The night was meant to be perfect—a charity gala filled with elegance, music, and carefully constructed smiles. But to Seraphina, it was another gilded cage. The chandeliers gleamed like stars above, their light reflecting off the polished marble floor and the glittering masks of high society. Laughter echoed through the grand ballroom, yet beneath it all, tension simmered like a living thing.
She stood near the edge of the crowd, her champagne untouched, her heart heavy. It had been weeks since Kael had truly spoken to her. Their days were filled with silence, their nights with distance. And now, in a room full of strangers, that silence felt unbearable.
Then he appeared—Lord Vincent Darrow. Charming, polished, and dangerous in the way all men who enjoyed playing with fire were. He was
