-CELINE’S POV-


    The restaurant pulsed with thatte–night Vegas hum. Dim lighting cast everything in gold. Low music mixed with the smell of expensive food and perfume.


    Floor–to–ceiling windows looked out over the Strip Club, neon lights twinkling like fireflies against desert


    darkness.


    Caroline had insisted on this spot. “Semi–private but still fabulous,” she had said.


    She wasn’t wrong. The booths gave us privacy without hiding us from the Strip’s energy.


    The girls buzzed with champagne andughter. Their voices rose in bursts, echoing across the room like we had brought our own party.


    ke leaned back with her martini, watching me with narrowed eyes and a grin she couldn’t suppress. Caroline kept stealing nces at my hand.


    At the ring. Her jaw dropped every few seconds like she couldn’t believe it was real.


    Myra sat quiet but smiling, fingersced in herp. Jessica scrolled through her phone, expression halfway between boredom and curiosity.


    And then there was Mia. Across from me, silent. Her wine untouched, her eyes sharp. A cobra in silk.


    For the first few minutes, I let myself enjoy it.


    “Holy hell, Celine,” Caroline burst out, grabbing my hand for the tenth time that night. The diamond caught the chandelier light, scattering prisms across the table.


    “I cannot believe you did this. You! My cousin’s grumpy face somehow softened long enough to marry someone before me? On my bachelorette night!”


    The table erupted intoughter. Even I had to bite back a giggle at her outrage.


    “I didn’t n it!” I protested, cheeks heating as I pulled my hand back gently. “If you think I wanted to steal your thunder….”


    “Don’t even” Caroline waved me off dramatically, nearly knocking over her champagne flute.


    “This is the best plot twist I could have asked for. It’s like reality TV except it’s my real life. Honestly, I feel robbed you didn’t at least KaceTime me from the chapel.”


    ke snorted into her drink. “You would have shown up with pom–poms”


    “Exactly” Caroline leaned bark, smug. “Do you know how many bets were ced on who’d marry first? I lost money on this, Celine Money!”


    “Should I feel guilty?” I teased, sipping my mocktail.


    “Yes,” Caroline said without hesitation, but then her expression softened. “But also, you look so happy it makes me want to scream. So I’ll forgive you. For now.”


    ke leaned forward<i>, </i>eyes narrowed in fake irritation.


    “You know what I can’t forgive? The fact that you had me worried sickst night. I thought you’d run off to cry or plot revenge or something dramatic, but no. You were too busy saying ‘I do.“”


    The table chuckled.


    ke smirked, flicking her hair back. “Next time, a text would be nice. Something simple. ‘Hey ke, don’t worry, I’m just casually eloping with Vegas‘ most emotionally constipated billionaire. Be right back.”


    Laughter bubbled from me before I could stop it. “You make it sound so easy.”


    “Because it is.” ke leaned in conspiratorially. “You’re either stupid or brilliant. And since you’re smiling right now, I’m leaning brilliant.”


    Caroline raised her ss. “Brilliant. Definitely.”


    Our sses clinked. Mocktail, champagne, martini. The warmth of it seeped into me.


    Then Myra surprised me.


    She leaned forward, her voice softer than the teasing energy around us. “Congrattions, Celine. Truly.”


    All eyes turned toward her. Myra wasn’t known for vulnerability. She usually yed quiet observer, slipping inments that were more reasonable than emotional.


    <b>“</b>You deserve this,” she continued, earnest.


    “I’ve seen the way Hunter looks at you<b>, </b>even when he thinks no one notices. And I’ve seen the way you’ve handled everything. With Caesar, with the press, with all of it. You’ve been stronger than most people could manage.”


    Heat prickled behind my eyes. “Thank you, Myra<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    She smiled faintly, a rare softness that made me wonder what pieces of her own life she was revealing without saying the words.


    Caroline squeezed my hand. “See? Even Myra approves, and she doesn’t approve of anything


    Moreughter, more warmth For a fleeting second, I believed we were untouchable


    Then Mia moved.


    One second she was still, sipping silence like a toxin. The nest, she was on her feet, reaching across the table and seizing my hand so suddenly I gasped


    “Let me see it,” she said, her voice cutting through theughter.


    Her fingers mped around mine, digging into bone. Pain shot through my wrist. “Mia–ouch!”


    The sound escaped before I could stop it.


    Instantly, ke was up, her chair screeching against the floor. “Hey! What the hell is your problem?”


    Caroline bristled, eyes choking as she yanked at Mia’s grip. “Let her


    go.” <fn124d> Original content can be found at FιndＮovel</fn124d>


    Mia didn’t flinch. Her gaze was locked on the diamond, her lips curled in something between disbelief and rage.


    “This is a joke,” she spat. “This….” she held my hand higher, like evidence “… is a joke. Hunter Reid doesn’t marry women like you.”


    My chest tightened. The words weren’t new, but the malice in them pierced deeper in front of witnesses<b>. </b>


    “Mia.” Jessica’s voice wavered, her hand tugging at Mia’s arm. “Let it go, okay? Just let it…..”


    “Don’t touch me,” Mia snapped, jerking away.


    Silence fell over the table. Diners at nearby tables turned to look. My pulse roared in my ears.


    Finally, Mia dropped my hand like it burned her. My skin throbbed where her nails had pressed crescents.


    Her eyes flicked up, zing. “Enjoy it while itsts, Celine. Because girls like you? They never keep men like him.”


    With that, she spun on her heel and stormed out, heels striking sharp against the polished floor. Jessica scrambled to follow, throwing a helpless nce over her shoulder before disappearing after her friend.


    For a moment, no one breathed.


    Then ke breathed out a quickugh, incredulous. “What the hell is wrong with her?”


    “Everything I muttered, rubbing my wrist.


    Caroline scowled, fury radiating from her in waves. Ignore her. She’s just bitter Bitter and petry anpletely unable to let anyone else be happy


    <b>tone </b>


    She leaned closer, her toor firm “Don’t let her get into your head, Celine. Not tonight. Not who <b>y </b>glowing <b>like </b>dis


    Ike smirked, softer this time. “Yeah. Don’t waste another thighs on her tioneath, she when it had Bail <b>your </b>spine!


    Warmth wrapped around me like armor Caroline, bls


    <b>shield </b>agained the meanness Mis tud Big


    For the first timur all night, I didn’t feel like the derde table: 11 the Ikelsenk


    Dinner continued, lighter, the shades of Mia’s tantrum fading beneath moreughter and teasing. But the ache in my wrist stayed, a reminder of her ws.


    And the war she wasn’t finished fighting.


    As I traced the diamond ring on my finger under the tablecloth, I realized something thoughtful and certain:


    She could rage. She could storm. She could poison every room she entered.


    But she couldn’t touch this.


    Hunter had chosen me. I had chosen him.


    And no amount of bitterness could take that away.


    Q