Chapter 7

**ARIA**

I walked downstairs at precisely 7:59.

Jade was already waiting.

He looked devastating.

Black suit tailored so perfectly it might as well have been painted on. Hair styled back, not a strand out of place. Cufflinks catching the light from the chandelier overhead. Everything about him screamed power.

His eyes swept over me once, slow and assessing.

Then he turned toward the door.

"Let's go."

I followed behind him without speaking.

The limousine was waiting outside, sleek and black and probably worth more than my life. The driver opened the door without a word. Jade climbed in first. I hesitated for half a second before following.

The interior was all leather and dim lighting and the faint scent of his cologne. I sat across from him, knees pressed together, hands folded tightly in my lap because I didn't know what else to do with them.

He settled into his seat like a king on a throne, one arm draped along the back, legs spread, taking up all the space.

The car pulled away from the mansion.

City lights blurred past the tinted windows. I watched them, trying to focus on anything except the man sitting across from me.

I could feel him looking at me even when he wasn't.

The silence was suffocating.

Neither of us spoke.

I wanted to ask where we were going. What this was. Why he was bringing me. But the look on his face when I'd gotten in the car told me he wasn't in the mood for questions.

So I sat there, heart racing, wondering what fresh hell I was being dragged into.

Finally, he spoke.

"Stay silent tonight." His voice was low. "Do not draw attention to yourself."

I nodded, still looking anywhere but at him.

"These people are dangerous,"he said casually as he adjusted in his place. "Don't mess up."

My belly dropped.

"What people?"

I turned to look at him.

His eyes met mine, cold and unreadable. "Business associates. People who would use any weakness against me."

A pause.

"You're a weakness now,” he said flatly. “Whether I want you to be or not.”

The words hit me like a slap.

"Then why bring me?"

"It's none of your business." He leaned forward slightly. "Listen very carefully, Aria. You will not speak unless directly addressed. You will not ask questions. You will not make eye contact with anyone except me. And you will absolutely not challenge anything that's said there. Do you understand?"

My jaw clenched. "I'm not a child."

"Then don't act like one."

The car slowed, turning into a private entrance.

Jade's hand shot out, fingers closing around my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"I need to know you understand."

"I understand," I said quietly.

He released me. "Good."

***

The hotel was the kind of place that didn't need signs because everyone who mattered already knew about it.

The entrance looked like something out of a movie, all marble and gold.

Jade got out first. I followed, wobbling slightly in the heels, immediately aware of how wrong I looked.

We walked through doors that opened automatically into a lobby that looked more like a palace than a hotel.

Jade didn't pause. Didn't look around. Just walked straight through like he owned every inch of it.

Maybe he did.

A hostess appeared, gorgeous and polished, leading us down a hallway lined with closed doors. She stopped at one near the end and opened it with a practiced smile.

"Enjoy your evening, Mr. Black."

He walked in.

I followed.

And immediately felt my stomach drop.

The room was elegant. Long table set with crystal and china. Floor to ceiling windows showing the city lights below. But it wasn't the room that made my chest tighten.

It was the people.

Men in suits that cost more than cars. Women in silk with diamonds dripping from their necks and wrists. All of them radiating the kind of confidence that came from never worrying about money or consequences or anything at all.

Conversation dipped when we entered.

Every head turned.

Every eye landed on me.

I felt their gazes like hands on my body.

Then I saw her.

Selene Frost.

She stood near the head of the table, tall and elegant in a black dress. Red lips. Cold eyes that missed absolutely nothing.

She looked at Jade first. Smiled like they shared secrets.

Then her gaze slid to me.

Slow. Deliberate. Cutting.

"Jade," she purred, voice smooth as poison. "You brought company."

"She works for me," he said, tone completely flat.

That was all. No introduction. No explanation. Just a statement that put me exactly where he wanted me.

Beneath him.

I stood slightly behind him like he'd instructed in the car. Silent. Invisible. Playing my part.

***

Dinner began.

I stood near the wall, hands folded, trying to disappear into the wallpaper.

But Selene watched me.

More than she spoke to Jade. More than she ate. More than anything else.

When I poured wine at Jade's silent gesture, her eyes traced the line of my arm like she was memorizing it. When I refilled water glasses, she tilted her head like I was a puzzle she was solving.

It made my skin crawl.

Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably thirty minutes, Selene spoke.

"I must say," she murmured, swirling her wine, eyes still fixed on me, "you've upgraded your staffing."

Quiet chuckles rippled around the table.

Jade didn't react. Just continued cutting his steak with precise movements.

I kept my face neutral even though heat was crawling up my neck.

Selene leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs with deliberate slowness.

"Tell me," she said, voice light but edged with something sharp, "is she trained or just decorative?"

The silence stretched.

My pulse hammered in my ears, loud enough I was sure everyone could hear it.

Jade said nothing. Didn't look up. Didn't acknowledge the question.

Selene's smile widened, red lips curving like a knife.

"I suppose when a man has that much power, he gets bored. New acquisitions become... necessary."

The word landed like a slap.

Acquisitions.

Like I was furniture. Like I was something he'd bought at an auction and brought home to display.

Whatever composure I'd been clinging to cracked.

The air shifted.

Selene's gaze sharpened.

"She's awfully quiet," she observed, still directing the question at Jade but staring straight at me. "Do you prefer them that way?"

More chuckles scattered around the table.

My nails bit into my palms hard enough to hurt. I welcomed it.

I could feel the rage building in my chest, hot and sharp, burning through the fear and humiliation.

"She's lovely, Jade." Her voice dropped, became almost tender. "She reminds me of someone. What was her name?" She paused, cruel smile playing on her lips. "Oh yes. Elise."

My breath caught.

Jade's expression didn't change. But I saw it. The way his jaw tightened.

Selene knew. She knew about Elise.

"How interesting," Selene continued, "that you've replaced her so quickly."

I couldn't stop myself.

"I'm not a replacement."

The words left my mouth before I could swallow them back.

The room went completely still.

Every single person at that table turned to look at me, then at Jade, probably waiting to see how he'd handle his staff talking back.

He set down his knife and fork. Wiped his mouth with his napkin. Folded it carefully and placed it beside his plate.

Then he turned his head slowly toward me.

And the look in his eyes made everything inside me go cold.

Not rage. Not embarrassment.

Something darker. Something that made my breath catch and my knees go weak.

A warning.

The room held its breath.

"Did I give you permission to speak?"

His voice was...calm. Deadly calm.

I opened my mouth to speak. No words came out.

He stood slowly, chair scraping against the floor, the sound obscenely loud in the silence.

"Wait outside."

Not loud. Not angry. Just final.

I looked at him, desperate for something, anything in his expression that said he understood why I'd spoken. That he knew Selene had crossed a line.

But his face was ice.

I walked to the door on shaking legs, feeling every eye in the room burning into me.

As I stepped into the hallway, I heard Jade's voice through the crack in the door.

"My apologies. She's new. Still learning her place."

I stood there in the empty hallway, hands trembling, realizing what I'd just done.

I'd made him look weak. Made him look like he couldn't control his own staff.

The door opened twenty minutes later.

Jade stepped out, face unreadable.

He didn't look at me. Just walked past, heading toward the elevator.

"Come."

I followed, heart sinking with every step.

In the car ride home, the silence was worse than anything he could have said.

I'd cost him something tonight. I just didn't know what yet.

But judging by the way his jaw stayed clenched the entire ride, I was about to find out.