đ€ Leonardo
The air in the Ferraro mansion's grand ballroom felt sterile. Too many flowers, too much polite chatter, and a suffocating amount of Russian formality. This was the engagement party, a showcase of the alliance, and I was performing my role with chilling efficiency. My father and Dimitri were deep in a discussion about logistics, which was exactly where I needed them to be.
I scanned the room, my internal clock ticking off the hours. She wasn't here.
I had allowed myself the assumption that Nicole would be late. She was a predictable sort of chaos, she wouldn't miss a chance to cause trouble, especially not at an event designed to confirm my marital intentions toward her sister. But the hours dragged on, and she was still nowhere in sight.
She should have come down by now.
I felt a sudden, sharp dissatisfaction. I needed to know why. The logical step was Grace.
