The Lunar Curse: A Second Chance With Alpha Draven - Chapter 314

Chapter 314: Finally Done Pouting
Meredith.

Draven’s gaze fixed on mine instantly. It was steadfast and warm—yet I saw the smirk forming at Dennis’s lips when he noticed my expression.

“Well, well,” he drawled, folding his arms like he had all the time in the world.

“You look disappointed, Meredith. Don’t tell me you are upset I’m coming between you and your husband. It looks like you wanted this outing to be just the two of you.”

My lips pressed into a thin line, the purse handle biting into my palm. “You are enjoying yourself far too much, Dennis.”

“Of course, I am.” His smirk deepened, clearly pleased at how sour my mood had turned. “You should see your face right now. Priceless.”

I snapped back before I could stop myself. “Maybe you should find a hobby that doesn’t involve irritating me.”

“Oh, but where is the fun in that—”

“Dennis,” Draven’s voice interrupted, firm and filled with warning. “Enough. Stop teasing my wife.”

For a moment, Dennis lifted his hands in mock surrender, but the gleam in his eyes said he wasn’t done yet.

I wasn’t comforted, not entirely comforted. My chest tightened, frustration simmering under my skin.

Then, I turned to Draven, meeting his gaze squarely. “Isn’t this outing supposed to be just us two?”

The words hung heavily between us, and for a moment, I felt brave for saying them aloud.

Then the deep roar of an engine tore through the air. All three of us turned. A sleek black racing car glided up behind the parked vehicles, its polished frame gleaming in the morning light. I recognized it immediately—one I had only ever seen on TV.

The tinted window slid down, and to my shock, Jeffery was behind the wheel, one hand draped lazily over the steering wheel.

“Dennis!” Jeffery shouted, his voice carrying easily.

Dennis chuckled, the sound infuriatingly smug. Then he shot me one last look. “Looks like you will be getting your wish, Meredith. Enjoy your little date.”

And before I could come up with a retort, he strode off and slid into the passenger seat.

The engine roared again, and in two seconds, the car shot forward, vanishing down the drive, leaving only a sharp trail of exhaust and my lingering irritation behind.

Draven pulled the door of the first car open and looked at me. “Get in,” he said, his voice steady but gentle.

I let out a long sigh, more from my own sulking than anything else, and slid into the seat.

He closed the door firmly behind me, and through the windshield I watched him walk around the hood of the car. His steps were unhurried, calm, as though nothing in the world could shake him.

The driver’s side door opened, and he climbed in, buckling his seatbelt in one smooth motion. His hand reached for the ignition, then he glanced at me. “Seatbelt,” he reminded.

I rolled my eyes a little but pulled it across my chest and clicked it into place.

He started the car, the low hum filling the air. Then, as if he had been watching my mood all along, he turned his head slightly, a faint smile tugging at his mouth.

“Smile,” he motioned to me.

Instead of doing exactly what he wanted, I narrowed my eyes at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction.

He chuckled, the sound deep and warm, and eased the car forward. And then, I turned to the side mirror and caught sight of the two black cars trailing close behind.

“Don’t pout,” Draven said as the car rolled out of the gates. His tone wasn’t sharp. It was more like he was amused.

I turned toward him with a slight huff. “It’s your fault that your brother teased me.”

The corner of his mouth tugged upward. He didn’t deny it.

I braced myself, already rehearsing what I would throw back when he tried to justify himself. But instead, his voice came low and steady, “You are right. I’m sorry.”

I blinked at him, my frown deepening. That wasn’t what I was expecting at all.

I had prepared to argue, to throw in a few more retorts, maybe even make him squirm a little. But an apology?

Now I was stuck, caught between being annoyed and not knowing what to do with his sudden surrender.

My lips pressed together. ‘Great.’ He had stolen the satisfaction right out of the moment.

—

The ride to the mall felt shorter than I expected, maybe because I spent most of it stealing sideways glances at Draven while pretending to look out the window.

By the time the car rolled into the underground parking lot, the two black cars slid in behind us, the sound of their engines echoing off the walls.

As Draven cut the ignition, I sighed quietly, knowing those men would trail us everywhere we went.

We stepped out together. The moment we entered the elevator, his men filled in behind us like a silent wall of shadows.

When the doors opened into the mall’s bright, polished floor, they fanned out without needing a single instruction, moving one by one into stores before us.

I should have been used to this by now, but it still felt strange walking beside Draven in my plain blouse and trousers while everyone else seemed to move around us with a kind of quiet awareness, as if they knew he was someone important.

Draven’s hand brushed against mine briefly, steadying me when a man carrying too many shopping bags rushed by too close.

It was such a small thing, but it tightened something in my chest.

The first store we stepped into glimmered with glass displays, everything laid out like treasure.

I thought we were just browsing, but the moment my eyes lingered on a lilac dress for half a second too long, Draven snapped his fingers at the attendant.

“Wrap it up for my wife,” he ordered.

My head whipped toward him. “What? No—I was just looking—”

His gaze flicked down to me, steady and unreadable, but the faintest smirk tugged at his mouth. “It matches your eyes.”

I opened my mouth again, ready to argue, but the words died as the attendant was already folding the dress into a glossy bag.

It didn’t stop there.

In the next store, when I admired a pair of sleek heels with silver trimming, Draven leaned down, his voice low enough that only I could hear.

“They will suit you.” Then, before I could even think to protest, he handed the box to his man to carry.

Every time I tried to say enough, he simply ignored me—or worse, raised a brow as if daring me to push back. The more I resisted, the more determined he seemed.

“You’re not even giving me a chance to refuse,” I muttered under my breath after the fifth bag joined the others.

“That’s because there’s nothing to refuse,” he said simply, walking ahead with the kind of calm authority that left no room for argument.

I followed, feeling both annoyed and touched.

No one had ever spoiled me like this before, not with such steady insistence.

And every time his hand brushed mine as we moved from store to store, every time his arm shifted slightly to guide me through the crowd, I couldn’t ignore the warmth pooling inside me.

—

By the third store, I stopped trying to argue. What was the point?

Every protest ended with him either ignoring me or—worse—meeting my gaze with that calm, sure look of his. It was almost unfair how steady he could stay while I struggled.

So I let him.

When the attendant slipped a delicate necklace around my neck and the silver gleamed against my skin, I expected him to wave it off, say it didn’t suit me.

Instead, he stepped closer, fingers brushing the chain lightly before resting against my collarbone.

“We will take it,” he said.

I saw my reflection in the mirror—cheeks warm, lips pressed tight to hide the flutter in my chest.

As we moved from store to store, my arms stayed empty while his men carried the growing pile of bags.

And each time Draven leaned in, asking in that low voice, Do you like this? or What about that one?, I found myself nodding without hesitation.

I wasn’t sure what felt stranger—that he wanted to spoil me like this, or that I was letting him.

By the time we paused near the escalator, he tilted his head toward me, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Finally done pouting?”

I crossed my arms and muttered, “Maybe.”

Draven chuckled, the sound rumbling low as if he found my half-answer more satisfying than a yes. “That’s progress.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, but he only looked amused, like I was some puzzle he enjoyed too much to solve quickly.

We passed a window display with dresses so extravagant they seemed fit for a royal ball. I slowed down, staring a moment too long. Draven noticed, of course—he always notices.

“Want to try one?” he asked, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

My head snapped toward him. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Mm.” He didn’t push, but the knowing smirk lingered on his face as he guided me toward the escalator.

I hated that I felt my lips twitch, fighting a smile I didn’t want him to see.