I wasn’t supposed to be here.
The gold-lit chandelier above me glimmered like guilt as I stepped deeper into the Blackwood estate’s grand ballroom. Laughter rang from the far corner, champagne glasses clinked, and violins played something soft and expensive in the background. I clutched my purse tighter, heels clicking across the marble like a warning bell.
This was his world. Liam’s world.
My ex.
And worse—his father’s.
I told myself it didn’t matter. That I was here because Mia begged me to come, because I had nothing better to do on a Saturday night, because I didn’t care anymore. But all that confidence crumbled when my eyes landed on him.
Cain Blackwood.
There, across the room, standing in that sleek black suit with his hand curled around a crystal tumbler of whiskey like it be
