The Tyrant's Pet

"What do you think?"

Aries arched a brow as she gazed at Joaquin beside her. This was the second piece Cherry wore, but Joaquin kept his eyes on Aries.

"Beautiful," he remarked, casting her a knowing look. He twirled a finger around a small portion of her golden hair and then added, "Very much."

"I know I am beautiful, but I was asking about the dress." She rolled her eyes, adjusting her upper body until she was facing him. "What do you think about it?"

Joaquin smacked his lips and glanced at Cherry for a split second. "Not bad."

"Not bad?"

"Mhm. Not bad."

Aries let out a faint sigh and compassed her hand to the servants. "I want to see the last one."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness."

As the servants bowed, they approached Cherry once again while the latter kept her head low. She snuck a glance at the two before following the servants to try the last piece.

"Seriously. Didn't you say you were looking forward to seeing the dresses I designed?" Aries grumbled while the rest were walking away, raising her voice a little so everyone could hear her complaints.

"I did, but I was looking forward to seeing you wear them," he intoned, ignoring whoever was listening to their conversation.

"Goodness…" Aries rolled her head as she crossed her arms, leaning back with a frown.

"Haha. My crown princess, are you trying to trap me?" he asked, making her glance at him with a dull expression. "How can you ask me about the dress worn by another woman? If I am a little bit foolish, you would've gouged my eyes out just by setting my eyes on Countess Lloyd."

"You think I was that unreasonable?"

"Not really… but I don't want to be rude to you by looking at another woman in your presence."

"I hope that applies even during my absence."

"Of course." He chuckled, studying her sharp side profile. "Was there another woman better than my wife?"

Aries raised her brows when he held her hand, raising her eyes as he lifted her hand to his lips. She pressed her lips into a thin line, staring back at him while he kissed her knuckles.

"I won't fall for that." She looked away, but Joaquin pinched her chin and guided her to look back at him once again.

"Are you still angry with me?" he asked, referring to their 'misunderstandings' weeks ago.

They hadn't reconciled like how their relationship was before, but they had spent so much time together that despite the lack of sexual intercourse, Joaquin was quite… satisfied just to keep her company. It was fun just talking to her.

"Yes," she replied almost instantly, but he laughed as her expression told him otherwise.

"Really?"

"Yes, really." Aries narrowed her eyes as she drew her head back, covering his lips with her palm as he leaned in. "I'm still furious. Do you think I'm that easy? It'll take a decade to quench my anger."

Joaquin held her wrist to the side. "A decade is quite a long time, my wife."

"Is it?" she bats her eyes almost innocently. "I don't see any problem with that, though. I have a decade to play with you."

Aries bit her lower lip to suppress her mischievous grin but failed miserably. The side of her lips hooked up, and Joaquin laughed at her silly argument. Yet, he didn't find it strange since he knew his wife could be a little silly to people who were dear to her.

"Well, a decade is worth it if you put it that way." He shrugged, leaning back with his arms draped over the back of the divan, eyes on her. His lips hooked up as Aries let out a deep exhale, tucking a portion of her hair behind her ear.

"What do you want from me?" she asked after a moment, recollecting her thoughts to keep her poise. "I doubt you see me to simply see the dresses."

"I did have another reason for this visit." He burst out in laughter when her expression died, looking back at him in dismay.

"And here I thought you've really given thought to the dresses I've been gloating for days."

"My wife, I wouldn't know about the dresses if I wasn't paying attention." His arm over the backrest of the settee reached for her hair until his fingertips were playing with her golden strings. "I would still see you for the same reason if it's on another day, but it just so happened I want to invite you to have lunch with me and my guest."

"A guest?" she tilted her head to the side.

"Yes, a guest — an important one." He rocked his head. "He is a person from the bottom and excelled in commerce. I heard about your project in the east ninth district and I thought this person might be of help."

Aries furrowed her brows as she pondered about his remarks. She didn't need help from Joaquin about the east ninth district Aries was managing as she has planned on refilling the food storage in that said district.

"He will be an excellent help in trades as well since it'll be good for your name if you say that this person supports the crown princess," he continued nonchalantly. "You might not need too much help for the east ninth district, but if you need funding and more connections, this person might help you. It's hard to invite him since he had never shown his face, but this is a good opportunity."

Joaquin smiled, pleased by the surprise that was plastered across her face. He wouldn't even think about this since the person he was talking about had built vast connections to people in various fields, and letting her have access to such a person was risky. But he trusted his wife even just a tiny bit and wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Although aristocrats still had prejudiced on those people in commerce and the families with newfound wealth, making acquaintance to various people could be helpful." His smile persisted and his eyes softened when Aries smiled affectionately at him for the first time in a long time.

"I won't disappoint." Her eyes gleamed with relief and sincerity, holding his hand gently. She kept her eyes on him even when Cherry and the rest returned.

Little did Aries know, she was about to meet the shock of her life.