The man who entered the room made a direct beeline towards Thalen. He was a beautiful man with shiny, emerald-green hair, who smiled towards him without even acknowledging me. Thalen stood up to greet him, offering a simple, familiar hug and a warm welcome.
"Thalen, you came early. Rani will be here to assist you shortly." He gestured for Thalen to sit down and swiftly disappeared behind the door before Thalen could say another word.
It was apparent that he did not care for me, but only for Thalen. I stared at the door with menacing eyes until I heard a light chuckle.
"You think it's funny? What are you, anyway, King of this land or something that they all keep fawning over you? No more of your cheesy answers." I snapped, crossing my arms, turning over, refusing to meet his gaze.
I felt his body press against me from the back as she scooped me securely into his arms and pulled me close. The lectus was not very wide, so he secured me, making sure I wouldn't fall off.
"Something like that, but it's not important. Don't worry about him, he's a busy man." He looked at me with his teasing grin while I lay there pissed from the dismissive treatment I had just received.
"You wouldn't see people treat customers like that in my world. It's not like this place in Chanii, the luxurious brand or something." I grumbled under my breath.
"As long as I treat you well, why do you need others, Ivy? Am I not enough?" Thalen joked, enjoying every second of my misery.
Before I could reply, I heard the loud flapping of wings as a beautiful, majestic-looking white bird flew through the door. It was a gorgeous peahen. It then promptly transformed into an equally attractive woman, breathtakingly beautiful, almost unreal. Her lashes and brows were also white, as if she had had all the colour stripped from her.
"Master Thalen, it's good to see you back here again for our services. May I know what I can offer you?" The woman, Rani, batted her long lashes seductively towards Thalen with a voice that dripped with honey.
I could not take my eyes off her, but Thalen's intense gaze was focused solely on me, not faltering for a single second. He still seemed to be waiting for an answer from me, and did not give Rani a single ounce of attention.
"Thalen.. I think she's taking to you." I nudge at him lightly and point towards Rani.
"I would like to get a couple of different clothes measured and made for my mate." He said flatly to Rani, still not taking his eyes away from me.
"For your mate?"Rani's voice shook with unacceptance. "Master Thalen, you bonded with a female?" Rani was in shock. I was unsure if she knew that the mate was me.
Thalen was visibly ticked off now by the repeated questions, "Get the fabrics for me now and get a measuring tool. Shop asking unnecessary questions!" He snapped at her.
Rani flushed a painful red. She was visibly holding back tears in sheer embarrassment. She looked up to see me nestled securely between his arms, as if she had finally realised my existence. Her eyes instantly tightened, glaring at me with pure envy.
Even wearing such a distasteful expression, she looked beautiful. I couldn't take my eyes off her, but to her, it seemed as if my lingering stare was me challenging her. She flicked her thick, shiny hair with a single strike and went to collect a measuring tool. I watched her as she strutted away. The way her hips swayed was undeniably mesmerising.
So, it's not as if there are no beauties in this world... I can see that beauty seems to be obsessed with Thalen... so why did he choose me? Even I am distracted by her, but Thalen does not even seem to care.
My look lingered on her figure, my eyes tracking every single curve. I gulped with every movement she made. Her allure was strong enough to even distract women.
Thalen suddenly grabbed my chin with a gentle grip and firmly pulled my gaze away from Rani and onto his face, "Now, now." He murmured, making sure he had my attention now, "If you continue to look at another person in that manner, I may become angry. Trust me, it's not that good when I get angry."
Rani quickly came back, holding a rope to measure me. She stood close, her daring eyes fixed on me. The anger in her was hidden behind those captivating eyes, but it was as if a woman's intuition was telling me that it was filled with hatred. Being so used to seeing those eyes even back in my world, I scoffed, but Thalen was oblivious to this.
"Stand up so I can measure you," Rani ordered me, her voice sharp in a deliberate, demeaning tone.
Getting irritated by the second, I push Thalen off me and sit up, "I injured my leg, you will have to do it while I sit down." I pointed towards my bandaged leg.
Rani did not like the way I spoke to her and let out a smug smirk, looking at my leg. It was unmistakable that she herself was not used to being ordered around. With the way Rani was acting, Thalen began to catch on and stared at her, observing to ensure she was doing her job accordingly.
Rani completely misinterpreted Thalen's meticulously surveying look, thinking he had finally noticed her and was staring at her beauty. She delicately tucked a single strand of stray white hair behind her ear and fluttered her lashes at Thalen. I rolled my eyes and was on the verge of gagging, seeing the way Rani was acting.
"What is your name?" Thalen asked, his voice lacking friendliness. Rani, who was too infatuated, completely failed to realise the growing tension in his voice.
"Oh... we have actually met before." The flush of deep red across her pale face contrasted with her appearance, making it more apparent, "My name is Rani." She mumbled in a soft, embarrassed voice. I could not help but feel a rush of pleasure watching the women who scorned me for no reason.
"Hurry up then," I urged her, "I thought you were going to measure me? I don't want to sit in this room longer than I have to." The smell of the room was still strong and overpowering. My nose couldn't adjust to it at all.
Snapping back to the task at the sound of my authoritative voice, she gripped tightly onto my arm, clawing in with her long, sharp nails. She deliberately pulled on my arm aggressively and used the rope to measure it.
"Ow, loosen that grip!" I winced from the pain and pulled away, rubbing the spot where her nails had left a bruised red mark.
"I just held your arm. How can you be so weak?" Rani scoffed, her voice full of disdain, as if I dared to complain about the slightest pain.
In a flash, before I could even come up with a rebuttal, Thalen was suddenly sitting up. His massive hands locked on Rani's small and delicate neck. His finger gripped around it, trembling, making sure he did not kill her but at the same time make her suffer. He lifted her from the ground as her legs started kicking and shaking in sheer fright.
I gasped in shock as I saw it unfold before my eyes. The fear paralysed my whole body, leaving me speechless.
Rani winced, trying to make any sound she could, gripping her hands around Thalen's fingers and trying to pry them away.
As the soft wimpers and frantic choking started to get louder, Rani's face began to turn blue. I finally jolted myself out of my frozen state and placed my hand on his arm.
"Thalen. Drop the girl. Let her go." I commanded him, but could not hide my shaky voice. I tightened my grip as I looked at him, hoping he would listen. The fear was unable to escape my eyes, "You are scaring me."
Thalen was unable to hear me in the midst of his rage, but he could feel the little tremors on his arm from my hand, causing his gaze to shift back to me. I tried to play the brave girl who was calm and collected, but he saw right through it.
Seeing me through his rage, his face immediately softened. He opened his grip, dropping Rani roughly onto the floor, and instantly cupped my face with the same hand.
I gulped.
"I won't hurt you, Ivy," Thalen reassured me, his voice full of consideration. He had no pity whatsoever for Rani, who had now started to cry out loud and was frantically coughing on the floor.
In return for the grip marks on my arm, which had already faded away, he had left a lasting mark of his fingers around Rani's neck. The red and purple bruise stood out on her pale, white skin, making it look a lot worse than it was.
Feeling a slight pity for the sorry state she was in, lying on the floor, I tried to look at her neck to see if I could help, but she aggressively pushed me away.
"Get away from me!" she spat out a split second of anger before she pulled back. Thalen was glaring at her behind me, reminding her not to make the same mistake again.
The green-haired man, who had left the room before, barged into the room. Seeing the scene, he looked at Rani with a worried face. He wanted to check if she was fine, but the intense aura coming from Thalen as he glared at Rani caused him to pause.