Chapter 98 - Clash of the titans (1)

As Lina steadied herself and quickly set herself at a safe distance from the stranger holding her, she turned around to get a look at him. 

Mana was silent as a mouse, simply astounded at the man facing them. 

A little pool of drool began to form at the side of her mouth. Suddenly she had forgotten all about the dessert stalls. 

Lina's face turned dark, as her eyes fell upon the man's silky long hair, confident, yet lazy smile and his steely eyes. 

He casually slipped his hands into the pockets of his black pants and let his gaze linger on Lina. 

"Are you okay, miss?" his low, soothing voice asked her softly. 

"I'm fine." Lina replied monotonously.

Mana quickly pulled Lina aside and bowed graciously to him. 

"Thank you so much for helping us, really. We're very grateful!" 

Lina looked at her friend, confused. 

'Why is she acting so subservient to him? He held me without my consent!'

Mana glared at Lina, and gestured to her unsubtly, trying to get her to thank the man, who was still smiling amusedly. 

Lina ignored her. 

Mana turned back to the handsome man with the long hair. 

"Sorry, my friend isn't feeling very well, but she's thankful to you as well, Mr...?" 

Lina now rolled her eyes. Was her friend using her to make an introduction to this person?! 

The man nodded politely at Mana, but turned his gaze to the obstinate Lina, who still had a savage scowl on her face. 

"My name is Loren. Call me Loren." 

Even though his sentence was directed towards Lina, Mana was the one who replied. 

"Pleasure to meet you, Loren. I'm Mana and my friend's name is Lina!" 

Mana definitely had a sparkle in her eye. She had always avoided having crushes on boys or really going on dates. 

She was always fearful of rejection. She had gone through it one too many times, and would rather protect herself from the start, instead of going through the pain of being left for a better option. 

But this man...he was just too delicious to pass up. She couldn't stop herself from being interested. How lucky that someone like him would even be talking to him. 

All the boys, even during their university days, always wanted to date Lina. Nobody ever showed any interest in her. Lina never paid them much heed, but she was quietly notice as everyone overlooked her. 

How lucky for her that Lina popped a surprise husband! He may be the great Shen Moshi, but this man seemed no less. 

The regal air about him, the details of his face, the softness of his hands and skin...he was definitely a man of status. But his beauty was that of ancient fairytales.

He was like a mesmerising male siren, calling to her from the deep seas and she didn't care if she was going to crash and perish on the rocks in the shallows. 

It was nothing short of enchantment. 

But Lina just snorted. 

"Likewise." he said politely, to Mana. 

"Sure" Lina said, sarcastically. 

There was a short laugh from Loren, as he supressed his amus.e.m.e.nt. 

'She's feistier than I predicted! So it's...Lina Mito. My visit here has already borne fruit, thanks to her loudmouth friend' he thought to himself. 

The idiot PM of B nation had given her last name 'Mito' away at the masked ball. But today, he knew her real identity. 

It would be easy to access Shen Moshi's wife under any pretense now. 

"Can I buy you lovely ladies some cake? I hear one of the stalls hired a top pasty chef from country F." 

He smiled charmingly at Mana as he made his offer, knowing the girl wouldn't reject him. 

Mana's eyes were literally in hearts. 

She tried to keep her calm as she responded to him. 

Lina opened her mouth to indignantly reject the offer, in an act of defiance. But Mana squeezed her hand tightly, causing her to wince instead. 

"Yes, of course...if we aren't being a burden to you!" she giggled, as she finished her sentence. 

Lina was dumbstruck at Mana's sudden friendliness. She could tell Mana wasn't the most outgoing, or social person. But suddenly, it was like she was transformed into a daisy!

"Why are you being so nice to him?" she grumbled to Mana as they walked a few steps behind Loren. 

"Because I don't want to die a spinster, Li!" Mana whispered back ferociously. 

"I'm sure you have better options than some vagrant who needs a haircut!" Lina argued back. 

For some reason, she had taken an immense disliking to this Loren person. 

Who did he think he was! 

Loren slowed his pace a little, turned and flashed the girls a charming smile that had Mana internally breaking to pieces.

"Do you want me to carry both of you?" he joked

Lina stopped herself from desperately wanting to roll her eyes.

But Mana blushed. She wouldn't mind his arms around her. Even though he wore loose, ordinary clothing, she could tell that his figure underneath was lean and toned. 

She bit her lip as she fantasized. But his soothing voice brought her back to reality. 

"Come on, then! Before all the pastries are gone." 

That's all it took for Mana to drag Lina and a quicker pace behind this enchanting man. 

As they entered the main area together, the crowd's eyes naturally turned towards the trio, drawn by the strong auras of Lina and Loren. 

To the onlookers, Lina felt like a fiery beauty -- an angry, annoyed looking pheonix, and Loren exuded a persona like an ancient demigod, chilling the air around him until it was frosty. 

Lina hated the attention. She had been trying to keep a low profile for her own safety, and respect the care that her husband was providing just to make sure she was alright. 

And here she was, in a situation that would definitely upset him. 

Suddenly, she missed him again, feeling a pang of hurt surge through her heart. 

She wanted her husband, not these strangers around her! And definitely not this loathsome Loren.