My eyes immediately traverse across to the other women in the ballroom and most of them are wearing diamonds at par with the Duchess and Celia. I’m grateful for my own earrings purchased earlier this morning at a whopping amount in my ire-induced shopping spree. I didn’t even blink twice before buying the three-karat rose-gold and diamond teardrop earrings.

But no matter how much money I spent, all of it seems like a blip compared to the wealth Damien is used to. I grimace before finally asking Gabe the one question that has been bothering me ever since he confirmed that this house belongs to Damien.

“How rich is he?” I whisper. We are about four people away from Damien now and he hasn’t seen me yet.

“Whatever you’ve known of his wealth, multiply that by ten,” he says with a straight face, looking forward.

My mouth opens in a big O as a staggering amount comes to my mind.  Touching the base of my throat, I ponder through what Gabe has so casually announced. I thought I knew my husband’s finances. I thought I knew all his bank accounts. And now to hear there is so much wealth he hasn’t told me about. I simply cannot come to terms with this.

And then Gabe says, “Now multiply that number by another ten and that my dear will be the wealth of the Duke of Kittridge. Your husband is probably one of the richest men in England now, maybe even Europe.”

My jaw falls to the floor and I stop midstride causing Gabe to pause as well. He turns to me, giving me a straight look. I squint at him, unable to believe what I’ve heard from him, but Gabe nods as if understanding my unvoiced question.

“Bloody hell,” I whisper after a few seconds have passed and my mind has finally accepted what I have just learnt.

Leading us forward again, Gabe continues, “The Kittridge family has been the pioneer in real estate land deals since the turn of the century and hence, they now have vast holdings of commercial and residential properties in their portfolio—many of them in England’s premier locations. And now Damien owns it all.”

I gulp in a breath, my mind sifting through all I just learnt. My Internet research showed that Damien’s family owns Annette & Co. They are diamond merchants and own some of the most exclusive jewelry stores across the world. Their jewelry is commissioned by royalty and worn by Hollywood stars at red carpet events. It was started by his great great grandfather and named after the man’s wife. Today, if Harry Winston is the number one jeweler in the world, then Annette & Co. is a close second. But I never imagined more of this staggering amount of wealth.

Gabe laughs at my stunned expression. “Impressed much?” he asks me.

I make a face at him.