Meet my husband

While the ball was ongoing downstairs, two men watched it happening from an interior balcony hidden by the thick dark colored drapes. Both of them leaned on the railings of the balcony. One had his back against the railings with a golden crown adorned with jewels on his head while the other had his arms on the railings, his eyes on the crowd below.

"Not bad," he commented, his glowing green eyes were on the dance floor. He watched the people dance to the cheery tunes played by the live band with laughs and smiles on their faces. The switching lights of the dance floor and the reflecting tiles also added to the people's curiosity and amazement.

"Considering the increase in the number of invited towns, the ball turned out well. Tales of your creativity and benevolence would travel far and wide, your majesty," he said to the king who took a sip from his wine glass.

His golden mask was nothing less befitting of a king and his warm brown hair fell on his forehead, covering most of the mask. He had his eyes closed as he savored the taste of the blood-red liquid.

He turned around to look at the crowd below, the color of his eyes deeper than the wine in his hand. "The success of the ball surprises even me," he stated as he watched more people enter the large hall where there was more than enough space. Their expressions were filled with wonder and curiosity.

With the sudden proposal to increase the number of the invited towns when the raffle draw had landed on him, it seemed that the members of the upper echelon were eager to see him fail and even he had assumed that the hall would look no less than a market place but he was wrong. It seemed he had underestimated the people's ability to adapt and impress.

"Will you be making your presence known?" asked the second man. His green eyes on the king.

"Who knows," the king shrugged. He took another sip out of his drink.

"Oh," Nicholas stated, turning the other man's eyes to the dance floor. "It seems our dear Alois has decided to grace us with his presence on the dance floor, Sebastian,"

"And with a very special partner at that," he added when he saw the woman he had chosen to be his partner. "She has grown to be such a pleasure to look at," Nicholas added with a smile.

"Don't get any funny thoughts, Nicholas," Sebastian warned.

"Oh, I wouldn't even dare," the king raised his hand in surrender.

Sebastian watched the woman dance with Alois, although she was far away, he could read all her expressions and he could tell that she wasn't captivated by the person in front of her.

It was a stark contrast with the expressions she had on during her first dance, it made him laugh.

His eyes moved to the two men who stood in an awkward silence. One tried to start a conversation with the other who appeared uninterested. He watched him drop the two wine glasses on an empty tray carried by a waiter before walking away from there. His eyes followed the young man as he walked through the crowd and out of the hall. He still hadn't fixed that behavior of his, Sebastian thought in his mind.

Then, his glowing green eyes swept the crowd until they fell on a particular woman. He saw her converse with her acquaintances and then bid them farewell. A smile curled up his lips as he watched her, but when he saw the man beside her, his eyes narrowed considerably. He saw her laugh at something the man said, making his eyes narrow even further and his mood darkened.

"What's wrong?" Nicholas asked when he sensed the abrupt change in his mood.

"Excuse me for a moment, your majesty," Sebastian stated, his eyes still on the woman as he stood up straight. He turned around and heard Nicholas say,

"You can't go down there so openly, Sebastian,"

"Cover me," was all he said in reply before he left the balcony.

Nicholas sighed after he left. His eyes on the woman, who made him act irrationally. "To be tied down by love, what foolishness," he shook his head before taking another sip out of his drink.

°°°

Meanwhile, down in the hall, Mya was having a conversation with one of her acquaintances and of course, Mr. Leighton forcefully joined the conversation. She bade farewell to the woman and turned to him,

"Don't you have clients to meet or family to greet?" she asked him seriously. He had been following her all night, it was mentally draining.

"I do actually, want to go greet them together?" he asked her hopefully. His tone came out like an excited child that was expecting a gift, it was so random it made Mya laugh.

Though it was nothing but a sarcastic laugh, it had Mr. Leighton in a trance, that was the first time he heard her laugh. Albeit fake, It was damn attractive, "I made you laugh, we are making some progress here," he wriggled his eyebrows which she could sense he was doing behind his mask.

