Chapter 9 - The Sovereign Gathering
The celebration of Lily and Ben’s first anniversary was held at the same Oakridge Country Club, but the atmosphere was completely unrecognizable from the night of the wedding.
The grand ballroom was filled with warm amber lights, the white wisterias replaced by cascades of fresh spring lilies and green ivy. There were no hushed whispers in the pantry, no tense arguments behind the brick walls of the patio. The two hundred guests were the same, but the power dynamic of the room had fundamentally shifted.
Anna stood near the dance floor, wearing an elegant emerald-green gown that showed the flawless, smooth skin of her shoulders and jawline. She was laughing with her mother, who was holding her hand with a warmth that hadn't been permitted in three years.
"He’s watching you, you know," her mother smiled, nodding toward the edge of the ballroom.
Anna looked up. Dominic Vale was standing near the grand mahogany pillars, flanked by Marcus Reed and Ben. He was wearing an immaculate black tuxedo, a glass of mineral water in his hand, entirely ignoring the corporate executives who were trying to secure his attention. His pale gray eyes were fixed entirely on her face, tracking the way her smile caught the light of the crystal chandeliers.
"He doesn't look like an architect, Anna," her mother whispered softly, her eyes shining with tears of pure happiness. "But he looks like a man who loves you enough to keep the whole world at bay."
"He does, Mom," Anna said, her heart swelling with a profound, unyielding peace. "He does."
As the jazz band transitioned into a slow, romantic melody, Dominic excused himself from the conversation with the men, walking across the wide dance floor with that slow, predatory grace that used to terrify her. The ballroom fell completely silent as he approached her—not out of fear, but out of a profound, universal respect for the sovereign who had rewritten the rules of the city’s elite.
He stopped in front of her, dropping into a slight, aristocratic bow as he held his hand out. "May I have this dance, Mrs. Vale?"
May you like
"I am not a Vale yet, Dominic," Anna laughed softly, sliding her small palm into his.
"The paperwork is just a formality, Anna," he murmured, pulling her gently into his arms as they moved onto the floor. "In this city, you've been mine since the moment the phone rang."
