Her body stilled.
“Oh my God, I can’t stand her,” a woman said with an annoyed groan. “It’s so fucking pathetic. He only married her because her grandfather begged him to after her car accident. Wasn’t she supposed to be almost dying or something?” She let out a mocking laugh, rolling her eyes. “Yet look at her now. Still alive and perfectly fine.”
Amara’s fingers tightened around her clutch.
She should’ve kept walking.
Instead, almost without realizing it, she took a small step back—then another—until her back lightly brushed against the wall. She stayed just out of sight of the window, her body angled away, hidden.
Her breath grew quieter as she listened.
A man’s voice joined in.
“That’s what I heard. Her grandfather practically begged Elias to marry her after that accident last year. Just because she had some pathetic crush on him.” He scoffed and crossed his arms. “Seriously… how desperate do you have to be to beg a man to marry your granddaughter like that?”
Amara’s heart dropped instantly.
The sharp pain inside her chest rushed through her entire body so fast it almost made her stagger. Her fingers curled tightly around her clutch while her throat burned painfully. Every word of the gossip around her felt like shards of glass sinking deeper into her skin, tearing her apart piece by piece.
Her breathing turned uneven.
Just then, movement near the entrance caught her attention.
The crowd near the doors suddenly shifted, people instinctively moving aside.
Elias Creed stepped into the club.
He was tall enough to draw attention without trying. His dark suit sat perfectly on a lean, powerful frame. The dim lights brushed over his face as he walked in—strong jaw, a slightly long nose that only made him more striking, and a defined stubble that gave his features a rough edge. His dark brown eyes stayed calm and warm, not lingering on anything in particular. Darkwavy hair, parted loosely in the middle, fell to the nape of his neck, a few strands falling forward as if he never bothered to fix them.
Amara’s fingers tightened as every sound around her faded into the background.
Her heart jumped so suddenly that her spine straightened on instinct, hope flashing across her face for a brief second.
But the feeling died just as fast.
Because he wasn’t alone.
Bianca stood beside Elias confidently in a shimmering golden dress that hugged her figure perfectly, her long legs exposed beneath the slit of the gown. She leaned slightly toward him as they walked together, looking elegant and perfectly matched beside him.
Amara froze.
Her lips parted slightly while her fingers tightened harder around her purse until her knuckles turned white.
“So… he didn’t come alone,” she whispered under her breath, her voice trembling faintly. “He came with her?”
Her chest tightened so painfully she almost couldn’t breathe.
She watched them walk side by side through the crowd like they belonged together. Elias leaned slightly toward Bianca as she said something to him, and the sight alone made Amara feel sick.
Then both of them disappeared inside the VIP room together.
The laughter and conversations inside the room quieted for only a few seconds after Elias entered. Several people immediately turned to look at them before the whispers slowly started again.
But then the whispers started again.
“Oh my God… did you see that? Elias came to the party with Bianca. Is something going on between them?”
“I wouldn’t even be surprised,” a man scoffed while swirling the drink in his hand.