RUTLED

crisis at work and the suffocating realization of my own colossal mistakes. The empire I had so meticulo

nothing but a profound emptiness. Then, unbidden, Ava' s face floated into my thoughts. Her quiet strength, her dignity in the

etely, utterly wron

by my side. I had insisted she clean up her act, dress appropriately, and for once, refrain from any public antics. She had even tried to mimic Ava's understated elegance, wearing a simple black

allroom, a sea of glittering faces a

v

skin and dark hair. Her hair, which I remembered as always immaculately styled, now fell in soft waves around her shoulders, framing a face that was no longer etched with sorrow, but radiant with a quiet

bered. She was... magnificent. A queen. My Ava, but transformed, reborn. She wa

, her subtle beauty, her unwavering loyalty. I remembered how I had crushed her spirit, rid

er features. "What are you looking at, Killian? Her again? Honestly, that dress is so passé." She tugged harder. "Let' s go

ing hope that she had changed, shattered. All I saw was the grasping, manipulative woman who had sy

, shocking even myself. "We are here for a business fu

hock. "Killian! How can you talk to m

over, Isabel," I said, my voice cold. I signaled to two of my secur

you!" She struggled, but the guards were unyielding. As she was dragged away, her protests e

ind eyes and an easy smile, stood beside her. He was leaning in, his hand gently touching her arm, his gaze fixed on her

for such things, too grounded, was speaking passionately about a sculptor' s use of light and shadow, her eyes alight with a fervor I had never seen. I had

r the connection they shared, for the laughter she so freel

r from her face. A small, intimate gesture. Ava leaned into his touch,

mine. He had no right to touch her, to look at her like that. My vision swam. All the co

. I shoved people aside, my eyes fixed on Conner.

sending him sprawling to the floor. The music s

ked at me, then at Ava, a flicker of understanding in his eyes. He gave Ava a r

ing, facing Ava. Her expression was u

e, a desperate attempt to sound casual

ibly decipher. "Mr. Rutledge," she replied, her voice calm, distant, utterly

arper knife than any accusation. It cut deeper than any i