The Casanova's Game ✔

33.

THIRTY-THREE - STRANGER

The crowd continued to clap for her and she smiled wider. It was such a relief that everything turned out the way she planned it. She had been nervous all evening that something would go wrong. She had felt it in the pit of her stomach. However, seeing how happy everybody looked, she could relax and enjoy the party.

"Please, give a round of applause to Alexia Brooke." The crowd continued to clap at his request. Turning to her, he whispered into her ears. "It is time to shine."

"Thank you, Vulcan." He kissed her cheek and then left the stage.

Alexia held the microphone between her fingers and felt sweat coating her palms. Deep breaths, Alexia, deep breaths. She told herself and then started to speak.

"Thank you, thank you all for coming. I am very humbled and excited to be standing here tonight." The crowd cheered and clapped for her and all her nerves disappeared.

Glancing around, she looked into the faces of the laughing crowd and spotted one face that was not laughing. That face did not even have a smile on. Her heart sank. All she saw were eyes, blue piercing eyes looking straight at her. They were eyes she had never seen before, eyes that suddenly captured her attention and got her wondering why they were so beautiful yet scary.

All of a sudden, her mind went blank. The speech she spent a week writing, editing and memorizing just disappeared. Slowly, the noises dissolved into the background and all she saw was he.

He took a step forward and her heart started pounding in her chest. Alexia was stunned and wondered who this man was. Why was her heart pounding so fast? Does she know him?

Forcing herself, she tore her gaze away from him and closed her eyes in order to focus. She had almost forgotten that she was standing in front of a crowd and the media. She was supposed to give a speech, but she remembered nothing.

"Alexia," Vulcan whispered into her ear and then she snapped out of her thoughts. "Are you alright? You are supposed to give a speech."

Turning away from the staring crowd, she spoke. "I... I am..." She could not find the right words to speak.

"Just breathe." He said and then touched her cheek before leaving.

Alexia looked into the crowd and her eyes quickly darted back to where that man was standing. Now, he was gone. Raising the microphone to her lips, she spoke. Thankfully, the speech all came back to her as she memorized it. When the crowd went into applause, she walked on shaky legs off the stage and went to collapse in Vulcan's open arms.

"You did very well." He said, while holding her slouching figure against him.

Alexia could not find the voice to speak. Her whole body shook violently and she did not understand why? Where did all her strength go?

"Are you alright?" Vulcan asked when she was silent. Unwrapping his arms from her, he cupped her face and looked into her eyes. He saw them glistening with tears and smiled lovingly. "It's okay. The speech is over. Now, we meet the press and guests."

Alexia had been looking forward to this day for many months now. She had planned how everything was going to turn out and it was perfect, until a few minutes ago.

Who was that strange man? Why did he look at her like that? Perhaps did he know her? Had they met somewhere before? Were they friends in the past? She kept questioning herself.

Alexia tried not to think about the stranger as she moved through the crowd. However, he kept popping into her mind every now and then. She even kept a look out for him as she moved.