(Third POV – ensemble focus)
The ballroom had not quieted since the Sy heir crossed half the marble floor, took Michelle Lui's hand in full view of the elite, and pulled her gently, deliberately, toward his family.
The flame had been lit.
Now the gossip oxygen rushed in.
Whispers cascaded like glittering static.
Fans flicked open.
Eyes sharpened.
The Lui girl—
The Sy heir—
Emerald for both—
Confirmation. Real. Public. Unavoidable.
But Michelle didn't shrink.
She walked beside Steven with a poise that made half the room rethink everything they believed about her.
--
(The Introduction)
Steven led her directly to his parents—because that was what etiquette demanded. Even he couldn't outrun centuries of social ritual.
Mr. and Mrs. Sy stood with quiet authority near the center of the ballroom, surrounded by old allies—families whose wealth ran back generations. The Chuas among them. The Yus. The Ren elders. The Peng family matriarch. A small cluster of power and pedigree.
