He nodded at something the man said and tightened his hold on me. “I know. But you’ll have to stay in my clutch, whether you like it or not. Think of it as your punishment for wearing this ridiculous dress. You should be happy I’m not pulling every man’s eyes out of their sockets in this room for staring at something that’s mine.” His words came out as a hiss as he murmured in my ear.

I shook my head at him. “You’re a crazy man.Do you know that, Achilles Valencian?”

Holding my gaze, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “Oh, you have no idea.”

Something flipped inside me at the emotion that flashed across his eyes. It was unknown to me. The more time we were spending with each other, he was opening up to me. He showed me his emotions, his state of mind. But I always felt there was still something I didn’t know. Something he hid deep inside. He held himself back every time he was around me. As if hiding a vast part of him. And this emotion that just washed over his eyes, it was a glimpse of that side he kept a secret from me.

I couldn’t comprehend the emotion his gaze held. Whatever it was, it was profound enough to send a shiver down my spine.

Our gazes broke away from each other at the voice of Mr. Hakimi as he invited us to join them in the entertainment room. And I was surprised to see they especially organized a belly dance in our honor. Though I didn’t like those stunning beauties in their provocative dance attires, I was excited to behold the famous traditional dance.

Traditionally, their costumes weren’t that revealing, but on foreign lands, things tend to change a bit. Because it had become one of the most popular dance practices among folks.

The dance started once we took our respective seats. Me, of course, beside Ace, while Arthur enjoyed the show with Mr. Hakimi and others. Between the dazzling dance and enticing Arabic music, I kept glancing at Ace from time to time to see if his eyes were watching more than the dance. But he was too busy playing with my hair and taking a whiff every once in a while. He didn’t even pay any attention to the show.

To my utter surprise, I didn’t mind him doing that. I was happy he wasn’t looking at those beautiful dancers. Even at that witch, who glared at me from afar, watching Ace’s attention on me.

An involuntary smirk tugged at my lips as my eyes locked with hers. Her facial features only twisted more.

As soon as I realized what I was doing, I looked away and concentrated on the dance.

What’s wrong with me? I shouldn’t be behaving like a jealous girlfriend.