The Devil's Temptation!

Her eyes instinctively landed on the tray of juice she had placed on the table before Roshan and her brain finally clicked, giving her a quick idea on how to avoid his incoming punishment if she didn’t say something to him.

Unknown to her, Roshan’s mind had been flooding with her face and presence even before she stepped in. He was tempted to go meet her and end their argument when he couldn’t stand the distance, but then, he’d appear as the weak one in her eyes and chose to forget it, convincing himself he’d talk to her tomorrow.

He sent a maid earlier to go get him juice, hoping to cool his mind with it but who knew he’d be expecting to see the one his eyes were longing to see after their argument.

She came by herself and it left a warm feeling spreading across his chest to see her here.

Although a naughty side of him secretly wished she came here to seduce him.

“I_I came to give you some orange juice,” she used that opportunity to release her hand from his grip and shifted the tray closer to him, “the body needs juice to refresh the system and you’ve been overworking yourself–”

“I never sent you for juice Anna.” He reminded her, his gaze trapping hers without even blinking and leaving her mute like a nun. At this point, Anna really felt like melting herself in that gaze of his.

“What are you doing here?”

.....

Snapping her mind back to reality, Anna finally dropped the silly act of hers and suddenly pulled at her ears in an adorable manner, looking remorseful like a little child about to plead for misbehaving.

“Aren’t you tired of being upset with me?” Her big doe eyes met his, “you didn’t speak to me or even bother to see me. I’m sorry if I offended you but it really wasn’t my fault. I’ll make sure to follow your orders from now on. Please don’t punish me.”

She leaned back as she closed her eyes shut, already anticipating a scolding or a heartless retort but all she got was a low harmless chuckle from the glacier who watched her.

She opened her eyes to peek at him, and he barely looked offended in the slightest, leaving her stunned as she was already expecting to be thrown out of his chambers.

“Who said I was mad at you?” He asked and she lowered her gaze.

“I didn’t need anyone to tell me, I figured it out myself.” She blatantly stated and he silently contemplated her words before leaning close without warning, only to stop when his face was a few inches away from her.

“I see, what else did you figure out?”

Anna’s eyes remained wide when he drew his face so close to hers and she forgot to speak, watching him stare at her like he could read through the inner depths of her soul. It only made her heart race rapidly in return.

She was about to say something when the sound of carriages stopping just outside the palace drew their attention. Their gazes uniformly shifted to the window, wondering who it might be that showed up in Viscarrian, at this hour in particular.

Alarmed, Roshan got to his feet and went to steal a glance at whose carriage had arrived at his palace, only to catch sight of not just one, but five fancy-looking carriages stopping before the front yard.

His brows furrowed into puzzlement as he wasn’t informed about having guests so late at night.

“Is everything alright?” Anna proceeded to break the silence, curious about what was happening on the outside.

“Wait here.” Was all he said to her before leaving his chamber and Anna had to remain there, all by herself and the moment he closed the door shut, she hurried to the window, peeking through the curtains to see who had shown up.

Heading downstairs, Roshan could already hear the young feminine voices of women as the doors to their carriages were opened by the coachmen.

“Finally, I thought we wouldn’t make it tonight.” One of the young ladies expressed her fatigue as she stepped out while another just proudly looked away, staring at the huge palace before her.

“Viscarrian palace huh, I recall being here when I was eight.” She boasted, earning rolling eyes from different directions and the last carriage, a man and a woman got down together.

Uncle Evan, lady Odette, Gravion and even lady Letitia were present at the entrance, waiting to welcome them with a pretentious smile on their lips.

“What the hell is going on?” Roshan muttered to himself, hiding away from the corner of the stairs but Levi chimed in with a knowing smile.

“For the family ball,” he informed Roshan who was startled by his presence, “but they came earlier than usual.”

“Too early.” He added, seeing as the ladies and women gave themselves airy kisses while the men shook hands.

“Aunt Letitia, I love your dress!” One of the young ladies named Roseline complimented with a bright smile, “the designs are eye-catching, do introduce me to your seamstress someday.”

Letitia smiled before ushering them in, “this way, the preparations will be starting tomorrow.”

After the introduction, one of the ladies bearing Erica couldn’t help but ask, “I’m sorry but where is his highness? It’s quite disappointing to see they aren’t here to welcome either of us.”

“Azazel is barely available,” Lady Odette responded, “as for Roshan, I can’t say, but none of them were informed about the unexpected visit so we can’t blame their absence.”

Gravion cleared his throat before proceeding to speak, “you must all be tired from your journey, we’ve arranged maids that’ll accompany and see to your requests.”

“Oh how lovely!” Lady Iris complimented their hospitality, staring at the maids lined up for them. “What are you waiting for? Quickly get my boxes from the carriage outside and be careful not to drop them, they’re worth a lot.”

The maids quickly hurried to do exactly as they’d been told, even the coachmen weren’t left out as they had to carry some boxes too.

“Good to have you all here.” Uncle Evan added while the young demoness, Roseline, just sighed heavily, “Indeed, I can’t wait to tell you my journey, it was both stressful and enjoyable...”

Roshan and Levi watched the guests from a hidden corner and just shook their heads.

“Sigh... this is going to be one hell of a family ball.”