The auction had ended long ago. The last paddle had fallen, the final bid had been called, and the crowd had long since drifted away.
Yet Aquilo remained where he stood in the vast banquet hall, now stripped of its lively chatter and reduced to an unsettling silence. The grand chandeliers still bathed the room in warm golden light, but to him, the warmth had long since faded.
His thoughts refused to leave that single moment.
He could still see Ares fastening the necklace around Lara's neck before sliding the ring onto her finger. The memory replayed with cruel clarity. There was nothing hesitant about Ares' touch, nothing uncertain in his gaze. He looked at her as though the rest of the world had ceased to exist.
As though she already belonged to him.
And Lara...
She looked up at Ares with a tenderness Aquilo had never seen in her before.
