Chapter 2 - The Shockwave
The entire ballroom went deathly quiet.
You could have heard a pin drop on the thick velvet carpet. Victoria Langford’s jaw dropped open, her green eyes wide with total disbelief. Damian stood paralyzed, the color completely draining from his face until he looked like a ghost standing in his expensive tuxedo.
"F-fiancée?" Damian stammered, his voice cracking like a child's. "That's... that's impossible. Mr. Sterling, she lived in a damp Brooklyn basement six months ago! She worked at a coffee shop!"
Alexander stepped closer to Damian, towering over the younger man. The sheer weight of his presence made Damian reflexively take a step back.
"Where Ava lived six months ago is none of your concern, Mr. Cross," Alexander said, his voice dangerously low. "What is your concern is that you just intentionally threw alcohol over my bride-to-be in front of two hundred witnesses."
Ava’s heart was hammering against her ribs so hard she could barely breathe. Her hands clutched the lapels of Alexander’s warm tuxedo jacket around her chest. She had never spoken more than three words to Alexander Sterling in her entire life—or so she thought. Why was New York’s most ruthless titan standing in front of her, claiming her as his future wife?
Victoria quickly pulled on Damian’s arm, her face flushing with deep embarrassment. "Mr. Sterling, please... Damian was just joking around. It was an accident—"
"A joke?" Alexander turned his dark eyes toward Victoria. "Is it standard protocol for the Langford family to find humor in degrading working women at charity events?"
Victoria winced as if she’d been slapped. The Langford family depended heavily on credit lines controlled by Alexander's private investment bank; a single word from him could freeze her family’s real-estate developments by tomorrow morning.
"No, sir," Victoria whispered, lowering her head in shame. "We apologize."
"Don't apologize to me," Alexander snapped coldly. "Apologize to Ava."
Damian swallowed hard, looking at Ava. Six months ago, he had treated her like trash he’d tossed into the street. Now, under the terrifying gaze of Alexander Sterling, he was forced to bend his pride.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Ava," Damian muttered, his knuckles white as he squeezed his fists. "I was out of line."
"I don't accept it," Ava said, her voice rising suddenly with a strength she didn't know she possessed. She looked Damian dead in the eye. "You did it because you thought I was nobody. You did it because you thought no one would stand up for me."
Alexander looked down at Ava, a faint, proud smirk touching the corner of his lips. He reached out and took her soft, cold hand in his, wrapping his large fingers firmly around hers.
May you like
"Come, Ava," Alexander said softly, turning his back on Damian and Victoria. "Our car is waiting outside. Let's get you out of those wet clothes."
As Alexander led Ava down the center aisle of the ballroom, every head turned to watch them pass. The waiters made way, the high-society guests whispered furiously behind their silk fans, and Damian stood frozen in the middle of the room, realizing he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.
