Chapter 21: The mysterious lady
"Relax your shoulders; you are too anxious," Jayden leaned close to Vanessa's ear to whisper. His warm breath on her ears sent a ticklish sensation jolting through her body, calming her nerves.
"Sorry, I can't match up your dancing skills," Vanessa replied in a low tone audible only to the two of them. If not for the fact that Jayden deliberately slowed down his steps, she would have made a joke of herself. She was not planning to join a dance the moment they arrived, and the fact that so many eyes were on them just made her nervous. She had stepped on Jayden's shoes a few times already, but he was able to cover it up and hadn't complained. Her dancing skills were obviously not great because she could count the number of times she had to dance at public events.
"It is okay you don't have to be perfect at everything, just relax and follow the music, take a deep breath to calm your nerves. Relax your shoulders and stop staring at your feet; you are too anxious. It's when you are being too careful that you end up making mistakes," he whispered in a low tone with his charming baritone voice. He had to get Vanessa to relax.
"Ignore the stares; none of them matters right now, stop looking sideways; it makes you seem like a scared rabbit."
"Then where should I look; I am not tall enough to look over your shoulders," Vanessa complained. She was not short, but in front of Jayden, she seemed so little.
Jayden chuckled at her cute reaction, "why are you laughing; it is not funny that you are this tall. Didn't anyone ever complain about your height? It's like you are towering over everyone. Why were men made to be way taller than women? It makes you guys seem so domineering, and I don't like it." Vanessa was annoyed at Jayden for laughing at her. If, it was even more annoying than even the way he laughed was different and more majestic.
"Stop acting all nervous, looking around, and look straight at my face; that's how it's meant to be," Jayden instructed in a commanding tone that made Vanessa feel compelled to answer him. She raised her face to stare straight at his face, which was towering over her. The moment her violet eyes locked with his hazel eyes, everything seemed to have stopped. Jayden smiled at her.
"Now just stare at me and forget all about them," he instructed her once again. He was happy she was more relaxed and was not missing her steps again.
They danced gracefully and perfectly afterward. Soon the music stopped, and there was a round of applause. Vanessa let out a breath of relief that it was all over. Jayden and Vanessa's hands were still linked, and Jayden was staring down at her with a gentle gaze. Their act was so perfect; you would never guess it was an act.
"Jayjay, are you not going to introduce me to this beautiful lady who you have been eating candies with all night? You don't have to attack the singles like me so much," Miles's playful voice teased Jayden. When the music ended, he left his partner, who was disappointed that Miles left her. She was hoping they could have a few conversations together. Unknown to her, Miles asked her to dance with him just so that he could have a closer eye on his friend.
Miles was truly impressed by Jayden's chemistry with his date. It looked so natural that if he was not aware that they were not dating, he would have thought that they had some special relationship between themselves. He must acknowledge Jayden's acting skills. He was glad that Jayden was not a playboy like him; if not, he would have been more notorious than his infamous self.
Jayden realized what Miles was doing; he was sure most people were already dying of curiosity to know Lilac's identity. So Miles took the first step to validate the plan.
"Lilac, this is my friend Miles. Miles, meet my girlfriend Lilac." Jayden coolly introduced them. Miles was impressed at how Jayden could easily lie without an ounce of remorse. The way he called Lilac his girlfriend seemed like the most natural thing to him.
Miles took a slight bow and placed a kiss on Lilac's hand, acting very chivalrous, "it is an honor to meet you, Lilac. Such a lovely name; it suits you perfectly because you are as beautiful as a bloomed Lilac, showing its beautiful purple petals." Lilac blushed at Miles's behavior; Jayden's friend was such a flirt and very handsome too, with his cheeky smile. He had a sweet mouth, comparing her to a flower.
"The pleasure is mine, Miles. It is nice to also meet you," Lilac beamed. "If you are done flirting, I think it is time we head to our seats; the dance floor is already cleared." Jayden's voice snapped at Miles for his flirty behavior. Was it every girl he would show his charms to? He rolled his eyes, obviously displeased at Miles's behavior.
Miles chuckled, but he had already achieved what he wanted. He was sure people were eavesdropping on their conversations, and Jayden's mother had already gotten the message he wanted to send. The reason he acted as if he had no idea who Lilac was was not only to make Jayden pronounce he was his girlfriend, but also to protect himself in case they were caught or any unexpected drama happened.
"Okay, since that is the case, let us go together since our assigned tables are in the area." Miles offered. Since the Vinci gala was the Rossi's family event, their table was in front of the hall, close to the stage. While Miles, being an heir of a major family in the immortals clan and also a family friend to the. Host family, the table was situated around the same area.
The hall arrangements were done in a way the immortalis clan members and other guest seats were mixed up together so that they can blend in. Although the immortalis stood out of the crowd because of their looks, the other invited guests were not too far behind because most rich people paid extra attention to how they looked.
As Jayden and Lilac, who is Vanessa, were heading to their table, Alessia's eyes were locked on them trying to figure out what Jayden was up to. She did not want to believe they were really dating because even though she wanted to create an alliance between the families to gather support. She was not evil enough to separate her son from someone he truly loved. She had been observing Jayden's body language, and it looked like they really cared for each other. There was no way Jayden would want to put up an act just to fool her, right? She wondered; her thoughts were trying to figure out what was going on.
Even though she had some doubts on her mind, it did not make her fail to beam a lovely smile at her son's arrival. She was genuinely happy that Jayden came, even though it was not exactly what she planned. Her hazel eyes were glittering as she smiled. She and Jayden had the same hazel eyes, which were a perfect blend of green, gold, and silver, a rare sight indeed.
"Jayden, I am glad you could make it," she called out when Jayden arrived at the table. "I agreed to come, so I had to attend," Jayden replied to his mother with a polite smile.
"But you were already over an hour late, so I thought maybe this boy decided to ignore the invitation again," Alessia retorted with a playful tone, remembering several occasions she had invited this son of hers, and he decided not to show up. Jayden let out a nervous laugh; he understood The message his mother was trying to pass on.
Jayden and Lilac were already seated at the table. "Good evening, ma'am and sir," Vanessa greeted nervously, referring to Alessia and another young man who was silently seated at the table. He was Jayden's elder brother, who was responsible for The Vinci company. Vanessa did not know much about social etiquette, so she was in a difficult situation. After all, she was just a tier one rental girlfriend.
Not to be rude, Alessia and Jayden's elder brother responded to her greeting in a formal way, since they were not familiar with the lady Jayden brought with himself.
"Alessia and Lorenzo, this is my girlfriend Lilac. Lilac, this is my sister Alessia and brother Lorenzo," Jayden finally introduced Lilac after they had both settled down on their seats. He introduced Alessia as his sister because it would be strange if his mother looked like a young lady in her twenties.
Lorenzo was calmly sipping his wine when Jayden introduced Lilac; he was not in the mood to talk, so he just silently drank his wine while staring at Lilac. He found it strange even though he was sure he had not seen this lady anywhere before; her face looked very familiar, especially those violet eyes which he was sure were not real but yet, there was something off about her eyes. Since he could not pinpoint what it was exactly, he turned his attention back to the stage, where the MC was anchoring the event. He was not fond of public events, but he had to attend since he decided to take over the company, and this was a critical milestone for the company
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone