The soft thud of the car door echoed into the night as Grace's vehicle pulled out of the estate. Aries stood there, frozen, staring at the path her car had taken, the tips of his fingers brushing the air like it still held the hem of her gown.
He didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Didn't breathe.
Only the ache in his chest reminded him he was alive.
A few steps behind, Aiden Valois leaned against one of the marble pillars, half hidden in shadows. A cigarette hung loosely from his lips, a faint red glow at the tip. Smoke curled around his sharp jawline as he exhaled—slow, almost thoughtful.
He had seen it all.
The kneeling.The kiss to her gown.The gaze that held too much to be safe.
Aiden tapped the ash off his cigarette, eyes still fixed on Aries.
"So that's what devotion looks like... damn," he muttered, barely loud enough for himself to hear.
He didn't smile. Not exactly. The curve of his lips was laced with something far more dangerous—nostalgia, maybe. Or maybe pity. But not for Aries.
For Grace.
Above them, from the terrace of the upstairs venue, the wind caught at pale silks and high heels. Vivianne stood at the glass railing, drink in hand, her glazed but deadly eyes watching it all unfold like a play meant only for her amusement.
Grace's frantic run.Aries's bloodied palms, his trembling hands wrapping her wounds instead of his own.That kiss to the fabric. The kind of kiss no man gives lightly.
She saw everything.
Vivianne tilted her head, blonde waves cascading over her bare shoulder. She raised her glass to her lips and finished the entire thing in one single shot.
Her lipstick left a crimson ring around the rim—like a warning.
The wind caught her voice as she whispered to herself,
"People say I'm cruel…"
Her tongue clicked as she rolled the empty glass between her fingers, shoulders rising with a light laugh.
"…But clearly, not cruel enough."
The glass slipped from her fingertips.
It crashed to the stone floor behind her—shattering into a thousand glittering pieces.
Her smile widened. Something darker now. Vicious. Seductive.
She turned on her heels, hips swaying to an unheard rhythm, the corner of her mouth quirking as if savoring something sweet and sickening all at once.
"Can't take pride in being the villain if I let the show end in romance, now can I?"
She disappeared through the terrace doors, the hem of her dress trailing behind like a phantom.And just like that, the air shifted.
Something wicked was coming.
Something sharp.