Anthony POV
The gala was finally winding down.
The laughter had softened, the orchestra's music slowed into something softer, less showy. Crystal glasses clinked in the background — the sound of a night that had lasted a little too long.
I'd been standing near the terrace doors, half-listening to another conversation about business expansions and charity partnerships. Nodding where I should, smiling when expected. Years of practice made it easy.
This was supposed to be my world.
And yet, for the first time in a long while, I felt detached from it — watching instead of belonging.
Maybe because Michelle was here.
She'd blended in better than anyone could have expected. Not that I doubted she would — she was a Lui, after all. Her family wasn't part of the exclusive eight, but the Luis had always been comfortably high in the country's social tier — wealthy, respected, cultured. She was raised for this kind of setting.
