(Aria)
The chandeliers sparkled so brightly they almost hurt my eyes. Everything in the Moretti ballroom was designed to impress—gilded railings, polished marble floors, and servants gliding around like shadows. It was Luca and Alice’s engagement party, and yet… I felt like a misplaced puzzle piece someone accidentally tossed into a masterpiece.
Showing my face was enough…
Enough for people to start whispering.
Enough for Alice’s eyes to narrow.
I didn’t want to be here. I would’ve stayed hidden in the art room, but Luca had requested everyone’s presence. “Requested” meaning not optional.
I slipped to the back of the room, hoping to blend in. That was when I noticed him—a man swaying near the champagne table, cheeks flushed, tie half undone. He was older, maybe mid-fifties, wearing a
