She settled onto a comfortable sofa as an attendant served tea.
Soon, a coordinator arrived, laden with velvet boxes of all sizes.
One by one, he opened them, waking the top-grade diamonds and assorted gems sleeping within.
The jewels erupted in a brilliant, dazzling light that was almost overwhelming to behold.
From classic pearl sets to diamond earrings and sapphire necklaces cut into teardrops, Johanna calmly made her selections.
When she had chosen twenty pieces, she thought she must be done, but Leonid gave no sign for her to stop.
How many more was she supposed to pick?
Was it truly acceptable to buy so much?
Having lived her life as a commoner, her heart hammered against her ribs.
Seizing the opportunity, the coordinator had an employee bring out an extraordinary item: a diamond necklace of well over one hundred carats.
The surrounding stones were also of the highest quality, making the piece less a necklace and more a work of art.
“This piece was actually slated for auction…” the coordinator began, launching into a long, elaborate history of the necklace before casually mentioning its price.
The figure was so astronomical that Johanna’s hand faltered, nearly spilling her tea.
“I did not realize you had something like this.
It was not here the last time I came with Kiara, was it?” Leonid mused, gazing at the spectacular necklace with unnerving nonchalance.
It was less a question and more a thought spoken aloud.
It took Johanna a moment to place the name.
Kiara…
Of course.
Kiara Rinke Elderic.
His youngest sister.
“Ah, well… at the time, the matter was confidential on our end,” the coordinator offered with a distinctly awkward laugh.
He was clearly hiding something, and Johanna had no trouble guessing what it was.
This diamond necklace had likely been destined for someone else’s collection, but the deal had fallen through.
The upper echelons of society invested not only in real estate, mines, and art but also in jewels of this caliber.
Diamonds of this size were a rarity, difficult to mine and even more challenging to cut, which meant their value only grew as they gained provenance.
Whoever the original buyer was, they were undoubtedly a person of immense wealth.
Or, she mused, perhaps they were just some social climber who had overreached, attempting an investment far beyond their means before inevitably backing out.
“Fine,” Leonid’s voice cut through her thoughts.
“We’ll purchase it.”
The sudden decision made Johanna’s head snap toward him.
He wore that characteristic, unhurried smile as he gestured to the coordinator, a silent command that the discussion was over.
It was time to pack the jewels.
This is insane, she thought, her mind reeling.
He’s actually going to buy that?
Frozen in stunned silence, it took her a moment to grasp for a plausible reason.
It had to be an investment.
Framed that way, it made a cold sort of sense.
After all, none of the gifts she had received today were truly hers.
They were merely props she would have to leave behind when the contract expired.
“Haha, thank you, Your Excellency!” the coordinator gushed, laying the flattery on thick as his staff carefully began to pack the jewelry.
“As expected of Marquis Neuwitz, your eye for quality is simply exceptional…”
Just then, the bell over the shop door chimed, announcing a new customer.
Johanna glanced over casually, but her expression hardened in an instant.
The face was unexpectedly familiar.
It was her aunt, Clarice Rietberg.
“Johanna?” her aunt began, her voice laced with confusion.
“What are you doing in a place like this…?”
In that split second, Johanna saw the coordinator’s effusive smile vanish.
He went rigid, his expression turning to ice the moment he saw her aunt.
He recovered almost instantly, however, his professional mask sliding back into place as he approached her with a practiced, friendly greeting.
“Welcome, Mrs.
Rietberg.
Thank you for visiting us again,” he said smoothly.
“However, I’m quite busy at the moment… Bennet will be happy to assist you.
Bennet?”
Another coordinator, presumably Bennet, hurried over to her aunt.
But even as he began to speak, Clarice’s gaze remained fixed on Johanna, a blank, uncomprehending stare.
“Are you acquainted?” the first coordinator asked Johanna, his voice a cautious murmur.
Johanna hesitated, her lips parting with no answer, but it was too late.
Leonid’s gaze had already shifted to her aunt, and a peculiar light flickered in his sunset-colored eyes.
“She’s a relative,” Leonid stated, his voice deceptively mild.
“From my fiancée’s maternal side.”
