The following days blurred into a carefully choreographed routine of attending luncheons, accompanying Vivienne on shopping sprees, and enduring the veiled insults that came with being the newcomer.Vivienne and her 'friends,' though the term felt meaningless. They weren't friends. They were orbiting planets, each competing to be closest to the sun. It was clear that they were not genuinely interested in her company.Her friends seemed to be constantly measuring each other, trying to appear as superior as possible to gain the coveted title of 'the favorite.But that had nothing to do with Grace. She played her role well, keeping her emotions tightly locked away.She suppressed her disgust for the superficial culture that surrounded her and instead went through the motions of conversation, pretending to laugh at Vivienne's insults. But it was getting harder to ignore the pit in her stomach.
she was still an outsider.
Vivienne's group lived in a different world, one where money erased morality, where power meant cruelty, and where silence meant survival.Their actions were guided by the unwritten rule that you had to be stronger, more ruthless, and more cunning to succeed. This world was devoid of compassion and empathy, and those who couldn't adapt would be cast aside.
Grace hated it.
She hated how the other girls laughed at Vivienne's insults.She hated the way they accepted being treated as less,their eyes downcast, their voices weak. She hated that she had to sit there and endure it all.
It had only been a few days, but already, she felt the weight of it pressing down on her. The suffocation of pretending, of playing a role she despised.The price of being accepted by this clique was to sacrifice her own self-respect, to compromise her values and morals.
She didn't belong here.She never would.
Yet, when she returned home, her father would only ask one question:
"Are you getting closer to Cassian?"
And Grace would swallow her pride and say, "Yes."
Because the moment she stopped playing along, her mother would pay the price.Her father's obsession with Cassian had a hold on them, and they were trapped in a complex web of expectations and fear.Cassian was a name that evoked both fear and fascination. The mention of his name would send her mother into a panic, begging her father to reconsider.
As the days blended into a dismal gray blur of disappointment, the facade of her 'new' life continued to crumble. Each passing day was a fresh struggle to contain her disgust and frustration
Then, something shifted.
On the third day, a murmur of excitement spread through the group as Vivienne's personal bodyguard was dismissed. Apparently, he had failed to meet her impossible standards.A constant drumbeat of disappointment, he had been a warning sign to anyone who dared to question their own worth
"Such a disappointment," Vivienne sighed dramatically. "But don't worry. My father has hired someone new. I hear he's quite something."
As she spoke, the doors to the private lounge swung open, and in stepped a man who immediately shifted the air in the room.His presence was like a crack of lightning on a stormy night.
Tall, with an air of quiet intensity, he carried himself with the precision of someone who had seen too much of the world. His sharp gaze swept the room before briefly settling on Vivienne, then flickering to Grace.It was as if he was weighing her worth in an instant, a conclusion that left her feeling both unsettled and intrigued. He seemed to embody a paradox of strength and fragility, a man forged in the crucible of experience but tempered by a deep understanding of human nature.
Something in his eyes—calculated, assessing—sent a shiver down her spine.She couldn't quite articulate why he affected her in this way, but the sensation lingered, refusing to dissipate despite her best efforts to ignore it. It was as though he had seen the facade she wore and had instantly recognized it for what it was—a mask.
"Everyone," Vivienne announced with a pleased smile, "meet Aries Cain."
The room buzzed with interest, but Grace couldn't shake the feeling that something had just changed.
For better or for worse, she wasn't sure.