Chapter 20
DANTE’S POV
The room was filled with exciterrant, everyone on edge waiting for the big reveal. Then, love a bomb dropping the Elder announced that the Griffith princess would no longer make an appearance. Just like that, the excitement went out of the room.
I glanced at my mother, and boy, that was a mistake Her face crumpled like a kid who had just been told. Christmas was canceled. She started muttering and buffing, acting more like a teenager than a grown
“Mother” I said, shaking my head in disbelief, “you really need to snap out of it You’re making a scene”
She turned to face me, her eyes flashing ‘Don’t you get it, Dante? If we don’t see the Griffith princess today, when will we? This was our chance
I sighed, feeling a headache coming on “Sabrina,” I called to my sister, hoping for backup, a little help
Sabrina just rolled her eyes. “Leave me out of it, Dante, I’m not getting in the middle of this drama.”
Great Just great.
I was about to try reasoning with my mother again when Linda suddenly gasped.
“What the “Linda’s voice trailed off, her eyes wide with shock
Vie all turned to see what had caught her attention, and I swear, my jaw hit the floor. There, in the flesh, was Aria. But she wasn’t alone. She was arm–in–arm with a man and it was the so–called Adam Griffith, laughing and chatting with guests like she owned the place.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. This was Aria?My Aria?
“Is that is that Aria?” Mother asked, her voice low.
Sabrina nodded slowly, still staring “Surprisingly, it is.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off them. Aria looked like she belonged there, among the pack elites. It was like looking at a stranger wearing the face of someone I thought I knew.
I
“I don’t understand anything,” I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.
Linda’s voice cut through my thoughts. “Oh, it’s obvious, isn’t it? She must have seduced him. That has to be it.”
Sabrina jumped in, her tone dripping with hate. “Of course. She’s just using him to gain power. Trying to get the Griffith clan to back her up. It’s so obvious.”
I felt a rush of anger at their words. “You both shut up and let me think.”
But they weren’t listening. They were too busy spinning their theories, each one more outrageous than the
“I bet she’s been planning this for a long time,” Linda said, her eyes narrowed. “Acting like the quiet, Innocent wife while secretly being a cheat.”
Chapter 25
I
“She was always so sneaky,” Sabrica added “Remember how she used to disappear for hours? I bet she was meeting up with harm then
headd
I couldn’t wrap my head around what I was hearing Tris was Aria they were talking about Sweet, Kind Ane who wouldn’t hurt a fly. She wouldn’t cheat on me she was helplessly in love with me
However, as I watched her move across the room, her hand linked with Adam Geffith’s arm, I felt a seed of doubt take root And something else Something that made my stomach twist and my fists clench at my sides
Jealousy Raw and ugly
Ana laughed at something Adam said, and the sound out through me like a knife. It used to be me making her laugh like that I was the one she looked at with those sparkling eyes.
can’t believe this,” I growled
Linda’s voice cut in. “What’s wrong Dante? Upset that your “Ana” found herself a better model?”
faced her “Shut up, Linda. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
er words had actually hit a nerve because wasn’t that exactly what it looked like? Aria, on the arm of a Griffith clan, looking like she had forgotten all about me
I watched them, unable to look away. The way Adam leaned in close to whisper in her ear. The way Ana’s hand rested on his arm, so comfortable, so familiar. Each little gesture was like a punch to the gut
Goddammit, I growled. “She was mine.”
Sabrina shot me a look, eyebrows raised. “Yours? Last I checked, she asked you for a divorce. Or did you forget that little detail?”
I hadn’t forgotten. How could I? The membry of the last time I had seen her was burned into my brain. The hurt in Aria’s eyes, the tremor in her voice as she told me she couldn’t do this anymore. But I had thought… I don’t know what I had thought. That she would come back? That she would realize she had made a mistake?
But now, watching her with Adam, it hit me. She had moved on. She didn’t need me anymore
Jealousy overwhelmed me. I couldn’t stand it. Couldn’t stand seeing her with him, couldn’t stand the way everyone was looking at them, couldn’t stand feeling like I had been replaced.
Then, like an answer to a prayer I hadn’t even known I was making, I saw Aria excuse herself from Adam. She made her way towards the drinks table, alone.
Before I even knew what I was doing. I pushed through the crowd, my eyes locked on Aria. I barely even heard Sabrina calling after me.
in that moment, I wasn’t thinking. I was feeling. Feeling hurt and angry.
I reached Aria just as she picked up a glass of champagne. She turned, and for a moment, I saw surprise cross her face. Then she composed herself, becoming cool and distant in a way I had never seen before.
*Alpha Dante,” she said, her voice carefully neutral. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Chapter 20
The formal tone threw me off balance. But I pushed on, the words tumbling out before I could stop them.
“What are you doing here, Aria?” I asked, my voice low and intense. “With him?”
Aria’s eyebrows raised. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” I continued, pointing in the direction where Adam stood, chatting with some people. What’s going on? How are you suddenly… this?”
I gestured towards her elegant dress, and her perfectly styled hair.
Aria’s eyes flashed with anger. “This?” she repeated, her voice sharp. “What exactly do you mean by this, Dante?*
I stumbled over my words, suddenly realizing how I sounded. “I just… you’re different. All of this. The Aria I know wouldn’t-”
“The Aria–you know?” she cut me off, her voice rising slightly. A few heads turned in our direction, but I barely noticed. “Did it ever occur to you, Dante, that maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do?”
Her words hit me like a slap. I stared at her, this girl who looked like Aria but acted like a stranger. What had happened to her?
“But that man?” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice. “Really, Aria? How did that even happen?” any of your Aria straightened, raising her chin in a defensive and deflant manner. “I don’t see how that’s business,” she said calmly. Then, with a hint of challenge in her voice, she added, “Why do you care anyway, Dante? You let me walk away, so why do you care?”
