Chapter 148
No.1
Elisa tried to fade further into the background, but it was impossible. The room was a cage, and the predators were circling.
Allena spotted her first. Elisa saw the moment it happened-a flicker of surprise, followed by a slow,malicious grin. Allena whispered something to August, then tugged on his arm, steering him directly toward Elisa.
They stopped a few feet away. August's eyes found Elisa. There was no surprise, only a cold, hard flash of anger. He looked at her the way one might look at a stain on a favorite carpet.
"Well, well," Allena said, her voice carrying. "Look who decided to join the party. I didn't know they issued invitations to the help."
No.2
The Duchess, who had been watching from across the room, drifted back over, drawn by the tension like a moth to a flame. She smiled at August.
"August, darling," the Duchess said, her voice loud enough to carry. "Your fiancée is just charming. You must bring her to my gala next month."
The word hit the air like a bomb.
Fiancée.
No.3
Elisa's breath caught in her throat. She looked at August, waiting. Waiting for the correction.Waiting for him to say, "She's not my fiancée. She's my mistress. My wife is standing right there."
He didn't.
·August didn't even hesitate. He smiled, a small,polite curve of his lips, and said, "You're too kind,Duchess.We'll be there."
He had confirmed it. In front of half of New York society, he had confirmed Allena as his fiancée.
No.4
Allena beamed, pressing closer to him. She shot Elisa a look of pure, unadulterated triumph.
The Duchess turned her sharp gaze back to Elisa."You there," she said, snapping her fingers. "Be a dear and fetch me a soda water. With a twist of lemon.And be quick about it."
The room went quiet. Every eye was on Elisa. The wife, being ordered to fetch drinks for the guests of her husband's mistress.
August stood there, his face a mask of stone. He didn't speak. He didn't intervene. He simply watched, his eyes cold and hard, as if daring Elisa to make a scene.
No.5
Elisa felt the blood drain from her face. Her fingers tightened around the stem of the champagne flute until she thought it might snap. The humiliation was a physical thing, a heavy, sufocating weight pressing down on her chest.
But she didn't scream. She didn't cry. She didn't throw the champagne in his face.
She simply nodded. "Of course, Duchess."
She turned and walked away, her spine straight, her head held high. She walked to the bar, the whispers following her like a swarm of bees. She ordered the soda water. She watched the bartender slice the lemon.
No.6
When she returned, she handed the glass to the Duchess with a steady hand. "Your soda water,
madam."
The Duchess took it without a word of thanks. She turned back to August and Allena, dismissing Elisa as if she were a piece of furniture.
Elisa looked at Maeve, who was standing nearby, her face white with fury. Maeve opened her mouth,but Elisa shook her head slightly.
No.7
"I'm not feeling well," Elisa said, her voice barely a whisper."I need to go."
She didn't wait for a response. She set her untouched champagne on a nearby table and walked toward the exit. She didn't run. She walked with the slow, deliberate pace of a woman who had nothing left to lose.
As she reached the door, she felt it. A burning sensation on her back. She didn't have to turn around to know that August was watching her go.
And she didn't look back. Not once.