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