-MIA’S POV-


    Perfection.


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    I sat in the circle watching Hunter Reid’s world burn down around him, and it was more beautiful than I’d dared to imagine.


    When Jessica had suggested the truth or dare game, I knew it was my moment.


    Not the quiet maniption I’d been nning, not the careful seduction over months–this was my chance to demolish everything in one stunning explosion.


    And it had worked beyond my wildest dreams.


    “Mia ckwood. She’s exactly the kind of woman I was raised to be with.”


    The words were still echoing in the suite, still rippling through the stunned silence like stones thrown into still water.


    Hunter had just publicly dered me his ideal woman while simultaneously destroying his rtionship with the maid.


    I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.


    Celine stood at the bar like a broken doll, her spine straight but her hands shaking as she gripped her champagne ss.


    The silver dress that had made her look radiant when she’d arrived now seemed to highlight how fragile she was, how easily shattered.


    Poor little Celine Brown. She’d really thought she could y in my league.


    Caroline was rushing over tofort her, of course.


    Frederick looked confused and slightly sick. Vincent was ring at Hunter like he wanted to strangle him with his bare hands.


    And Hunter himself sat frozen in his chair, staring at Celine’s back with the expression of a man who’d just shot himself in the foot.


    But I wasn’t done yet,


    When Celine walked back to rejoin the circle…admirable spine, really, most women would have run crying–I watched her refuse to sit on Hunter’sp.


    The symbolism was delicious. She chose a spot between ke and Vincent instead, as far from


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    Hunter as the circle would allow.


    The distance between them felt like an abyss I could drive a truck through.


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    I caught Jessica’s eye and gave her the subtlest of nods. She’d done well with her questions, creating the perfect setup for Hunter’s stupendous self–destruction.


    I made a mental note to buy her something expensive as a thank–you gift.


    The game continued, but the atmosphere was ruined. Everyone was walking on eggshells, trying to pretend we hadn’t just witnessed a rtionship implode in real time.


    Even I could feel the tension giving off from Hunter like heat from a fever.


    Then came the moment that made everything even better.


    When Celine was dared to kiss the person she found most attractive and chose ncey Morrison, I nearlyughed out loud.


    The sound she made–that soft, desperate whimper as she stood up–was music to my ears.


    watched Hunter’s face as she walked over to ncey, watched him realize exactly what his cruel honesty had cost him.


    The way his hands clenched into fists, the way his breath caught when their lips met, the total wreckage in his eyes when she kissed another man with intentional, public intent–it was better han any revenge fantasy I had ever constructed.


    And when she came back to the circle, transformed from broken doll into avenging angel, I knew I was witnessing something dangerous.


    She destroyed that pig Marcus with surgical uracy, reducing him to stammering apologies while the rest of us watched in fascination.


    This wasn’t the scared maid who used to clean Hunter’s Mansion. This was a woman with ws, and she’d just remembered how to use them.


    “Anyone else want to y games? Because I’m just getting started.”


    The threat was unmistakable. Celine Brown had found her power, and she was pointing it directly


    at all of us.


    I should have been worried. This new version of Celine was unpredictable, potentially dangerous to my ns. But instead, I felt a thrill of excitement.


    Broken toys were boring. A worthy opponent made victory so much sweeter.


    When she announced her intention to dance and flirt and “remember what it feels like to be wanted withoutplications,” I wanted to apud.


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    She was handing me Hunter on a silver tter, gift–wrapped with his own guilt and regret.


    Hunter jumped up like he’d been electrocuted. “Celine….”


    “No.” She cut him off with a hand gesture that would have made a queen proud.


    “You made your preferences clear, Hunter. So I’m making mine clear <i>too</i>. Tonight, I’m not yourplicated girlfriend with baggage who doesn’t belong in your world. Tonight, I’m just Celine Santos, and I’m going to have the time of my life.”


    Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.


    She swept out of the suite like a hurricane in designer heels, leaving chaos in her wake. The room red into nervous chatter, people trying to process what they’d just witnessed.


    Hunter stood frozen for a moment, then started toward the door. Vincent caught his arm.


    “Let her go,” Vincent said quietly. “You’ve done enough damage for one night.”


    “I have to….”


    “You have to leave her alone.” ke appeared on Hunter’s other side, her expression murderous. “You just humiliated her in front of everyone and then acted surprised when she fought back.”


    I rose gracefully from my spot in the circle, smoothing my ck dress. “This has been… educational,” I said with a smile. “But I think I’ll follow Celine’s example and explore what Vegas has


    to offer.”


    Hunter’s eyes snapped to me, and for the first time tonight, I let him see exactly what I was thinking. My smile was pure predator.


    “After all,” I continued, “you did say I was exactly your type. Maybe it’s time we explored that…patibility.”


    The look of horror that crossed his face was almost insulting. But I’d expected it.


    Hunter Reid was still clinging to his doomed rtionship, still pretending he hadn’t just revealed his true feelings to a room full of witnesses.


    That was fine. I was patient.


    “Mia.” His voice was warning, threat, desperation all rolled into one.


    “Hunter.” I moved closer, just close enough that my perfume would reach him, just close enough that he’d have to acknowledge my presence. <fn1b23> N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on f?ndnovel</fn1b23>


    “You can’t unsay what you said tonight. You can’t take back the truth.”


    I reached out and straightened his leather jacket


    -a gesture intimate and possessive that made


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    several people in the room suck in shocked breaths.


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    “The question is,” I murmured, my voice low enough that only he could hear, “what are you going


    to do about it?”


    I stepped back, gave the room my most dazzling smile, and headed for the door. “I’ll be at the Chandelier Bar if anyone wants to join me for a real drink.”


    I left them all standing there in the wreckage of Hunter’s rtionship, my heart singing with triumph.


    Phase one wasplete. Hunter had destroyed his own happiness, with surgical precision, exactly as I’d hoped.


    Celine was running wild through Vegas, probably about to make some spectacr mistakes that would push Hunter even further away.


    And I would be waiting, patient and perfect and exactly what he needed, when he finally realized what everyone else could see: we belonged together.


    The elevator descended toward the lobby, carrying me away from the scene of my victory. In the mirrored walls, I caught sight of my reflection–ck dress, perfect hair, eyes bright with


    satisfaction.


    Mia ckwood always got what she wanted.


    And what I wanted was currently upstairs, staring at the door his true love had just walked through, finally understanding that some bridges, once burned, could never be rebuilt.


    By morning, Hunter Reid would be mine.


    I was sure of it.