Vladimir POV – Two Days After the Gala
I watched her from the sidelines.
Not literally, no. Ayala had vanished from my physical world the moment she ran out those gallery doors, the hem of her navy silk dress fluttering like a war flag in the wind. But I watched her everywhere else — the headlines, the interviews she ignored, the photos flooding my inbox from agencies trying to capitalize on the scene. And what a scene we had made.
I had never felt so ashamed in my life.
Alexei and I, raised like two branches from the same cursed tree, had brought our feud to the altar of her career. We turned her moment into a battlefield — two egos jousting for dominance in front of a crowd that only wanted to watch her shine. I had wanted to protect her. And instead, I humiliated her.
I could still see the betrayal in her eyes when she looked at me. Not anger — not rage. That would have been easier. What she gave me was worse: disappointment. As if she expected better of me. As if some part of her
