"Thanks," she smiled appreciatively taking her driver's hand for support.

Immediately she was out of the car, the cameras flashed her face. Some asking her if the men behind her were her escorts. Truth be told once she had stepped out of the vehicle, she hadn't looked back to see who was who. But if there were men behind her, that would only mean that her dad had sent some men to keep watch over her despite her insisting she would be alright.

She took one step at a time giving the paparazzi time to capture her beauty. Dressed in a silver strapless gown and one of her family's heirloom necklaces on her neck, she flushed a smile walking further. Odd enough, the four inch heels her mother had ordered for her felt comfortable. She took out her card showed it to the man standing out the event before getting in the ballroom.

Now if there's one thing, the Griffin family were known for was their way of showing off. The party seemed nice. Formal, everything around screaming wealth. The food each labeled according to it's origin. It surprised her that there was also a station of serving the 'rarest wines'. She looked around wondering where she'd start to mingle.

From afar off, she spotted him. Charles Griffin in the flesh laughing at something his chubby colleagues talked about. How he had changed! His blonde hair was now dyed to caramel brown and he had grown taller. Had she not known him, she would have termed him as handsome. The broad shoulders, the million dollar smile that rich laughter well she had come here to have fun and fun she shall have.

She clutched her purse tightly grabbing a glass of champagne from the waiter and walking to his direction. Hardly had she reached there when she felt a rough hand on her arm.

"Am afraid you can't be near Charles Griffin for the rest of the night, ma'am"

Came out the voice. A rather familiar voice. She turned around looking at the three men behind her and one of them caught her attention. Him!

"You! How dare you even think of touching me!"

He barely smiled,"I'm doing what your dad ordered, ma'am"

Yeah right! Ofcourse her dad would have done this. But why him? What would a cop be doing here? Much more acting like...like a bodyguard? Her bodyguard?

"Huh? Well will you look that? Who knew people like you. Dirty scoundrels would even be invited to parties as such"

"Well the apple surely fell far from the tree. If I would have known doing your dad a favor meant chaperoning your snobby ass all night, hell I would have declined sweetheart"

He spoke with disdain and Mikaella having had enough raised her hand to slap him but he was quick to catch her hands in his.

"Don't even think about it. The first time you did that, it was merely luck"

She recalled slapping him so hard that night that her fingers left a mark on his face. Marcus Pierce, he was the same person who hit her husband, the same stinking deputy that insulted her when she got to the station yet here he was.

"My mother does not own a nail salon just so you know,"she said between gritted teeth.

"I never said she did,"he replied letting go of her hands. Even he remembered that night, the night where his anger took control and he barked at her telling her that his workplace was not a nail salon nor her mother's place. Who would have known that the billionaire's wife was the daughter of his dad's friend?

"But didn't you imply it? After beating my husband to his near death? I don't care whether or not you were hired by my dad, leave me alone" She stressed on the last part walking away from Marcus and the rest of his lapdogs.

By the time she turned, Charles was gone and out of sight. She sighed realising that because of the cop her dad hired, she had missed a perfectly good moment to socialize.

"Mickie?"

She turned and bingo! Charles Griffin stood infront of her, flushing the same smile he used back on her in highschool.

"Noo. It's you? Whoa"

"Charles. Nice party by the way," she smiled.

"I didn't think your dad would show and it's a good thing he didn't because this wouldn't have happen. Us meeting. How long has it been? A decade?"

And before she could answer his questions, ask him to stop looking at her like some model off some fancy shmancy magazine, Charles took her hand kissed the back of it and continued with, 'Pardon my manners'.

"It's good to see you too, Charles Griffin"

"Charles Griffin? What happened to Charlie? Your Charlie? But I get it, a married woman is loyal to one man only. Her husband. Too bad, I missed my chance"

Was that a frown? Did Charles Griffin really change over the course of the years? And speaking of loyalty. In her marriage loyalty was the last thing that existed and that's why she was agreed to be at the event. To have fun just like her husband did. She didn't want to think about him but every single time she remembered his words and a piece of her heart shattered. He never loved her. She reminded him of Jo.

"Mickie? Earth to Mickie? Is that a yes?"

A yes to what?

"I mean yeah. Ofc..."

"I hate to interrupt but the lady promised me a dance. So shall we?"

Charles frowned and left leaving Mick once more in the hands of Marcus.

His hands firmly gripping her waist, he pulled her tighter to his body and she let out a gasp. What did he think he was doing?

"I should have guessed. Leave it to your snobby ass to move from one snobby prince to another"

"Excuse me?"

She tried fighting out of his grasp but the surprised looks she got from the rest of the couples on the ballroom floor discouraged her from doing so. It's amazing how in the whole forty five minutes she had been here, Marcus Pierce had made her night turn sour.

"Does your snob of a husband know you are here? Which reminds me, how's he doing?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ask the bones you broke in his body? And just because you are poor that doesn't give you the right to call the people who are above you financially, snobs"

And as if the band playing at the event was trying to mock her, they switched to a more slow song. Prolonging the dance further.

"Who said I was poor?"

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Again thanks for going through the chapter, leave a comment or a vote❤️

Pardon the grammatical errors