Shaky footage.
Luxury hotel entrance.
My family arrived first.
Then the Laveaus.
A woman stepping out in black, veil low, moving like she wanted the ground to swallow her.
Bianca frowned.
“Who is that?”
“The girl Ares is being forced to marry.”
She scoffed. “That?”
I paused the video and zoomed in. Yuna’s face caught the light for half a second. Beautiful even through exhaustion.
Bianca leaned closer.
“She looks…” she hesitated.
“Sick,” I finished for her.
I leaned back, letting the words sink in.
“I overheard Marcel talking. She’s on meth. The whole family is trying to clean her up before they tie her to Ares, but it looks like they failed. The contract is signed.”
Bianca laughed.
A sharp, arrogant sound.
“So he left the other girls and me for a crackhead?”
I watched her closely.
“He didn’t leave you,” I said quietly. “He didn’t have a choice.”
Her smile faded slightly.
“That supposed to make me feel better?”
“No. It’s supposed to make you understand.”
I set the phone down between us.
“He’s trapped. Contract marriages. Family control. Legacy bullshit.”
She stared at the screen again.
“You sure she’s that bad?”
I shrugged, letting the lie stretch just enough.
“I saw them dragging her to her new estate. She looked rough. Like she barely knew where she was.”
Bianca leaned back, folding her arms.
