Aria's POV
"My wife." Damon said the two words flatly, then took the seat next to Claudia, silently endorsing Dave's assumption that she was his companion for the evening.
The sting was sharp and precise.
I took the seat farthest from Damon, as far from the head of the table as I could get.
This is a transaction, I told myself. Feel nothing.
Dinner was served. Wine flowed.
Damon was attentive to Claudia in a way that carved pieces out of me.
He selected food for her plate. When someone tried to pass her a glass of wine, he intercepted it with a smooth, "She's not feeling her best tonight," and downed it himself.
That tenderness was a foreign country—one I'd never been allowed to visit.
Emboldened, Dave shifted seats, planting himself next to me.
His arm, heavy and possessive, dra
