The Queen's Proposal    

[EVE]

The party carried on, glittering with laughter and conversation, but for me, it had lost all its luster.

I sank into a chair beside old man Sinclair, my body aching from both the physical pain and the emotional tension that still hung in the air.

After taking my painkiller med, I felt much better, though. Now I could enjoy that Château Pétrus I was eyeing earlier.

Victor, on the other hand, was in his element. I watched him as he moved through the crowd, seamlessly blending into high society.

He shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and charmed potential investors with ease. It was clear this wasn't his first rodeo. He made the art of business look effortless, navigating through the elites as if he were born to it.

And in many ways, he was.