PRETTY LITTLE THIEF

Aiden grinned triumphantly, then pressed a kiss on her hands. "Excellent!".

"Mrs Wells", he grinned mischievously trying to vex poor Red. And he succeeded, because she eyed him with pure resentment. Red was still trying to wrap her head around what she had just agreed to,was this going to mark the beginning of her downfall?,had she just crumpled to defeat so easily?.

"I'm going back downstairs, until the party is over before we can talk terms, and finalise our agreement", He said business-like, as he picked up his discarded jacket and necktie, preparing himself to go back out.

Just then his body guard appeared at the door, as if on cue. The tall, hefty looking man she had seen earlier on with Mr Wells. He kept a straight unreadable face, waiting for his orders.

" Joe, you will escort the miss to a room, a secured one. We won't want her leaving us so soon", Aiden spoke without looking at the bodyguard's direction, his head lifted up, as he adjusted his necktie and collar.

"But first, you will accompany us downstairs, we have guests we need to say hello to".

"Wait, what?!" Red blurted out, "why?!"

"I mean, we're going to be making alot of public appearance, and I mean alot", he turned to her direction adjust the sliver watch on his hand, his head now lowered, concentrating on the watch adorning his wrist. "We might as well start now, you know, give the people something to talk about".

"We didn't discuss this, we didn't agree on starting now!". She cried out.

"Actually, we didn't agree on when we would commence, but part of the deal is; you agree to my terms, and may I remind you that you're not really in any position to refuse" He extended his hand. "The heirloom, if you please", a dull facial expression on his face.

Red eyed the jewelry in her clutch,she was so so close to accomplishing her mission, now this. Reluctantly,she handed him the jewelry.

"Good girl", he smiled, handing the jewelry over to his bodyguard. "Secure this first".

Joe nodded, collecting the jewelry and exiting the room. 

"Now, when we go downstairs, you'll need to smile, be happy, like I'm not holding you hostage".

"In a way,you are", she answered him dryly, and he gave a small smile that quickly disappeared as he continued speaking.

"You smile and nod, keep conversations to a minimum, for the time being. You're only to make a brief appearance by my side. I don't usually have dates on such events,so this should give them something to talk about, for now", He addressed her quickly, checking the time on his watch.

"You'll be by my side, so I can keep a close eye on you. Remember, I have eyes watching you throughout, so don't try anything stupid. We will try to act as...friendly and familiar as possible with each other, so people can see how fond we are of one another, I doubt that will be a problem", he smirked.

Joe returned, waiting by the door to escort them out. Aiden lowered his head to whisper in her ear.

"And in the future, from now henceforth, don't talk about the contract so lightly and openly in front of anyone, even my security. This stays just between the two us". 

Red nodded.

"Shall we?", He positioned his arm out for Red to hold, she looked hesitantly at it. 

"What about my mask?"

"You won't be needing it habi, the whole point of making appearance together tonight is for them to see the beautiful, enchanting and mysterious woman by my side".

Red was hardly nervous, because she never had to interact with much people before. But if she was being completely honest with herself, she was nervous and petrified as hell right now. Not only was she to interact with the rest of the guests, but she had to make her first, ever official appearance in the high-class society, in the arms of Mr Aiden Asghar Wells!.

She was shark bait on a rod.

She took his arm as they quietly exit the room, with Joe quietly walking a few steps behind them.

"Smile love", he reminded her, "you're about to be the main highlight of today's event". He smirked wickedly, enjoying every bit of this game he was playing.

"You're worse than people say, a devil", she said behind gritted teeth. " You're willing to go this far, to fool people, even fake a marriage to get what you want".

"love, I'm not faking anything if we're actually getting married", he smiled a ruthless smile.

Her eyes darkened with murderous intent at his sentence. "You're a smug, arrogant man. You're no better than that drunk fool that tried to hit me".

Aiden raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flickering across his face. "Ah, I see". His voice dripping with sarcasm.

"So, I'm smug and arrogant huh?, that's rich coming from a thief. And as for being no better than that nincompoop, at least I'm not a coward who preys on and tries to force myself on defenseless women".

Aiden lowered his voice, dropping to a low tone. "Don't think for a second that saving you from that simpleton earned me brownie points. I did it because it was convenient, not because I'm some kind of hero".

"Brownie points?"

He smiled a wry smile at her curious question and explained. "They are like imaginary points for doing something good and commendable. So, meaning I didn't intervene for glorification or to get rewarded, I intervened because it was the right thing to do". 

....

They approached the stairs and began descending down, the sound of classical music, clicking of champagne glasses and conversations could be heard as they approached the hall.

"With everything happening, I don't even know your name", Aiden said in a quiet laugh.

Red had completely forgotten that too. She thought about saying Red but no, everyone In the underworld knew her with Red. She had to keep this whole thing as discreet as possible. So, her underground name was out of the options, plus it wasn't actually a real name.

She thought of making up another name, but it might implicate her further and complicate the situation. If he discovered she was lying, it could have serious consequences. Additionally, she might need to provide proof of her real name for the contract signing, which would reveal her deception.

The very few people that knew her by her real name were either long dead or she was dead to them, completely erased from their memories, many years ago. 

"Isabelle", she whispered quietly, as if scared to hear her own name again. "My name is Isabelle Aisling".

He placed his free hand on hers, rubbing her hand softly, he titled his head, slightly to hers and spoke in a soft, gentle voice.

"You can call me Aiden, Isabelle".

And with that they made their way through the hall.