the ballroom. He released her wrist as if it were on fire. A faint red mark was already forming where his fingers
city skyline. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket
as cold as the marble balustrade. "You should
just watched the rigid
r you. I did it because I will not tolerate cheap theatrics and stupidity at an event bearing my
any notion that he had acted out of concern. Aria listened, her expression unreadable. Ins
powder room. "He defended her! In front of e
a weakness we can use again and again. This is just the first round." Th
consider the matter closed. He
g against the sleeve of his jacket. A sma
ck up at her face, his expression a
phone, the scr
lk. About our
gratitude, not even anger. He saw the cool, detached gaze of a ne
rtly with his
ee‑lined street, the engine a low hum. The enc
his voice laced with sarcasm. "How you pla
egan t
In public, you will play your part. Like you did tonight. It protects th
harsh, disbelieving laugh. "You think
lm and deliberate. She held the p
ée. I can, for instance, tell the Wall Street Journal at the next gala
is obsession with the Sterling family's public image. A quiet, amicable divorce was one thing. A
rching her calm face for any sign of a bluff. H
rp, frustrated breath. "F
stopped, she got out without a word, without a ba
ple, silent girl from Appalachia had just outmaneuvered him. And for the f
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