Facades
Stefan's POV~
The grand ballroom of the gala was throbbing with opulence until the projector flared to life. I felt my heart break as the photo of Valenticia and me on the balcony, her hand in mine was displayed across the screen: The heiress’s lie. The murmurs of the crowd increased in chorus and whispers erupted. Valenticia’s face turned pale, the gold dress she was wearing squeezed by her trembling hands and her eyes wide with fear as she gasped for breath. She gripped my arm, her fingers shaking, with a silent question in her eyes that made me want to die.
“Fraud!” a man hissed with his wine glass raised in a pinstripe suit nearby. “If she’s a liar, Clawford’s done.” A woman in emerald silk sneered, “Rosanna’s so desperate, shoving in a nobody.” Their words hurt, but amidst
