Chapter 4

• “A man gave it to me”
• Ugo said as she lifted the ring from where it was resting at the hollow between her breasts and admired it. She turned and looked at him with a guileless smile. “It’s beautiful isn’t it? “I noticed that you couldn’t take your eyes off it, do you think it’s real?” she smirked
• She was livid but tried to hide it. Why was he acting as if they’ve never met each other before? Why will he not hide the fact that he recognized the ring when he refused to acknowledge that they knew each other? Not once during their meal did he look at her as if they had met before. He’d looked at her with questions in his eyes, as if he was wondering who she was and how she came to have his ring. True she didn’t expect him to acknowledge her in front of everyone considering the circumstances, but there wasn’t any sign of guilt or discomfort from him, not stolen glances at her.
• The only stolen glances were at the ring, others had noticed and Alfred had commented on it. All he said was that the ring seemed unique and then asked her the stones were real. Knowing now that the ring belonged to him, she knew it was real but she had replied that it wasn’t real. She didn’t want others paying more attention to the ring. She had no idea what lies she will tell if asked where she acquired such ring.
• That was what he had wanted, to draw attention to the ring, forcing her to explain how she got it but the lady had proven smart cause once she said it wasn’t real, others had immediately lost interest on the ring. So now here they are, he’s sill pretending not to know her and Ugo wondered why? Was he afraid that she will sell her story to bloggers? As if she will admit to anyone how stupid she was.
• .”She’s goading me,”
• The thought flicked in his mind but there was no reason for this lady to do so. She wouldn’t dare even if she had a reason which she didn’t. She probably had no idea who he really is, what he stands for or what he’s capable of. He was sure she had no idea the ring was his or she would have handed it over already and would be on her knees begging for mercy. She couldn’t be intentionally provoking him as he initially thought, no, she was only flirting with him but somehow, every of her actions ignited every wrong button he has.
• He was tempted to snatch the ring off her neck but the idea of causing bruise on that delicate neck didn’t appeal to him. She has a very kissable neck and he was tempted to lean down and sniff it. When Dante found himself leaning down to follow his thought with action, he swore in anger and stood straight.
• “Whoever gave it to you stole it. The ring is mine”
• “Really, how can you claim that my ring is yours?” she mocked.
• Was she laughing at him? How dare she? His first instinct was right, she knew the ring belonged to him and she was intentionally provoking him.
• “Give it back” he barked. He has no time to waste here. However all the gorgeous lady did was laugh some more. She dared laugh at him. Nobody laughs at him, no one. Before he could stop himself, he grabbed her arm and dragged her close.
• “Do you have any idea who you are dealing with?” Dante hissed.
• He was losing control. He wanted to scare the lady but he was the one being scared. He couldn’t breath. All he wanted to do was crush her lips with his. He was going to do it. At the last minute, he shoved the lady aside and turned his back on her as he tried to regain control. No woman has affected him this way in his entire thirty-two years of life.
• No woman has ever made him lose control in anyway but this local girl in this small backwater town almost succeeded. He should leave, yes, but not without his ring. The ring was his family heirloom and he will get it back, now. He turned to her to demand for the ring again, however, her question cut him off.
• “What made you think that whoever gave me the ring stole it?” she asked
• Is she being serious right now? He had lost that ring in an accident seven years ago. It was even in the papers. So he told her so. She was probably naïve about its worth or she would have tried to pawn it. The rings could have fetched her a lot not that she would have successfully pawned it. He or his father King Henchman would have been alerted if anyone tried to pawn that ring off.
• “Are you sure Mr. Henchman?” She asked, a fake smile on her lips
• Dante had the feeling that she was toying with him but as to why she will risk life and limb to provoke him he had no idea
• “Why do you think the man stole it Mr. Dante? I mean the man could be related to you or maybe this is a different ring altogether”
• Now she’s not only mocking him, she was also calling him a liar. He had no idea what game this Ugo was playing but whatever it was, he didn’t want to play, she’s beneath him. Besides, she smelled of trouble, trouble that didn’t worth his time. He had more important things to do like finding out more about the people of Waterside. The town captured his interest while driving into it so he had every intention of exploring it. He like acquiring things, towns included and this town looked ripe for acquisition. Dante gritted his teeth and replied,
• “That’s because the ring is mine and I think you already know that. I don’t know what game you are playing but it doesn’t matter. Just give me back the ring and we won’t talk about it anymore”.
• He concluded in a menacing voice and reached for the ring, he was done playing her game. Naturally, Dante didn’t use this particular tone except when he wanted to intimidate people or wanted to be obeyed without delay. He expected Ugo to tremble in fear and quickly hand over the ring without much ado, she didn’t do that though. Instead, of handing over the ring as he expected, she beat his hand away in anger, she seemed furious. Dante was shocked, no one, no one had ever said no to him or gainsaid him for that matter. No one had dared disobeyed him especially when his voice made it clear he wouldn’t tolerate such insolence. However, Ugo treated him as if he was annoying and she couldn’t wait to get rid of him.
• Kenny’s best friend or not, this lady was cutting it close without being aware of it. He would not be disrespected no matter what and he hated wasting time. Wasting time was on Dante’s list top five things he hated and he had wasted precious time trying to pacify this lady for the sake of his fiancée. But it seemed the lady was ready to provoke and defy him. How can she be such a foolish person? Kenny was intelligent he thought, however, her best friend seemed to be ignorant even when she was pretending to be so. Enough is enough, he thought. It was time to put an end to this drama. He looked at Ugo to tell him so, but if eyes could kill, Dante would be dead considering the hatred and anger emanating from her. That gave him a pause, why does this lady hate me with such passion, he wondered.