The dress Darius had chosen for her clung like it had been poured onto her body, a deep emerald that caught the light with every move. She'd barely had a say in it — his tailor had delivered it to the penthouse that morning with matching heels and a velvet clutch.
"You'll stand out just enough," Darius had said. "But not too much."
Now, stepping out of the black sedan into a hall lined with gold and glass, Aria realized he'd meant stand out the way a lamb stands out in a wolf's circle.
The room hummed with low laughter, the clink of crystal, and the subtle weight of eyes that sized her up without smiling. Men in tailored suits, women in diamonds that could pay off entire mortgages — and underneath it all, an unspoken current of power and danger.
Darius kept his hand at the small of her back, guiding her through the crowd like she was part of him. People greeted him with nods, some with forced warmth, others with thinly veiled hostility.
A man with silver hair and a ring heavy on his finger stepped into their path. "Darius King," he drawled. "And this must be…" His gaze slid to her, slow and calculating. "…the new asset?"
Aria's jaw tightened. "Wife," she corrected.
The man's smirk deepened. "Same thing, in some circles."
Darius's grip at her back firmed. "Not in mine," he said smoothly. "Excuse us."
They moved on, but Aria's pulse was hammering. "Who was that?" she whispered.
"Someone who doesn't need to know your name," Darius replied.
They reached a table at the far side of the room. From here, she could see the whole gathering — the calculated alliances, the whispered trades of information, the sharp glances when someone let their guard slip.
It wasn't a party. It was a hunt. And Darius wasn't the only lion in the room.
When a server passed, Aria took a glass of champagne, more for the cover than the taste. But before she could sip, a woman in a blood-red dress appeared beside her, her smile edged like a blade.
"You must be Aria," the woman said. "I've heard so much about you."
Aria met her gaze, steady. "Funny. I haven't heard a thing about you."
The woman's smile sharpened. "Oh, darling… you will."