Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
Ariana
Idecided to ask Kenji to go with me to the gala.
It was an annual charity gala hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, officially held to support local arts and education programs. But in a town where hospitality drove the economy, the guest list always leaned toward restaurant owners, hotel executives, investors, critics, and media insiders.
Everyone knew the real action was not on stage.
It was in the conversations, the alliances, and the silent rivalries playing out across the room.
Grayson was here as well. And so were his parents, and Taylor, with her arm linked with Luca D’Arienzo, as they walked past me.
Taylor was shooting me a killer glare while Luca smirked playfully at me. Luca had been toying with her the past two weeks, starting at the event hosted by one of the town’s influencers, which I secretly sponsored, of course, and tonight was the final act.
They stopped not too far from where I stood, near a small circle of well-dressed guests. I heard her voice rise above the soft chatter, loud and clear, like she wanted everyone in the room to hear.
“I mean, obviously I’m going up on stage with Luca,” Taylor said, laughing lightly. “We’ve been working together for weeks. He trusts me. I’m practically the face behind the scenes.”
Someone murmured something in response, and she waved it off with a smug smile.
“No, really. He said I’ve been a huge help,” she said, turning to him with a bright smile. “Right, Luca? And this ambassador thing is just the beginning.”
She took a sip of her champagne, her gaze drifting across the room like she already belonged above everyone else. A few of those people nodded politely, but others exchanged looks—some amused, some politely skeptical.
Luca stood beside her, but he didn’t say a word. He kept his eyes on his phone, pretending not to hear her. When he finally looked up, his gaze flicked past me briefly, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
All I could think was how high she had climbed on that illusion.
And how far she was about to fall.
I decided I’d had enough and tugged Kenji away from the circle, not bothering to mask the irritation on my face.
We moved to the far end of the room, where the noise softened, and the crowd thinned. I stood there for a moment, scanning the room.
That’s when I saw Grayson. He was on the other side, deep in conversation with Lila. Their exchange looked tense, and Lila’s expression was distressed.
As if pulled by some invisible thread, Grayson turned his head and found me. Our eyes locked across the room, holding for a long, weighted moment.
Lila, still looking at him, seemed to wait for his response—until she followed his gaze and saw me. I saw the exact moment her body stiffened.
Grayson said something to her briefly, then began walking across the room toward me.
I stood still, tense, every part of me bracing.
Next to me, Kenji felt the shift. He looked down at me. I looked up. But we didn’t say a word.
“Ari,” Grayson said, my name leaving his lips like a breath as he stopped in front of me. A faint smile touched his face before he turned to Kenji and offered his hand.
“Mr. Kenji Nakamura. It’s an honor. I’m a big fan.”
“Pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Mercer,” Kenji replied smoothly.
Grayson didn’t even flinch at the recognition. Of course, he wasn’t surprised. That effortless air of superiority still clung to him, even with everything around him crumbling.
Then his eyes returned to me. “You look beautiful tonight,” he said, almost in a whisper. “As always.”
I swallowed, his intense gaze making my skin feel warm. “Thank you,” I murmured.
“She is indeed beautiful, isn’t she?” Kenji said, glancing at me with a soft smile. “I’m lucky to be her date tonight.”
Grayson didn’t look away from me at first. Then, slowly, he turned his gaze to Kenji.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “You’re very lucky.”
The two men exchanged a long, silent look—just a little too long to be comfortable.
“We should find our table,” I said quickly, linking my arm with Kenji.
“Your table is over there,” Grayson said, motioning to a spot not far from us. “I’ll be sitting across the room.”
“With your family?” I asked.
“Unfortunately,” he replied, his expression turning sour. “I tried to have it changed, but they said no.”
“Well then,” I said. “I’ll see you around.”
As I walked away, I glanced across the room and saw his entire family—Lila included—watching us with tight, disapproving expressions.
I offered them a smile.
None of them smiled back.
I smiled even wider.
Kenji and I took our seats, and my eyes followed Grayson without my permission, tracking him across the room until he reached his table.
I knew I shouldn’t. I couldn’t help it.
I only looked away when he finally sat down—right next to Lila. The sight of it settled over me like a cold, quiet ache, and I turned my attention back to my plate before it could take hold.
That was when I felt Kenji’s gaze on me, sharp and knowing. He raised a brow.
“Okay,” I sighed. “I won’t look again. You’re my date tonight, so I’ll focus on you.”
A slight grin tugged at his lips. “Thank you,” he said.
The event began with a lengthy, boring speech, so I checked my phone. A message from Luca flashed on the screen.
All according to plan.
I grinned to myself, closed the phone, and focused on the stage.
And then finally, Luca’s turn came. He was set to speak next, introduced as the Ambassador for the cause—a role he’d been recommended for by none other than Sandra Hale, Stephen’s mother. And when Sandra Hale made a recommendation, no one dared to say no. Not even the Chamber of Commerce.
And yes, dinner was provided by Ana?s, arranged at Sandra’s request. It used to be that Belrose handled events like this, but not anymore. Thiago and his team were in the back, preparing every plate.
For the Mercers to sit there, eating food made by us, was humiliation enough on its own.
I had no shame in asking powerful people for help. Not when it served the bigger plan.
Over the past two weeks, Luca had been everywhere, party after party, spotlight after spotlight, and Taylor was always right there beside him.
