The moment had arrived with all the ceremony that money could buy, and power could orchestrate. Tessa descended the grand staircase with the measured grace of someone walking to her own execution, each step echoing through the ballroom like a countdown to cosmic disaster.
The crowd parted before her like expensive water, five hundred pairs of eyes tracking her movement toward the small stage where Aleric waited with the confidence of someone who thought he'd already won the game.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer's voice carried across the ballroom with practiced authority, "we gather tonight to witness the exchange of engagement rings between these two remarkable young people, uniting not just hearts but the legacies of two of our most distinguished families."
Applause rippled through the crowd, polite but enthusiastic, the sound of powerful people celebrating what they thought was a simple marriage alliance.
