Standing beside him, Marina immediately tightened her grip on his arm, her painted lips curling in a faint smirk. She could feel David’s attention shifting and she didn’t like it not one bit.
"Oh! Hi Lily...you are here too" She turned her head toward Lily, her eyes sweeping her up and down in a slow, deliberate assessment. “How… unexpected.”
Lily’s expression didn’t change.
Marina tightened her hold on David’s arm and leaned in closer to him, her voice pitched just loud enough for Lily to hear. “I can’t imagine someone like her fitting into a place like this. The circles here… they’re different. People… earn their presence.” Her tone was dripping with implication.
Lily froze for a heartbeat, her jaw tightening. She wasn’t here to play social games, but Marina’s thinly veiled
