~Reynold’s POV~
Frederick walked over and leaned against the table, an amused glint in his eyes. "It’s not that bad. Besides... that’s what I like."
"I refuse." I crossed my arms stubbornly.
He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, his voice dropping into a smooth, persuasive tone. "Come on. You have a great body, Reynold. It’s going to fit you perfectly."
"No, I don’t—"
"What?" he interrupted softly, pressing a kiss to my neck. "Don’t you want to look sexy for your sugar daddy?"
I looked at him, shaking my head. "I want to, but this outfit is too revealing. Everyone is going to see my stomach. Just look at the design. No, I don’t want to wear it."
"Fine. I know you don’t want to wear it," Frederick said. "But for me, you have to. This is what I want to see you wearing, and it’s not even that bad."
"It’s bad," I argued. "Any outfit that reveals this much of my body is bad."
Frederick chuckled softly and pulled me closer. "But you’ll wear it for Daddy, right, little pet? You have a beautiful body. It’s going to fit you perfectly."
I let out a defeated groan. In the end, his charm and relentless insistence won me over. I placed the outfit back on the couch and waited for it to be time to get ready, grumbling the entire time about how ridiculous and exposed I was going to feel in it while Frederick kept assuring me that I would look beautiful.
Before long, it was time to get ready. Frederick slipped into a sharp, perfectly tailored white suit over a white shirt, leaving a few buttons undone at the collar. A silver watch and a simple necklace completed his effortlessly elegant look.
Meanwhile, I stood in front of the mirror, trapped in the outfit he had chosen for me, a dark burgundy-and-black plaid cropped shirt with long sleeves, a lace-up opening across the chest, and matching high-waisted trousers with thin strap details around my waist. The cropped shirt left my stomach completely exposed, which was exactly what I had been complaining about earlier.
I wasn’t smiling. In fact, I was scowling at my reflection.
Frederick walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. The moment he saw me properly, his breath caught, and the look in his eyes made it obvious how much he liked the outfit.
To make matters worse, he even hired a professional stylist to finish our preparations. The stylist spent about twenty minutes fixing my hair and adjusting my outfit until everything fit perfectly. By the time they packed everything away and left, Frederick couldn’t stop praising how good I looked.
"We need pictures," he insisted, pulling out his phone. "So you can see for yourself how incredible you look in this."
I rolled my eyes but gave in, posing as he snapped a few pictures of me. He also took a few pictures with me, shamelessly teasing me the entire time.
Even though I still thought the outfit was too much, I had to admit the tailoring was flawless. And judging by Frederick’s reaction, he definitely loved it.
Once we were finally ready, we stepped out of the suite together. Frederick laced his fingers through mine as we took the private elevator down to the underground parking garage, where several sleek black vehicles were already waiting
As we reached the parking level, we headed toward the car. One of Frederick’s guards immediately stepped forward and opened the door. Frederick let me slide into the leather seat first before getting in beside me. Once the heavy door closed, the privacy partition rose, and our car smoothly pulled away, with his security vehicle following behind us.
As the car moved, Frederick kept glancing at me, a warm smile appearing whenever he caught me nervously smoothing down the outfit he had chosen. I simply stared out the tinted window, my stomach twisting with nerves.
I was heading to a billionaire’s high-society party, and I couldn’t help feeling nervous. Everyone there would probably be dressed in expensive, elegant clothes, yet here I was in an outfit that left my stomach completely exposed. I couldn’t help wondering what everyone would think when they saw me.
It didn’t take long for the convoy to arrive at the estate. The driver pulled up to the private entrance, and Frederick and I stepped out into the warm evening air. He immediately took my hand again, his grip giving me a little reassurance as two of his guards followed a few steps behind us.
As we walked through the grand entrance, I braced myself for the judging looks I was sure to receive.
But when we stepped through the rear entrance of the estate, I stopped in surprise.
The birthday celebration was taking place in the sprawling outdoor pool area behind the house. The enormous pool stretched across the center of the grounds, its surface glowing beneath the soft evening lights. Elegant tables and chairs had been arranged all around it, with wealthy guests gathered in small groups, chatting, drinking, and enjoying themselves.
The entire area looked more like a luxury resort than the backyard of a private home.
What surprised me even more were the women mingling among the guests. Some were dressed in revealing designer outfits and bikinis, completely comfortable showing off their figures.
I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling completely out of place and even more aware of the outfit I was wearing.
Almost immediately, Frederick spotted someone he knew.
A man I recognized from social media turned toward us. It was Mr. Bernard, the host, and he immediately broke into a smile when he saw Frederick.
"Frederick! Glad you could make it, man."
They shook hands, and Bernard thanked him for coming.
"Happy to," Frederick replied with a smile. "Where’s the birthday girl?"
