ARIA
Marcus's ring sits discarded on the nightstand... cheap, tacky, and meaningless.
And I realize that in less than twelve hours, I've gone from broken and destroyed to engaged to one of the most powerful men in New York.
My phone buzzes in my purse across the room. It is probably Paige. Or worse, Vivienne, gloating about her victory.
I should get up. Get dressed and start this new, surreal chapter of my life.
But for just a moment, I let myself sit here in the quiet.
Processing what I've done.
What I've committed to.
I trace the edge of Dante's grandmother's ring with my thumb. The metal is warm on my skin, the diamond impossibly perfect.
"Mine now," Dante had said last night when he was inside me, making me come apart.
Now it's the ring that's his. The contract that's his, an
