The mate of his nanny

Chapter 137: Keeping Up Appearances

Moana

Edrick showed so much affection for me when he realized that I was freezing up in front of the paparazzi, and without a moment of hesitation, he shielded me from the cameras with his body to hide my vulnerability and ushered me inside. Once we were safely inside, he led me over to a table and left me there while he got me some water.

Even though I was still stunned by all of the shouting and the flashing cameras, I couldn't deny the fact that my heart felt full of love for the man who always cared so deeply about me.
While I waited for him, I began to calm down a bit and take in my surroundings. The inside of the building was a beautiful old concert hall with round tables scattered around, an art deco ceiling, and an ornate wooden stage at the front.

There was a microphone and a stool sitting on the stage, and it made me realize that there must be a live show tonight. I hoped it was a comedian; I needed to laugh.

But as I sat, I still couldn't help but notice that people were talking about me. I could hear their whispers and their snickers, and as I looked around, I realized that there were many sets of eyes on me, watching me like hawks circling their prey. It almost seemed as though they were suspicious of me, as if I would steal something or cause some trouble. All I could do was stare down at my lap and wait for Edrick to return.

As soon as he returned, he put his arm around me once again. The people whispering about me immediately stopped as soon as they saw him, which made me feel safe once more.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

Edrick merely nodded. "Let me know if you need another," he said. He seemed so nonchalant, but I could tell from the way that his jaw was clenched that he was annoyed about something, and the way that he held me tightly was almost territorial. Maybe he noticed that people were staring, too, and wanted to show them that he would be here to protect me if they tried to say or do anything nasty.

Not long later, waiters dressed in black and white uniforms came around and started taking people's orders. There was a limited menu, but each meal was extremely luxurious and decadent. I ordered pasta with clams, and when it came out I was awed by how fragrant and full of flavor the meal was. I had never eaten such exquisite foods in my life; sure, Sophia tried her best to give us a wide variety of foods to try, but we never had the money for food like this.

As I glanced around at all of the other women who hardly even touched their meals, I felt culture shocked. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that there were people who were so used to this that they didn't even want to eat the food, and I decided then and there that no matter how much Edrick spoiled me, I would never let myself forget what it was like to go hungry as a child.

Once the meals came out, the lights dimmed so that the only light in the room aside from the spotlight on the stage were the flickering candles at each table. Then, someone came out on stage to announce the show for the night: a celebrity comedian.

While we ate, the comedian performed his show and made Edrick and I laugh together. It was so funny that I quickly forgot about how scared I was before, and soon I felt as though it was just Edrick and I there, enjoying a show together while we had dinner. In fact, with the way that Edrick sat right next to me with either his hand or his leg touching me at all times, I really did feel like a real couple on a night out.

And at one point, I glanced over at him to see him laughing loudly at one of the comedian's jokes. He was even more handsome when he was happy. I loved the way his eyes squeezed shut and the way that he tilted his head back when he laughed, and it made me smile even more. During those moments, I thought that I could see him laugh like that forever and I'd be happy.

After the show, the lights came back on and people began to stand.

"Is the event over already?" I asked.

Edrick shook his head. "Not for a while yet," he replied, sounding a little disappointed. "Now we'll have to mingle. It's important for appearances."

I swallowed and nodded, feeling nervous as we stood, but Edrick held his arm out for me. As I looped my hand through his arm and followed him around while he chatted with people, however, I could tell that their smiles were fake and that they kept giving me side glances — especially the women. I felt instantly judged and out of place, and as the time went on, I felt more and more uncomfortable despite being right beside Edrick.

However, I quickly learned to put on a fake smile like the rest of them, and tuned out all of the boring conversations and instead busied myself with looking at all of the beautiful artwork and reliefs carved into the walls and ceiling. Even if events like this would always contain a lot of boring chatter between businesspeople, I couldn't help but think that I was at least lucky to enjoy so much beautiful and historic artwork.

But I also noticed that many of the other wives seemed to be mingling together and talking, and not a single one of them invited me to chat, which honestly hurt quite a bit.

At one point, I needed to use the restroom. I excused myself while Edrick was having a lengthy conversation with one of his business partners about market fluctuations or some other boring business topic, and made my way over to the restrooms.

The restrooms were located down a small hallway, which offered a bit of reprieve from the noise of the event. I let out a small sigh as I walked up to the door and put my hand out to open it.

But I stopped when I heard laughter and voices inside.

"How ridiculous!" I heard a woman say. "Who wears green eyeshadow to an event like this?"
Another woman laughed loudly. "Maybe she got too busy playing with her mommy's makeup before the event."

Then, a third woman: "No, darling. She's an orphan. Don't you know?"

The other women gasped in unison. "Edrick Morgan is planning on marrying not only a human, but an orphan, too? I always thought that there was something wrong with him. Surely a man like that being single for this long has some sort of strange fetish or another."

My eyes widened as I listened to their conversation. I could handle people talking poorly about me, as it was something that I had grown used to as a human in a world dominated by werewolves... But to say something so nasty about Edrick made my blood boil.

Maybe I should have just walked away, but I was too stubborn. I couldn't stop myself from pushing the door open.