Bernard chuckled and gestured toward the house. "My wife? She’ll be out in a minute."
He then leaned closer to Frederick and whispered something I couldn’t hear.
Frederick glanced at me, then looked back at Bernard with a small smile.
"Thanks, man," he said.
I narrowed my eyes slightly. I had no idea what Bernard had whispered to him, but judging by the way Frederick had looked at me, I had a feeling they had been talking about me.
The two men briefly started talking about business, leaving me standing beside Frederick with nothing to do but look around. My eyes wandered toward the pool, where several women were laughing and playing in the water. Their revealing swimsuits showed off their breasts and curves, and I quickly swallowed when I realized just how different everyone here seemed to be.
Frederick noticed where I was looking. He nodded at something Bernard said, but his eyes shifted back to me, catching the wide-eyed expression on my face.
He leaned down slightly, his voice dropping to a low murmur against my ear. "Don’t look at anything here except me."
I nodded quickly, a shiver running down my spine.
After they finished talking, Frederick took my hand again, and we continued walking through the party.
As we walked farther into the crowd, two familiar faces stepped away from the poolside bar—Elias Varemont and Damian Ashford. I recognized them immediately. They were the kind of people whose names and faces were impossible not to know.
The two men spotted Frederick and walked over to us, their faces breaking into easy smiles as they approached.
"Oh, man, you finally made it," Damian said, giving Frederick a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"I was starting to think you weren’t coming," Elias added with a grin.
Frederick chuckled. "I told you I’d come."
"Yeah, but you’re always busy," Damian replied.
Frederick laughed. "Look who’s talking. You’re just as busy as I am."
They laughed, clearly comfortable with each other, before their attention finally shifted to me.
Both men looked at me for a moment, their eyes moving from my revealing outfit to my face. Then they exchanged a glance.
Damian’s lips slowly curled into a smirk.
He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, a sudden commotion near the pool drew everyone’s attention.
A wave of whispers spread through the crowd as Eva appeared from the other side of the pool area.
Even in a crowd like this, she immediately stood out. She was a world-famous supermodel, breathtakingly beautiful, and dressed in a daring gown that left little to the imagination. The moment her eyes landed on Frederick, her face lit up.
Frederick stiffened slightly. He turned toward Elias and Damian, his voice dry and unimpressed.
"You two never mentioned she was going to be here tonight."
Elias and Damian exchanged an awkward look.
"We didn’t know!" Damian said defensively. "And besides, we didn’t know you were coming with someone!"
Before Frederick could respond, Eva walked over with a confident smile.
"Hello, baby," she purred, leaning in and pressing a familiar kiss against Frederick’s cheek.
My mind immediately latched onto the words hello, baby and the kiss. I barely had time to process what I had just seen before her gaze dropped to me. She looked me up and down, a smile playing on her lips.
"Whose son is this? He’s kind of cute."
Whose son is this?!
My jaw nearly dropped.
What the hell was she talking about? Did I really look like a child standing next to them?
Frederick noticed the offended look on my face. Instead of answering her, he completely ignored the question and turned back to his friends.
"I’ll be back."
"You better be," Eva purred, her hand lingering on his arm.
Without another word, Frederick took my hand, his thumb gently rubbing over my knuckles as he led me away from the group toward a quieter lounge area beside the pool. He motioned for one of his guards to stay beside my chair.
"Sit here. I’ll be right back," he said.
I nodded. "Okay."
Then Frederick walked away.
At first, I didn’t think much of it. My nerves eased a little as the music started playing and the birthday celebrant finally stepped out onto the terrace. The entire crowd erupted into loud cheers and whistles.
Watching her, I suddenly understood why the party felt so wild and uninhibited. Frederick’s friend’s wife was absolutely stunning. She looked incredible in a daring, high-end resort outfit that made her look more like a model than a married woman celebrating another birthday. If Frederick hadn’t told me she was married, I would have assumed she was a single billionaire socialite.
This wasn’t the stiff, boring ballroom gala I had imagined. The energy was lively, the music filled the air, and there was no shortage of beautiful people everywhere I looked.
Waiters kept coming over to my table, placing glasses of chilled champagne and expensive appetizers in front of me until the table was almost full. I took a sip of my sweet fruit mocktail and let my eyes wander across the crowd.
Minutes passed. Then ten. Then twenty.
I glanced around the terrace, looking for Frederick’s tall, imposing figure among the guests.
But he was nowhere to be found, and neither was Eva.
Twenty minutes turned into half an hour. Then nearly an hour.
My earlier distraction slowly faded, replaced by an uncomfortable tightness in my chest. I stared down at the untouched food on my table, barely hearing the music anymore.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Eva had looked at Frederick or how casually she had invaded his space.
Where the hell is he?
My jaw tightened as I checked the time again.