I couldn't tear my eyes away from the scene unfolding in the garden alcove. The moonlight cast an ethereal glow over Clara as Lucian placed the ring on her finger. Even from this distance, I could see how she glowed with triumph, her face alight with a joy I had rarely seen in my stepsister.
"They're engaged now," I murmured to Alaric, feeling a strange mixture of emotions. Despite our troubled history, some small part of me wished Clara happiness. "Perhaps marriage will soften her."
Alaric's arm tightened around my waist. "Some people aren't meant to be softened, Isabella. Your stepsister has always valued position over people."
"You're probably right," I sighed, leaning into his embrace. "Still, it's strange to see someone who despised me for so long getting everything she's ever wanted."
"Has she?" Alaric's voice carried a note of skepticism that made me look up at him questioningly. Before I could ask what he meant, we were interrupted by familiar voices.
