Dominic’s POV
The car was too quiet, but I preferred it that way. Silence was obedience. Silence gave me space to measure Ethan without interruption.
He sat next to me, stiff in his tuxedo, fiddling with his cufflink like a child who didn’t know what to do with his hands. His nerves leaked from every gesture. I let him squirm. Better that he feel the weight of what tonight meant.
When the building loomed into view, glowing like a monument to excess, I straightened my tie and glanced at him once. That was enough. His fidgeting stopped.
Outside, the swarm was waiting. Photographers lined the pavement, flashes already warming in anticipation. I stepped out first, and the sound came like a wave: my name called, questions shouted, cameras clicking like gunfire.
I thrived in it. Their hunge
