"Not everyone in the crowd is trying to be seen. Some are watching just as much as they are watched."_Unknown
Levi lounged in the shadowed corner of the veranda, his long legs stretched out, one ankle resting atop the other. His sharp gaze did not follow the glittering crowd of hopeful women gathered beneath the grand chandeliers. Instead, it was fixed on the figure who seemed most intent on disappearing into the background.
"She doesn't look like the others," Levi murmured under his breath. "She does not want to be noticed," he said quietly, eyes narrowing just slightly as he watched Maeve. "That makes her the most outstanding of them all."
Anton, his assistant, leaned in with a knowing smirk. His chestnut hair caught the soft glow of the room, and his darker eyes sparkled with amusement. "In a room full of peacocks, the quiet dove shines brightest. You always did have an eye for the unusual, Levi."
"Name?" he asked.
Anton opened a sleek black tablet and began scrolling. "Most guests tonight were vetted, but I'll cross-reference the guest list. She wasn't listed among the prospects... at least not by name."
"She didn't come to be chosen," Levi said simply.
His voice carried the weight of boredom, but his eyes had narrowed slightly behind his lenses.
He leaned back, exhaling softly. Around him, the room glistened with curated grace. Girls were laughing too loudly, smiling too hard. Men exchanged pleasantries that meant nothing. He could see the desperation under the layers of silk and confidence.
All except her.
She was... standing behind a pillar. Not performing. Just existing.
He didn't look again, but he remembered exactly what shade her hair had been under the light—ash-grey with lavender glints, like twilight before a storm.
"Run a background check on her," he ordered, voice low and controlled. "I'm not interested in theatrics."
Anton nodded and pulled out his phone, already initiating the search. Levi turned back to the crowd, but his mind was elsewhere, drifting toward the mystery behind Maeve's calm isolation.
---
Meanwhile, Maeve tried to shrink into the corners of the ballroom. Her cousins, Katie and Kelly, twirled and swayed with practiced grace, their eyes only sparing her a glance or two — often glazed with thinly veiled contempt. They were dazzling, polished, perfectly rehearsed in every gesture.
Linda Johnson, their mother, moved with the precision of a hawk, correcting their posture and reminding them how to hold their heads high. Her sharp eyes swept the room until they landed on Maeve, who was leaning awkwardly behind a pillar, trying to become one it.
Linda's lips tightened, and she approached Maeve with a calculated smile that barely masked irritation. "Stop hiding back there, Maeve. You're not an outsider. You're part of this family. Come out with us."
Maeve hesitated, voice barely above a whisper, "I'm just… I don't belong here like this."
Linda's smile sharpened. "You don't have to mingle, just don't disappear. Stand where I can see you."
---
Levi glanced at the brief report on Anton's phone. Maeve Johnson. The basics were there: an orphaned girl, parents lost years ago in a tragic car accident—official cause: brake failure. Nothing more, nothing less.
Anton gave a short nod. "No complications. No red flags. Just a quiet background."
Levi's expression remained neutral. "Sometimes, that's all there is—just bad luck."
He pocketed the phone without a second thought, eyes already moving on to the next item on the agenda. Maeve's past was irrelevant. What mattered was the present.
---
The evening wore on, a swirl of laughter, polite conversation, and hopeful glances. The atmosphere thickened with anticipation as Anton stepped forward, clearing his throat to address the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen," his voice rang clear over the murmur, "thank you all for attending this evening. The time has come to announce the lady who has been chosen."
A hush fell. Women adjusted their gowns, smoothed their hair, tried to steady the rapid thumping of their hearts.
Anton's eyes scanned the room before he pronounced, "Maeve Johnson."
The name fell like a stone into a pool of silence. No one stirred immediately — unsure, confused.
The Johnson family froze. Katie's mouth opened slightly, Kelly's eyes widened. Linda's expression hardened, disbelief flashing across her features.
Levi remained poised, almost bored, as if the announcement was just another formality. But then he rose smoothly from his chair on the veranda, his long strides commanding attention as he descended to the crowd.
All eyes turned towards who he was walking too, who was now standing rigid, shock written across her pale face, her heart active than it had ever been in years.
Levi's brown eyes locked onto hers with a depth that made her breath catch. The world seemed to still around them as he reached out and took her hands gently but firmly.
Maeve's heart thundered — loud enough, she was sure, to echo in her ears.
With the faintest trace of ennui still lingering on his lips, Levi lowered himself onto one knee before her. The room held its collective breath.
His voice was steady, compelling.
"Maeve Johnson, will you marry me?"