“Ah, is that so?” The coordinator glanced between Johanna and her aunt, his expression clouded with confusion, clearly wondering why no greeting was exchanged.
Deciding it was not his place to interfere, he quickly reverted to a bright, business-like smile.
“One moment,” Leonid said, his voice stopping an employee who was clearing away the unselected pieces.
A faint smile touched his lips, a look that had only appeared after he had noticed her aunt.
He picked up a platinum necklace and lifted it to Johanna’s throat.
The cool metal ghosted against her skin, and she flinched.
He was feigning affection, she knew.
It was a performance, staged entirely for the woman who kept stealing glances their way.
“It suits you,” he murmured, his voice a low caress.
His gaze on her was so warm, like sunshine on a bright Sunday morning.
Her heart began to pound, a frantic, suffocating rhythm in her chest.
She knew it was an act, a carefully constructed lie, but her body betrayed her with a will of its own.
“It matches the color of your eyes,” he added.
He was right.
The gem nestled in the platinum chain was the same teal as her eyes.
The coordinator helpfully supplied that it was a tourmaline.
“We’ll take this one as well.”
“Yes, of course!” the coordinator chirped.
“Would you like anything else?”
Leonid ignored him, his eyes still locked on Johanna, silently asking if there was anything else she desired.
She shook her head, managing a small, tight reply that she was fine.
Truly, if he bought her anything more, she felt she might actually suffocate.
“Then…” an employee began, reaching to pack the tourmaline necklace.
But Leonid picked it back up.
He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, and fastened the delicate chain around her neck.
The leather of his glove grazed her skin, and even that fleeting, insignificant touch sent a sharp tremor through her, as if something deep inside had just broken.
“Just as I thought,” he said, his voice a low hum against her ear.
“It suits you perfectly.”
A slight, wicked smile played on his lips.
It was the kind of smile that feigned affection while holding none, the kind that could force open a guarded heart only to leave it in ruins.
Johanna lowered her head, her fingers finding the teardrop-shaped gem at her throat, tracing its cool surface to distract from the long-suppressed emotions that were surging, shaking her to the very core.
*
Her aunt called out to her as she was leaving the jeweler’s.
Johanna had half-expected it, so she turned without surprise, her face an impassive mask.
Leonid glanced between them, then released Johanna’s hand.
“I’ll wait in the carriage,” he said.
“Take your time.”
Her aunt watched his retreating back until she deemed him out of earshot, only then did she finally speak.
“What is going on?” she demanded, her voice a harsh whisper.
“The man you’re seeing is Marquis Neuwitz?
No… that can’t be right, can it?”
Johanna knew she had to be bold.
She met her aunt’s frantic gaze without hesitation.
“It is.
I am seeing the Marquis.”
Her aunt’s face contorted as if she had been struck.
Disbelief warred in her eyes, which darted nervously toward the carriage.
She licked her lips, her agitation palpable, and blinked rapidly as she pressed on.
“That’s impossible!
How could you?
He isn’t just some minor noble, he’s the Marquis Neuwitz!
The rightful heir to the Duke of Elderic!
How could someone like you possibly…?”
“I presented as a Dominant Omega.”
“What…?”
“It happened not long ago,” Johanna continued, the pre-rehearsed words flowing smoothly from her lips.
“I met the Marquis around the same time.
I was in some trouble, and he helped me.
One thing led to another.”
Perhaps because it was her aunt, she felt not a single pang of guilt for the lie.
“So… it’s true?
You’re really…?”
“We’re engaged.”
“What?!” Her aunt recoiled as if she had been shocked, clutching her chest as she gasped for breath, her heart likely hammering against her ribs.
Shock, disbelief, horror, confusion—a storm of emotions raged in her eyes.
Johanna watched her with the cool indifference she had carefully manufactured for this moment.
“Engaged…?
You, with the Marquis Neuwitz?”
“The ceremony will be soon.”
Her aunt’s lips moved, but no sound came out.
For a moment, her eyes went vacant, like someone confronting a reality too staggering to comprehend.
“Could that be why the investment funds…” she muttered, dazed.
“No, that can’t be it.”
She shook her head, trying to clear it, and fixed Johanna with a sharp, piercing stare.
“Have you, by any chance, said anything about my husband or me to the Marquis?”