"Only in your dreams, Mr. Leighton, only in your dreams," Mya said with a small smile. She turned to the crowd, they stood quite a distance from the dance floor so she couldn't see how amazing it was like she heard from the people. She was too old to dance now though, but she hoped her children were enjoying the ball.

"Hhmn?" Mya noticed a little bit of commotion behind Mr. Leighton. The people were parting, making way for a man who walked amidst them. His silver hair shone like the stars and his green eyes peered at her through his white mask.

They made eye contact and it felt like time flowed for everyone else except them.

"So, Mya, I was wondering if you would... Mya?" Mr. Leighton started but he noticed that she wasn't paying attention. He turned to see what got her attention and he saw a man walking towards them, no, he only had eyes on her.

His eyes followed the man as he walked past him and he turned back around to see him stop right beside Mya.

The man wrapped his hand protectively around Mya's waist and pulled her close to him.

"What are you doing?" she whisper-yelled at him.

Mr. Leighton stared at the man in front of him. He had an aura of gentleness around him that could make anyone follow him with just one word of his. His silver hair shone and the darkness of the hall amplified the gleam in his green eyes. The man wasn't an ordinary man, he could tell with just a look.

The man looked at Mya and then at Mr. Leighton who was staring at him, "Aren't you going to introduce me?" he asked while staring straight at him.

"Oh, perfect, Sebastian, meet Mr. Leighton, the man I got this amazing dress from, and Mr. Leighton, meet Sebastian, my lovely husband," Mya introduced them with the hope that Mr. Leighton would leave her alone after this encounter.

"So you're the man who won't leave my wife alone," Sebastian stretched his hand out for a handshake.

"So you're Mya's supposed husband, I won't say it's a pleasure to meet you," Mr. Leighton stated as he shook hands with him.

"Likewise," Sebastian replied and the both of them stared at each other, their gazes intense, they observed each other like one would an opponent, and the grip of their handshake tightened.

Mr. Leighton compared himself to the man and found that he lost in every aspect except one but he still said, "I don't like to lose, Sebastian,"

Sebastian also studied the man in front of him, honestly, he wasn't half bad. He pulled Mya closer to him and said, "You already lost, Richard," Implying that he already knew some things about him thanks to his wife.

Mr. Leighton's eyes widened and a smile curved up his lips. His eyes moved to Mya and he said, "You've been talking about me, Mya. I'm glad,"

A nerve popped in Mya's forehead, she couldn't believe he was still saying things like that. She was about to speak but Sebastian beat her to it.

"I see you're quite persistent like my wife said,"

The both of them released their grip from the handshake and returned their hands to their sides. Sebastian uncurled his hand from Mya's waist and took her hand in his, interlocking their fingers.

"Not that it will make a difference, this is goodbye, Mr, Leighton. Do enjoy the rest of the ball," he said before turning around and leaving, taking Mya with him.

Mr. Leighton's lips curved higher and higher into a smile before he broke out in laughter, "How amusing," he said with a smile. He picked up a glass of wine from a tray held by a passing waiter and walked away from there.

_

"What are you doing? You aren't supposed to be here!" Mya tried to remove her hand from Sebastian's but he kept his grip firm.

"Don't smile at any man other than me, Mya," he said and turned to face her. A deep frown had made its way to his face.

"Now you're just being unreasonable," she rolled her eyes.

"I have some other reasonable thoughts. For example, this dress," he smirked while drinking in her appearance.

"Try something here and I won't hesitate to burn you, Sebastian," Mya said with a glare.

"We both know I'll be alright," he winked at her. He looked in the direction of the interior balcony and made eye contact with Nicholas, who had his face buried in the crook of a woman's neck.

"I haven't even been gone ten minutes," he smiled and Nicholas gave him a wink in reply.

"What are you looking at?" Mya asked him.

"Dear old Nicholas," he answered.

Mya followed his line of sight but all she could see were drapes, "I don't see him,"

"You aren't supposed to," he replied, returning his attention to Mya.

"Anyways, It's been too long, they want to see you," she told him softly.

Sebastian smiled and pulled her into a warm embrace, "You're right it's about time I paid a visit. I've missed you, my dear wife,"