"Will you smile?" Jeremy asked his friend, who had made no effort to look pleasant for the media personnel gathered at the entrance, hoping to capture gossip that would keep their pages trending for weeks.
When they stretched their microphones toward him, eager for a statement, he walked past them as if they did not exist.
They attempted to follow, but the guards stepped in and blocked their path.
Dominic's mood darkened the moment he saw the crowd inside the mansion. He despised crowded spaces. The moment he stepped in, heads turned and whispers followed. He could hear them. It was always the same narrative. How his mother had ruined a perfect marriage. How he was the illegitimate son of a wealthy man.
He was not even supposed to be there.
Carlo had originally been meant to represent the Silvestri family at Mrs. Delamonte's birthday celebration, but he had fabricated an excuse. Their father had then instructed Dominic to attend in his place.
