CHAPTER FIVE

Diane's POV

Dinner did not end.

It dragged.

The silence sat heavy at the table, pressing against my chest until breathing felt deliberate. I kept my gaze lowered, my fork tracing meaningless patterns through food I had no intention of eating. My thoughts spiraled, each one darker than the last.

What was he doing here?

Why did his presence feel intentional?

I lifted my head slowly, as if bracing myself.

He was still watching me.

Not with curiosity. Not with politeness. But with a calm, unsettling patience as though he had already decided something and was simply waiting for the right moment. His eyes didn't flinch when they met mine. The faint smirk from the club returned, restrained but unmistakable.

Heat crept along my spine.

I looked away, my fingers tightening until the silverware trembled slightly in my hand.

When dinner finally ended, relief came sharp and rushed. We left immediately. The drive home passed in a tense silence, streetlights flashing across the window like fractured thoughts I couldn't hold together.

The moment I reached my room, I called Susan.

I sat on my bed, phone pressed to my ear, my pulse still uneven.

"Suz," I said, lowering my voice, "that man from the club... he's Shine's fiancée "

There was a brief pause.

Then Susan laughed. "Slow down. I love family drama. This is already my favorite soap opera."

"This isn't funny," I snapped. "He stared at me the entire night. The same smirk. Like he remembered everything. Like he was waiting. That was the most uncomfortable dinner of my life."

"Mmm," she hummed. "Sounds dangerous."

"I don't want dangerous," I said quietly.

She was about to reply when I exhaled sharply. "Good night, Suz. I have a long day tomorrow."

I ended the call and lay back, staring at the ceiling long after the room went dark.

The day of the party arrived like a slow march toward something inevitable.

Emily and I went to the salon early. Nails. Makeup. Small talk I barely registered. When I finally slipped into the emerald satin gown, my breath caught. The fabric clung to me like a second skin elegant, deliberate. A single diamond rested at my throat, subtle but commanding.

As I descended the stairs, my mother stopped mid step.

"Diane..." she murmured.

Emily let out a soft whistle. "You look unreal."

I blushed, suddenly aware of my own reflection.

The doorbell rang.

Emily opened it and froze.

A man stood there holding flowers. "I'm looking for Diane."

Her mouth fell open before she recovered. "Diane, you have a visitor."

"Nathan," I said with a smile as I stepped forward. "This is my sister, Emily, and my mom."

Pleasantries were exchanged polite, warm before we headed out.

The venue glowed with excess: polished marble floors, chandeliers dripping with light, luxury cars lining the entrance. Cameras flashed as we stepped onto the red carpet. Inside, the air hummed with power and quiet ambition.

This wasn't just a party.

It was a declaration.

An alliance dressed as celebration.

Nathan leaned closer. "You look stunning."

"Thank you," I replied, though my chest felt tight.

Eddie West's POV

After that dinner, she occupied my thoughts in ways I didn't allow.

Every detail returned uninvited the way she hid her softness beneath discipline, the way her eyes dropped when I held her gaze too long. I caught myself replaying moments, lingering where I shouldn't.

Whatever this was, it made the engagement feel hollow.

A formality.

I waited for her arrival.

Instead, Shine appeared, her hand sliding possessively into the crook of my arm.

Flashback

"This marriage is an alliance," I told her then, my voice calm but final. "Public respect. Private distance."

She smiled as if that were enough. "I understand, Eddie."

Present

She leaned into me now, clinging.

"You're doing too much," I said quietly.

She only smiled. "It'll be official soon."

I scanned the room as we moved, faces blending into one another until the air shifted.

The murmurs came first. Then silence.

I followed the collective gaze.

She walked in.

Emerald.

The color burned itself into my memory. The gown revealed nothing indecent, yet everything intimate her poise, her confidence, her presence. My expression remained controlled, but my body betrayed me. Heart racing. Jaw tightening.

She wasn't alone.

A man stood beside her.

Something dark twisted inside me. Primitive. Unwelcome. Possessive.

I took a drink to steady myself.

She greeted her family, then gestured toward him.

"This is my boyfriend, Johnathan."

Her father assessed him with measured eyes before offering a polite smile. Shine's mother leaned in, whispering something that made Shine giggle softly.

I looked at Shine.

Then my father's voice cut through the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, authoritative and proud, "tonight is more than a celebration."

Shine's father joined him, his smile calculated. "It is the union of two legacies. Two families whose influence has shaped this city for decades."

Applause followed polite, eager.

"This marriage," my father continued, "is not merely personal. It is strategic. A partnership built on trust, vision, and power."

The word power echoed through me.

"They will strengthen what we have built," Shine's father added. "Together, they will carry our names forward."

I felt her across the room then.

Watching.

We were called to the stage.

As we climbed the steps, smiles fixed carefully in place, I felt like a man stepping into a cage lined with gold.

Glasses were raised. Toasts were made. The future was spoken aloud.

Then the chant began.

"Kiss! Kiss!"

Across the room, her sister laughed beside Johnathan.

Something snapped.

She glanced toward the stage toward me.

I pulled Shine close and kissed her.

Slow. Deliberate. Public.

A message.

But even as my lips touched hers, my eyes remained locked on Diane.