The 70th birthday banquet of the patriarch of the richest family in City C, one of the richest families in the world, was surprisingly low-key. Every person was dressed to excess. Even the wait staff were wearing full tuxedos and floor-length ball gowns. The guest list was small, family, business partners of the family, and old family friends with their children and grandchildren. Still, over a hundred people circulated in the banquet hall, laughing and talking as they caught up on gossip or business.
Zaria tried to keep her eyes from popping out of her head as she looked at all the beautiful people dressed in their best. Her dress, which seemed so magical less than an hour before, now made her feel like she might be the most under dressed in the room. Gu Cheng smiled encouragingly at her before guiding her toward the center of the room where Gu Heping was holding court.
"Ah Cheng! Little Zaria!" The old man broke off his conversation with a distinguished looking gentleman with a neat goatie to great them.
"Happy Birthday, Grandpa," Zaria said with a smile after Gu Cheng finished his own greetings. "May your future be bright and full of happiness."
"It is much brighter with you in it, my dear." He returned her smile and then gestured to the gentleman next to her. "Director Wei, you know my grandson, and this is my granddaughter in law, Joseph Zaria."
Zaria snuck a glance at Gu Cheng as she shook the gentleman's hand, but he just smiled slightly at her and gave his own greetings. The four of them made small talk until Gu Cheng excused them to go and greet the rest of his family.
"Mr Gu-" She whispered to Gu Cheng urgently.
Gu Cheng interrupted her with an innocent expression as he introduced her uncles and aunts, cousins, and finally, his mother and father.
"Ah! My daughter-in-law is so beautiful," his mother gushed, rushing forward to hug the startled young woman. "I saw the picture posted in the family group, but it didn't do you justice!"
Zaria glared at Gu Cheng as she hesitantly returned the hug, mouthing "What is going on here?" to him. He conveniently turned his head so he wouldn't have to answer and began to talk to his father.
The older woman pulled back and looked at her closely, a large smile on her face. "That son of mine, he likes everything to be a secret. If father-in-law had not shared the picture he took with you, I still wouldn't know! How can we plan a wedding if I don't know things like this! Oh, your babies are going to be so beautiful!"
Zaria was passed among the different family members, her head spinning trying to keep up with all the names and her apparent status as her boss' future wife. After a while, she ended up being passed to Chiu Leong, who escorted her to a seat at the side of the room when he saw her dazed expression. He was there with his own grandfather, an old and close friend of Gu Heping. They chatted comfortably for a few minutes until Director Chiu was called away by his grandfather, leaving Zaria alone and , luckily, for the moment, forgotten by the Gu family.
A pair of dark eyes followed her movements across the room, a hint of jealousy in them when his old friend helped her to a seat and kept her company. Gu Cheng pulled his attention away to catch what his mother was saying. "What an awful son! You never even told me you were dating anyone! I look like the mother-in-law who is ignoring her son's wife!"
"Mom, she isn't my wife yet. We aren't even dating yet. I was trying to open her up to it slowly. She is a very cautious person." Gu Cheng glared toward his grandfather, who waved happily back from within his clump of well wishers.
"Oh no," his mother exclaimed, her hand over her mouth. "This is why you need to call me more! What do I do? Did I scare her away? Am I not getting a daughter now?"
"No, she will be my wife," Gu Cheng stated confidently. "I will apologize to her later...."
His voice trailed off, his eyes back on the small figure across the room. A slim figure was sprawled in the chair next to her, a lecherous grin on his face as he talked to the polite girl next to him. "Who is that?"
His mother followed his gaze, frowning when she saw who was sitting next to Zaria. "That's the nephew of your uncle's wife. I didn't know he was in town..."
Gu Cheng's eyes narrowed as the young man waved over a server and took glasses of mixed drinks. Zaria waved her hands, declining the drink, but after a moment, she smiled politely and nodded as she accepted the glass and took a sip.
"Ah Cheng, where are you going?" His mother called after him as he started across the floor.
"She is not allowed to drink," he answered without turning around. As he approached, he saw her finish the glass, her expression going gloomier at whatever the young man was saying to her. Gu Cheng quickened his pace when he saw the young man leaning in intimately. Memories of his own experience with a drunk Zaria surged through his mind. If Zaria tried to cling onto the other man in front of everyone...
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Ahead of him, Zaria stood suddenly, causing the young man to jerk backward. She said something with a scowl on her face, her spine stiff and arms tight against her sides. He stood up and grabbed her arm.
"I have a room upstairs. Let's go and talk about this."
"I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't like you," Zaria hissed, trying to pull her wrist away. A large hand reached around her, squeezing hard on the other man's wrist until he let go of her arm.
