KATHERINE

Murmurs suddenly arose near me. I felt Elliot’s arm grow slightly tense.

I tried not to jump to conclusions, but as that beautiful voice drew closer, the woman sang a ballad filled with passion, as if meant for a forbidden lover, and her gray eyes casually searched through the crowd—until they locked onto a man.

Intensely, without much pretense, that striking singer, the so-called Zafiro, seemed to be dedicating her love song to Elliot.

“...Oh, Brenda is bold. Look at her, not even respecting the man's wife being right there...”

“...Pft, honestly, that’s an open secret. I don’t even know why the Duke brought her…”

“...To humiliate her, obviously…”

Some whispered words reached me from behind.

I lifted my chin and glanced at Elliot from the corner of my eye, assessing his reaction.

He sipped from his glass, not looking at Brenda, who now seemed completely assured of herself. She was his mistress.

He had brought me to this party where his lover was—who, on top of it all, was no