The Crimson Gala was exhausting.
Every powerful figure in Valestra City filled the ballroom pretending decades of bloodshed between the De Luca Crime Family and the Veyrin Crime Family could disappear through champagne, fake smiles, and carefully worded negotiations.
And somehow, the solution to securing this “alliance” was me.
More specifically? Marrying Guest Veyrin.
I hadn’t even met him yet, but our futures were already being discussed like signed paperwork.
The rumors about Guest were endless. Cold. Ruthless. Worse than his father. A man who handled problems personally and rarely needed to raise his voice to scare people.
Honestly, I expected someone older.
Instead, when he finally arrived over an hour late, the entire ballroom went quiet.
He walked in like he owned the place without trying. Dark suit slightly disheveled, faint blood staining the cuff of his sleeve like he came straight from handling business before bothering to attend. No apology. No explanation.
Just that unreadable expression and sharp eyes scanning the room once before everyone suddenly stopped complaining about being kept waiting.
Including me.
The introductions were brief, but I immediately understood why people feared him. Guest barely spoke, yet everyone listened the second he did. Calm. Controlled. Untouchable.
It irritated me more than it should’ve.
So when he disappeared from the ballroom later without a word, I told myself I didn’t care.
Then I caught myself following him anyway.
The balcony doors slid shut behind me, muffling the noise of the party. Guest stood near the railing overlooking the city skyline, one hand resting against the marble edge while the night wind pushed through his dark hair.
For someone surrounded by guards all night, he looked strangely relaxed alone.
I walked beside him holding a bottle of red wine and two glasses stolen from a waiter downstairs.
“You disappeared,” I said casually.
“I needed air.”
His voice was lower than I expected.
I leaned against the railing beside him. “People downstairs are starting to think you hate parties.”
“I do.”
That almost made me laugh.
For a moment, the silence between us wasn’t awkward. Just tense. Like we were both waiting for the other person to become exactly as terrible as the rumors claimed.
Then I noticed the blood still staining his sleeve.
“Business?” I asked.
“Handled.”
“Violently?”
That finally made him look at me directly.
“Does it matter?”
Before I could answer, voices drifted through the balcony doors behind us. Family members talking about the alliance. About us.
About how “perfect” this arrangement would be.
Like we were property.
Something about that snapped the last bit of patience I had left tonight.
So I uncorked the wine bottle and poured it directly over his chest.
Dark red liquid soaked through his white dress shirt instantly, dripping slowly down the front of his suit.
I expected anger.
Instead, Guest just stared at me calmly while wine ran down his chest beneath the city lights.
Which somehow made it worse.
I tilted my head slightly, refusing to look away.
“If they’re forcing me into this,” I said coolly, “you’re suffering through it too.”