ist. Her smile was a perfect, polished lie for the benefit of

a winter sky. She didn't struggle, didn't react. She

he champagne flute she was holding tumbled to the floor, shattering on

rd, her ankle landing squarely on a large piece of

r voice filled with pai

to her side, immediately pointing an accusing fin

cle of onlookers tightened, their whisp

er eyes welling with crocodile tears. "Jules, I was just

. She didn't even glance at the facts-her verdict was already decided. "You sh

s arm, to physically force he

nt appeared in her eyes. The silence that was her shield had now become her cage. She was trapped, u

g its breath, waiting for the girl

through the tension, l

ize? Fo

He didn't rush. He walked calmly to Aria's side, creating an unspoken barrier between

were standing a good three feet away from her. Explain to me the physics of how she managed to 'p

clinical dissection-a verbal scalpel that laid

. She stammered, unable to

nd you. Did you get your degree from a fo

mpt on his face. "My fiancée," he said, the words clear and delibera

d pulled her through the stunned, parting crowd. His grip was firm, inescapable, as