"What do you an?" Gideon's smug expression faltered. "I know she's from the Ashworth family, but—"
"But nothing!" Damian hissed, his eyes wide with panic. "I saw her three months ago in Veridia City, dining with the top five families. The commander of the Eldoria Battle Zone personally escorted her!"
I couldn't help but smile as I watched their conversation from across the room. Isabelle squeezed my arm gently.
"Your ex-wife and her new boyfriend seem to be having an interesting chat with Damian Prescott," she whispered, her breath warm against my ear.
"Damian looks like he's seen a ghost," I replied, noting how the color had completely drained from his face.
"He probably has," Isabelle said with a small smile. "Damian's father does business with my family. He knows exactly who I am."
Across the room, Gideon's face transford from confusion to horror. His hands began to shake so badly that champagne sloshed over the rim of his glass.
"That's impossible," he stamred to Damian. "She can't be... that Isabelle Ashworth."
"It is her, you fool!" Damian's voice carried across the room despite his attempt to whisper. "And you called her a stinking woman! Do you have any idea what the Ashworths can do? They could destroy your entire family with a single phone call!"
Gideon's eyes darted wildly around the room before landing on Seraphina. In an instant, his terror morphed into rage.
"You!" he snarled, grabbing her arm so roughly that several nearby guests turned to stare. "You let insult Isabelle Ashworth! Do you know what you've done?"
Seraphina yanked her arm free, rubbing the red mark he'd left. "Don't be ridiculous. She's just so businesswoman, not royalty."
Gideon let out a strangled laugh. "Not royalty? The Ashworths might as well be! Their influence extends beyond Veridia City. Even the Blackwoods wouldn't dare offend them!"
"He's right," Damian added, already backing away as if to distance himself from the impending disaster. "My father told stories about what happened to the last person who crossed the Ashworths. They didn't just ruin him—they erased him. No one would even acknowledge his existence afterward."
I leaned closer to Isabelle. "Are your family's connections really that powerful?"
She shrugged, a mysterious smile playing on her lips. "Perception is often more powerful than reality, Liam. Though in this case, they're not entirely wrong." The original source is *.
Across the room, Gideon grabbed Seraphina's shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh.
"We need to apologize. Now. Before word gets back to her family."
Seraphina rolled her eyes. "You're overreacting. Besides, what could she possibly—"
The crack of Gideon's hand against Seraphina's cheek echoed through the suddenly quiet room. Guests nearby gasped, stepping back from the scene.
"Don't you understand?" Gideon hissed, his face contorted with fear. "This isn't so petty Havenwood drama! This is the Ashworth family! They can crush us like insects!"
I started forward instinctively, but Isabelle's hand on my arm stopped .
"Let it play out," she murmured. "This isn't your battle anymore."
Seraphina pressed a hand to her reddening cheek, shock and humiliation warring in her expression. "You hit ," she whispered. "You actually hit ."
"And I'll do worse if you don't fix this," Gideon threatened, his voice shaking. "Go apologize to Knight. Get him to speak to her on our behalf."
"Apologize to Liam?" Seraphina's voice rose in disbelief. "After everything? Never!"
Gideon leaned closer, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "Listen to , you stupid woman. Your ex-husband is our only hope. Miss Ashworth seems to favor him. If he puts in a word for us, maybe—just maybe—we can avoid complete destruction."
"You want to beg Liam for help?" Tears welled in Seraphina's eyes, but whether from pain or indignation, I couldn't tell.
"I want you to do whatever it takes," Gideon snarled. "Cry, beg, offer yourself to him if you have to. Just get him to intercede with the Ashworths!"
I felt Isabelle stiffen beside . "That pig," she muttered.
"Should we intervene?" I asked, watching as Seraphina tried to pull away from Gideon's grip.
"Not yet." Isabelle's eyes were cold. "I want to see how far his desperation takes him."
Seraphina finally wrenched free, rubbing her wrist where angry red marks blood against her pale skin. "You're insane! Liam wouldn't help even if I begged. And I will never beg him for anything!"
"Then you're more stupid than I thought," Gideon hissed. "The Ashworths will destroy us both for this insult. Is your pride worth your future? Your family's future?"
"The Ashworths don't scare ," Seraphina declared, lifting her chin defiantly. "They're just another rich family with an inflated sense of importance."
Damian, who had been edging away from the conflict, suddenly froze. His eyes widened as he looked past Seraphina toward the entrance of the ballroom.
"Speaking of the devil..." he muttered.
The room fell silent as a ripple of awareness spread through the crowd. All eyes turned toward the grand double doors, which had been thrown open to reveal a vision in blue.
Isabelle squeezed my arm once before slipping away. I watched as she glided across the room, transforming with each step. The warm, playful woman I'd been dancing with vanished, replaced by the untouchable Ice Mountain that legends spoke of.
Her back straightened, chin lifted, eyes cooling to arctic blue. The crowd parted before her like water, so bowing their heads respectfully, others openly staring in awe. Even the music faltered, the string quartet montarily losing their rhythm at the sight of her.
This was Isabelle Ashworth as the world knew her—regal, untouchable, and absolutely intimidating. I understood now why even powerful n like Gideon Blackwood trembled at the ntion of her na.
The silence was absolute as she reached the center of the room. It was as if everyone held their breath, waiting for permission to exhale.
Into that perfect silence, a clear voice rang out:
"Look at her, acting like she owns the place," Seraphina's voice dripped with contempt. "She's just a bitch with a famous last na."
The words hung in the air like shattered glass. Heads whipped around in shock, searching for the source of such an unthinkable insult.
All eyes locked on Seraphina Sterling, who stood with a defiant tilt to her chin despite the sudden paleness of her face—as if she'd only realized the volu of her voice after the words had escaped.
Gideon had gone rigid beside her, his expression one of pure horror. Damian Prescott was already several steps away, clearly distancing himself from the coming storm.
And Isabelle... Isabelle slowly turned, her face a perfect mask of ice, her blue eyes finding Seraphina in the crowd with laser precision.
The temperature in the room seed to drop ten degrees as the Ashworth heiress took one deliberate step toward Seraphina Sterling, and then another.
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