an unfathomable look in his eyes that she unconsciously took two steps backward, perhaps she had said too much for she immediately regretted her words and wished she could take it back. "You should have just said you need me to make love to you" he whispered into her ears, Kathleen was trapped between him and the wall, she looked like a cornered deer and him the predator, "I would much oblige, I am always ready to answer the call of any lady, howbeit, such a pretty lady as you". Kathleen was furious, he was comparing her with those his lovers, she pushed against him but he didn't bulge "Why madam, don't you want my service anymore?" He trailed a finger on her cheek and down her chest towards her breast and she was aghast when her body promptly responded to his touch, what was wrong with her? His eyes narrowed at her reaction as her nipples suddenly grew hard beneath her cloth, his body responded immediately but he quickly masked his reaction, "Your body says yes, it craves this lover boy greatly, why are you denying it it's right? I can give it to you real good, you just might be sweeter than my numerous lovers" he paused for a heartbeat before adding, "or less" Tears rolled down Kathleen's cheeks, he was deliberately hurting her with his words, she pushed harder against him and he withdrew, his eyes cold, "don't play with fire Kath, you might get burned" he carried the extra blanket with pillow and simply walked out of the room. * * Kathleen heard the arrival of the guests as she sat in front of the dresser, she wasn't in a hurry to meet them, in fact, she don't feel like meeting them at all, to her husband it was just a show, each time she thought he had feelings for her, he had always ended up disappointing her, she won't let herself be hopeful towards him, he can never change, he enjoyed his game too much to change, she stared at herself in the mirror, when had her life turned out to be such a mess? She had dreams then, of finishing college, then getting married to a gentleman who would love and cherish her every moment of her life, but those dreams were first shattered by Dave for she hadn't even been able to finish her college, she had run away from the devil's messenger to marry the devil himself, who sees women as a plaything, her face looked a bit pale, she applied a little make-up to enhance her color before applying red lipstick, she was wearing a black shiny gown which did well to compliment her complexion, making her big brown eyes more pronounced and noticeable. she turned towards the door as she heard know and Mary entered, "wow, you look super beautiful" "I don't feel that way Mary, I don't feel like meeting all those people" Mary frowned at her words, "why? This party was organized for you with so much love" Kathleen scoffed, " so much love indeed" Mary took an exasperated breath, " I don't know why you find it difficult to believe that your husband loves you, why would he do such if he doesn't? I've known him for long and believe me when I say he has feelings for you too" Kathleen shook her head, " that was what I thought but he always proves me wrong, so I won't believe it anymore, I appreciate your concern but trust me when I say he doesn't have feelings for me". Mary shook her head, she had never seen such a set of stubborn people, it was obvious that they both loved each other but have refused to acknowledge their feelings, she sighed, changing the topic, hopefully, they would realize their feelings soon, it would be good to see both of them happy. "I was asked to call you" she informed Kathleen, who looked once more into the mirror, she nodded once before following Mary downstairs. "Ladies and gentlemen, here comes my beautiful wife, the woman who stole my heart completely" Derek introduced as she came down the stairs, the guests turned towards her direction, clapping and whistling, Kathleen blushed, she felt like running back upstairs but she gritted her teeth and continued her journey down, Derek walked up to her and put his arms around her, he placed his mouth close to her ears and whispered, "smile". Kathleen looked at him for a moment, her eyes shooting daggers at him before turning back to the guests and forcing a smile, the guests soon walked up to them, one after the other, congratulating them. A young business Baron walked up to them, his gaze never leaving Kathleen and Derek wasn't pleased with how he was staring at his wife, "thanks for coming" Derek told him curtly hoping to dismiss him before he even gets to where he and Kathleen were standing, his eyes left Kathleen for a minute to look at Derek, he shook his hands, "congratulations" immediately he turned his eyes back on Kathleen, "I am Stefan by name and I must say, your wife is beautiful" he sounded awestruck and Derek felt like punching his face but he managed to hold himself in check. "I know and I am so glad she's my wife" he pronounced the word wife with such a possessiveness that Kathleen looked at him, wondering what was wrong with him, she brought her hand to shake Stefan's hand but instead of a handshake, he grabbed her hand and brushed his lips on the back of her hands, Kathleen lushed and quickly removed her hand from his grasp, he hid a smile, " dance with me later" without waiting for a response, he walked back to join the party. Kathleen glanced at Derek, he was looking at her with angry pair of eyes, his face clouded, " what?" She whispered innocently " You are not dancing with him" he gritted. What was that she saw, was he actually jealous? She smiled secretly, Derek was jealous of another man wanting to dance with her, that would be payback for forcing this party on her. she feigned innocent as she stared at him wide-eyed, " I thought this was supposed to be my party, I'll dance with whoever I want". His eyes narrowed on her, "I warned you not to play with fire..." "Or I'll get burned" Kathleen finished the statement for him, they stared at each other, eyes sparkling with emotions, what they feel for each other but refused to acknowledge could be seen in that stare. "Am I interrupting something?" A lady said and they both turned towards the voice. Derek stilled at the sight of who was standing before them and Kathleen frowned, she had seen this face before, she was the one in the papers with Derek, his first love, what was she doing here? Did Derek invite her? "Congratulations to the both of you" Christine smiled and Derek's face grew hard, "what the hell are you doing here?"