Chapter 8- Possession

Stephanie‘s POV

As Henry guided me across the dance floor, I couldn’t help but notice the hushed murmurs and the eyes that followed our every step. It came as no surprise that arriving with an exceptionally handsome companion turned heads, yet I hadn’t anticipated just how skilled a dancer he would be. His movements were fluid, effortless, as if the music itself bent to his will. 

I love dancing. I always have. But I can’t recall the last time I stepped onto a dance floor. Vince never liked me in such settings; he always said it was unbecoming, too frivolous. 

As we moved in sync, I became acutely aware of Henry’s hand on the small of my back. His grip tightened subtly, pulling me closer with each spin. Our bodies were no longer just near each other—they were pressed together, his chest grazing mine with every shift. His warmth enveloped me, the scent of him—subtle, clean, undeniably masculine—making it hard to focus.

It felt… intimate. Too intimate. My pulse quickened, not entirely from the dance. I instinctively tried to create some distance, leaning slightly back, but Henry’s hand held firm, steadying me in place. 

“Vince is watching,” Henry murmurs, his eyes flicking briefly over my shoulder.

I don’t need to turn around to confirm it. I can feel Vince’s gaze burning into my back, thick with anger and something else I can’t quite place.

I lift my chin, refusing to let him see any expression on my face.

“Let him,” I say, my voice firmer than I feel. “He doesn’t matter.”

Henry’s eyes search mine for a moment, his expression unreadable. “Good,” he replies simply, his grip on my waist tightening just slightly. “He shouldn’t.”

Feeling the atmosphere lighten, we exchanged a glance, both on the verge of saying something lighthearted.

“Henry!” A deep voice called from above the ballroom. Instinctively, I looked up and saw a middle-aged man, dressed in an elegant suit, walking toward us. His hair was graying, and his serious expression exuded authority. I guessed this must be Henry’s father.

Upon hearing the voice, Henry turned toward the man, his smile fading and his brow furrowing slightly. He didn’t approach him but simply nodded. “Father, you’re here.”

“Henry, we need to discuss something,” the man said, his tone cold and impersonal, yet carrying an unmistakable sense of command.

Henry let out a small sigh and turned to me. “I’m sorry, Stephanie, I need to handle something. I’ll see you later.”

Their relationship seemed rather strained.

I gave him a sweet smile and said, "Go ahead, don’t worry about me."

As if to prove that what I said a few minutes ago was a mistake.

Vince is suddenly there, his dark expression cutting through the crowd like a blade. His untimely gesture, as expected, captivated the attention of the other guests.

"Seems like you've lost your memory, huh?" Vince roared, his voice filled with fury. I was stunned, frozen in place. "Our divorce isn't even finalized yet, you're still my wife! And here you are, rubbing up against Henry? How shameless can you be?!" His teeth were clenched, his face growing more and more terrifying with each word. "Have you already slept with him?!"

I didn’t understand why he was suddenly acting like this. He didn’t love me—so why did he care about my relationship with another man?

Then it hit me—he wasn’t concerned with whether I loved him or not. What mattered to him was whether I’d been unfaithful. It was all about his pride.

He was truly impossible! Just as I was about to retort—

"How dare she show up here? Hmph, she's a divorced woman! This is no place for someone like her," a lady sneered, her voice dripping with contempt and disdain.

I recognized her immediately—she was one of the women who had been whispering about me earlier this evening.

"Exactly, and on top of that, she was fired from her job. Now she has nothing—just a complete failure!" Her friend quickly chimed in, seemingly trying to pull her companion back, but the subtle smirk on her face and the increasingly sarcastic tone betrayed her true intentions.

"Also, those p**n videos... tsk tsk... Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up," the woman’s friend said, raising her hand in mock surprise to cover her mouth. But her eyes couldn’t hide the gleam of satisfaction that crept in.

The air seemed to thin, and I felt a suffocating weight settle on my chest. What’s going on? This place feels like a different world from just five minutes ago. I notice that the people around me seem to have changed, their faces now filled with condescension as they look down on me, attacking my most painful memories.

The reason for this change is... Henry left.

"She was even abandoned by her own parents, without a home to call her own. What kind of scum would be abandoned by their own parents? And now she's here, shamelessly throwing herself at men. How could she ever deserve someone like Henry from the Rush family? It's a joke!" The woman’s voice was dripping with contempt, her words like daggers.

This is going too far! They don't know anything, so how dare they say such things?

The cold, piercing gazes of the onlookers cut through me from all sides, leaving me feeling exposed, like a fool on display for their amusement.

"Everyone knows Henry has a fiancée, even if he hasn't announced her. And here you are, shamelessly trying to get close to him. Do you really think no one sees through you?" The woman sneered, her words cutting deep.

My heart raced, and my hands trembled. "Don't you dare touch someone like him," the lady continued, her sneer twisting into a scowl. "You're not worthy of being in his world. The Rush family is untouchable—you're just a stain on it."

"I didn’t..." Just as I was about to defend myself, I suddenly stopped.

The situation between Henry and me was far too complicated to explain, especially the part about our contract marriage. I couldn't betray the trust Henry had placed in me.

My lips quivered slightly, and my mind raced, scrambling to find the right excuse when—

“She IS my fiancée,” Henry declares, his voice steady, slicing through the charged air like a thunderclap.

The words hang in the silence, bold and undeniable, leaving everyone momentarily speechless.

I figured Henry said it to shield me, but—

What? I thought I had already turned down his proposal.