<b>Chapter </b><b>193 </b>


    -CELINE’S POV- <fn7a4c> This content belongs to f?ndnovel</fn7a4c>


    ke materialized beside me like a guardian angel in fashionable heels, her eyes bright with wine and mischief.


    “Holy shit, Celine. You look like a weapon in that dress<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    I tried to smile, but my attention was hooked on the woman across the room. Mia stood in a group of admirers<b>, </b><b>her </b><bugh </b>tinkling like wind tinkles in a hurricane.


    When her gaze swept the room andnded on mine, her lips curved into something that might have been a smile if <b>smiles </b>could draw blood.


    My stomach twisted.


    “Where’s Caroline?” I asked, needing something concrete to focus on.


    ke rolled her eyes. “Making out with Frederick in some corner. I swear, engaged people lose all sense of hosting etiquette.”


    <b>I </b>tracked Hunter across the room.


    He stood near the bar with Vincent, but his stance screamed tension. Every few seconds, his eyes would flick toward Mia like a sniper checking his target.


    “She’s moving,” I murmured.


    ke followed my gaze. “Who’s… oh. The hurricane in ck silk?”


    Mia paddled toward Hunter and Vincent with the kind of confidence that came from never hearing the word ‘no.‘


    My throat closed.


    “That’s her, isn’t it?” ke’s voice had gone quiet, deadly. “The one who thinks she can steal your family.”


    I nodded, unable to speak.


    ke looked at Mia closely, like a surgeon examining a tumor.“She’s beautiful.”


    My heart sank. “I know.”


    “Beautiful like a cobra. All shine and hidden fangs.” ke grabbed two sses of something pink and alcoholic from a passing server. “Stop letting her y games in your house.”


    “ke….”


    “No.” She pressed the ss into my hand and hooked our arms together. “We’re going over there. <b>Now</b>.<b>” </b>


    Before I could protest, she was marching us across the room like we owned it. Which, technically<b>, </b><b>in </b><b>Hunter’s </b><b>world</b>, I suppose I did.


    <b>1/4 </b>


    <b>Mia’s </b>eyes found mine when we were still ten feet away. Her smile sharpened.


    Game on.


    -HUNTER’S POV-


    “Your cousin has questionable taste in friends,” Vincent murmured, watching Mia work her way through the crowd like <b>a </b>shark through a school of fish.


    Caroline would be getting a very pointed conversation about guest list approval. This was supposed to be a celebration, not a battlefield.


    “She’s trying too hard,” Vincent continued. “It’s almost sad. Like watching someone y chess when everyone else is ying poker.”


    Mia reached us before I could respond, her smile bright enough to power the Vegas strip.


    “Hunter Reid. In the flesh.” She stretched out her hand like we were meeting for the first time. “What an unexpected pleasure.”


    “Is it unexpected?“Vincent’s voice was smooth but cutting. “Because Jessica mentioned you asked specifically about the guest list.”


    Mia’s mask slipped for just a bit of a second. “Jessica talks too much.”


    “Jessica’s honest. There’s a difference.”


    I watched the exchange like a tennis match, noting how Mia’s jaw tightened when Vincent refused to be charmed.


    She’d built her whole identity around being irresistible to men. Vincent’s immunity was throwing her off bnce. “Did Caroline invite you directly?” I asked, already knowing the answer.


    “I’m Jessica’s plus–one. Girls‘ trip to Vegas.” The lie cáme easily, rehearsed. “Surely you don’t begrudge old friends a little fun?”


    We weren’t friends. We’d never been friends. But calling her out would make me look petty, and she knew it.


    “Of course <i>not</i>.” I smiled the same smile I used in nasty takeover meetings. “I hope you enjoy yourself.”


    Her eyes twinkled like she had won something.


    “Hope we’re not interrupting the male bonding session.”


    ke’s voice broke the silence and tension in the room. She appeared with Celine attached to her arm, both of them looking like they’d stepped off a magazine cover.


    My chest loosened when Celine moved into my space. I caught her hand, pulling her against my side where she belonged,


    torrunting at all,” Vincent said smoothly. “We were just discussing unexpected meetings.”


    Mia’s smile turned brittle. “How lovely for you.”


    The quiet that ensued was filled with unstated dangers. ke was


    the first to speak.


    “Well, this has been fun, but I see someone I need towork with. Vincent, walk me to the bar?”


    Vincent’s eyes lit with understanding. “My pleasure.”


    They drifted away, leaving Mia standing alone in our coupled orbit. After a moment, she excused herself with wounded dignity.


    I brushed a strand of hair from Celine’s face, studying her expression. “You okay?”


    “I’m fine. Just wondering where our hostess disappeared to.”


    “Probably practicing her wedding vows on Frederick.”


    Celineughed, the sound loosening something in my chest. “She’s shameless.”


    The suite door opened, and my mood soured instantly. ncey Morrison entered like he owned the ce, his eyes immediately seeking and finding Celine.


    His smile when he saw her made me want to break his perfect teeth.


    Celine smiled back politely–because she was kind. She saw the best in people, because she didn’t understand that some


    smiles were weapons.


    Before I could do something that would end up on social media, Caroline and Frederick finally made their appearance. Caroline’s lipstick was smudged, Frederick’s hair was rumpled, and they both looked insufferably happy.


    “There’s my favorite cousin,” Caroline called out, making her way over with Frederick in tow.


    She hugged Celine like they were sisters, then turned to survey my appearance. “Look at you, all cleaned up. I barely recognize you without a scowl.”


    “Funny.” I caught Caroline’s elbow. “Frederick, entertain my girlfriend for a moment.”


    I guided Caroline toward the windows, away from curious ears.


    “Why is Mia ckwood at your party?”


    Caroline’s smile faltered. “Jessica brought her as a plus–one. What was I supposed to do, uninvite her at the door?”


    “Yes.”


    “Hunter.” Caroline nced back toward Celine, who wasughing at something Frederick had said.


    “I’m worried about her. She’s stronger than she knows, but Mia is… she’s dangerous. She ys games most people don’t even realize are happening.”


    I followed Caroline’s gaze to where Mia stood near the champagne fountain, holding court with a group of Frederick’s


    <b>Chapter </b>193


    <b>friends</b>.


    <b>As </b>if she felt my attention, she looked up and caught my eye. Her smile was slow, deliberate, predatory


    She lifted her champagne flute in a mock toast.


    “She has no shame,” Caroline muttered.


    “What are you going to do about her?” Caroline asked quietly. “Because she’s not going to stop. People like Mia don’t know how to quit.”


    I watched Mia for a moment, noticing every small change in her expression and each move she made. She believed she was ying chess, but she had entered a battle she didn’t understand.


    “I’m going to give her exactly what she wants,” I said softly.


    Caroline’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”


    “She wants me alone. Wants her moment to make her pitch.” I smiled, and Caroline actually took a step back.


    “So I’ll give her that moment. And then I’ll destroy her sopletely she’ll never even think my name again.”


    “Hunter…..”


    “Trust me. Some people only understand onenguage.” I straightened my leather jacket and turned back toward the


    party.


    “And I happen to be fluent.”


    AD