"Agh, who the hell - " The young man cut off his words abruptly when he noticed who was squeezing his wrist. Gu Cheng towered over him, the anger in his eyes scaring away any words that might have followed.
"Who told you that you could touch my woman," Gu Cheng growled out, throwing the other man's hand to the side. He turned to console Zaria, but she was glaring at the young man, almost vibrating with anger.
"I don't like you," she said to him clearly before turning to Gu Cheng. Her hand reached out smoothly and pinched the sleeve of his suit jacket. "I want to go home now." Her eyes were slightly unfocused, and a pout was on her lips. Gu Cheng blinked slowly. Her actions, her words? She was definitely drunk again, but it was so different from the last time. He moved her hand down into his to see if she would object, but she just looked down toward the ground and gracefully walked beside him as they left the building. Gu Cheng led her back to his car, helping her into the passenger seat and leaning the chair back so that she would be more comfortable before leaning across to connect her seatbelt.
"I told you that you are not allowed to have alcohol," he admonished her as he started the car and steered it toward home.
"I didn't have alcohol," she argued primly. "I told him that I don't want alcohol so he got me some fruit juice. I didn't like him. He kept trying to get me to go up to his room."
Gu Cheng fought back against the fury that was blurring his thoughts once more. He opened his mouth to apologize to her for leaving her alone, but the words died in his throat when he felt a small hand tentatively rubbing his forearm. His eyes crept to the side, but they snapped back to watch the road when he saw the heat in her eyes.
"I don't want to go to anyone else's room." She smiled coquettishly. "Gu Cheng, why did you tell everyone that I am your wife?"
He cleared his throat. "I told Grandpa that I wanted you to be my wife one day. He told everyone else."
There was no answer, and he risked a glance to the side again. Zaria's eyes were closed, her lips parted below rosy cheeks. "Zaria?" He called out, not noticing that her fingers were sliding off of his forearm until they landed limply on his leg. The air left his lungs, and he squeezed the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. It took a moment to gather himself enough that he could remove her hand where it innocently lay. "I am glad you are only like this with me when you are drunk. I would have killed him if you touched him like this."
The air in the cabin was hot and thick, but by the time they arrived back at the apartment building, he was in control of his body once more. Zaria woke up enough to follow him inside, albeit while leaning heavily against his arm. In the elevator, her head began to rub against his forearm, and he was almost certain he heard her purr just like a little kitten. The doors slid open, and he guided her to the right toward her apartment, but she stopped and tugged his arm to go the other direction.
"I want to go to your place," she said softly, her eyes focused on his lips. His mouth went dry, and he could only watch as she stood up on her tip toes to kiss his chin. "You are too tall," she complained cutely, tugging at his lapels until he lowered his head so she could kiss his lips. Her tongue flicked across his lower lip before biting it gently. " I want to go to your place," she repeated from beneath lowered lids. Gu Cheng did not remember walking to his door or entering the keycode, and his shoes were barely off before he was pushed against the wall as his jacket was unbuttoned frantically.
"Zaria," he groaned, grabbing her hands and holding onto them with his own. "You are drunk."
"Not anymore, my mind feels clearer than it has for a long time."
He shuddered and held her hands tightly in front of him. "You need to stop, or I won't be able to stop before something happens."
Warm brown eyes captured his and held on while she dipped her head down and kissed his fingers gently. "And what will happen if I don't?" A small pink tongue flicked out and caught one of his knuckles.
Her hands were released, and she was free for only a second before two strong arms picked her up and crushed her against a hard chest. Her arms slid around his neck to steady herself as his lips crashed against hers. They stumbled toward the bedroom where he put her feet back on the floor again so that his hands could wander as hers were already doing, fingers splayed across her back and running along her spine. She shivered and moaned beneath his lips, and his tongue took advantage of the gap between her lips and darted inside. Their moans melted together as her hands fumbled with the buttons of his shirt.
Gu Cheng pulled his lips away, trailing them down her neck, lightly biting and sucking on the skin along the way as he tried to remove the strap holding up the front of her dress. The hooks at the neck of her dress twisted in his hands, and he stood up so that he could lean over and see them better, hesitant to rip the dress that looked so beautiful on her. One hook came free, but then her neck pulled to the side as her body tilted in his arms, pulling the other hooks from his fingers. His lips dropped to her neck and shoulder again, caught up in her smell and taste. It took a moment to notice that she was no longer responding.
Gu Cheng pulled back and looked at the woman lying limply against his arms. The quiet sound of breathing pushed out from between her lips, now completely devoid of the light pink lipstick they were covered with at the beginning of the evening. Her eyelashes rested against her cheeks, and she rubbed her face against his arm as though she were snuggling into a pillow. Somehow, in spite of her own frantic motions and moans full of pleasure just moments before, the (apparently still very ) drunk Zaria Joseph had fallen asleep.