She walked with her head held high, proud to be the one on his arm.
To her, it meant something. That he had chosen her, and she reveled in the way people watched them, in the curiosity in their eyes as they wondered how she had managed to land someone like him.
She told people she was helping him, that he trusted her. That they were something—maybe not official, but close enough. Luca never corrected her. He let her believe it, smiled when she spoke for him, and allowed her to build a story that felt true, even if it wasn’t.
To pull all of this off in just two weeks was impressive. Luca really was a master of deception.
The gala was the perfect setting for the version of reality she had built.
It was formal, polished, full of the kind of people she wanted to impress.
According to the event rundown, Luca would walk on stage with someone he’d chosen to assist him in the upcoming charity campaign.
Taylor was sure it would be her. So was everyone else.
When his name was called, Luca stood. Taylor stood with him.
He turned to her and smiled.
I held my breath in anticipation.
Then he walked ahead, smooth and focused, champagne in hand, his tailored blue suit catching the light as he made his way toward the stage.
Taylor followed, but he didn’t wait. She had to pick up her pace, heels tapping a little too fast against the floor as she tried to keep up with his long legs.
She called for him to wait, but he kept going.
Halfway there, a woman suddenly appeared from the side of the stage and moved into his path.
Tall and striking, dressed in deep red. She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek, her hand sliding easily around his arm.
Luca leaned into her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
He whispered something that made her laugh, like they were familiar with each other.
Without a glance back, he held out his empty glass to Taylor.
She looked at it, not understanding at first.
“Could you take care of that for me?” he said casually, his voice light, already turning back to the woman beside him.
Like she was in a daze, Taylor reached out and took the glass.
There was a shift in the air. A quiet ripple that passed through the people nearby. A few smiles, a few sidelong glances. One or two soft laughs, quickly stifled.
Taylor didn’t move. She stood frozen, glass in hand, blinking as if someone had just spoken a language she didn’t understand. The woman in red looked her over, her smile perfectly polite and carefully detached.
Luca was already moving again, his hand resting low on the woman’s back as they headed toward the stairs together, completely ignoring the girl now standing behind him with a drink in her hand and nowhere to go.
He didn’t look back.
Taylor stood just a few feet from the stage, looking out of breath, watching him climb it beside the woman, Anya Anders. A true philanthropist. Someone genuinely involved in helping the community. A woman whom everyone respected.
That was the real plan. That was who he had chosen.
Not her.
Luca and Anya stood side by side on stage, perfectly composed, not even sparing a glance at Taylor—who still hadn’t moved.
Then he began his speech.
“First of all, I’d like to thank the Chambers of Commerce for choosing me as the Ambassador for this cause. I couldn’t be more honored—”
But my eyes weren’t on Luca. They were locked on Taylor. So were everyone else’s.
She was looking around now, painfully aware of the stares closing in on her from every direction. Her fingers clenched slightly around the glass, but she didn’t move. It was as if something had nailed her in place—pride, disbelief, humiliation. Maybe all three.
Luca kept speaking, unbothered.
“We’ve already started the work, meeting some of the most respected members of society who’ve been generous enough to secure donations for the program. Miss Anders was overseas at the time, so she couldn’t join us. But she will now, won’t you, dear Anya?”
He turned to smile at her, then glanced toward the crew at the back and gave a subtle signal before facing the audience again.
“These are some highlights from the events we put together,” Luca said, as images appeared on the screen behind him. “It might have looked like a party, but in reality, I secured nearly two million dollars in donations for the cause. Isn’t that fantastic?”
A smattering of polite applause followed, but it was distracted and scattered. Most eyes weren’t on the screen or Luca—they were still on Taylor.
She finally moved.
Head down, shoulders tense, she walked quickly back to her table. The champagne glass was still in her hand.
The soft music from the slideshow finally pulled the audience’s attention back to the stage.
This was what Luca had been working on all along.
Every photo on the screen had been deliberately taken and carefully curated. Taylor appeared in nearly all of them, but always at the edges, never beside him, never introduced. Present, but not part of anything.
She looked like a server.
In one picture, she was holding a tray of drinks while Luca posed with donors.
In another, she was bent over, wiping someone’s shoe after spilling coffee.
Luca had staged that moment. He told her to clean it up, saying it would show how hands-on she was.
But in the photo, it looked exactly like what it was.
There she was again, clearing plates, adjusting chairs, standing awkwardly in the background while everyone else smiled for the camera.
None of it looked like a partnership. It looked like she worked for him.
The audience had gone quiet. Some whispered behind their hands. A few were smiling, barely trying to hide it.
The photos kept playing. And now, everyone was watching for her in the background. In each shot, she looked more like a joke.
And Luca just kept smiling, talking to the audience like nothing was happening.
To most people in the room, including me, it wouldn’t have been humiliating. I’d worked as a server through college to pay for food and accommodation. And during the three years I disappeared, I took whatever job I could get—washing dishes, cleaning, and serving at Sandra’s restaurants.
But for someone like Taylor—someone who bragged about her status, who looked down on anyone she thought was beneath her, this was humiliating.
So this revenge wasn’t just for me. It was for everyone she had looked down on over the years. It was for the people she mocked, dismissed, and treated like shit.
Tonight, she finally knew how that felt.
I felt eyes on me and turned instinctively.
Grayson was watching me. He didn’t smile.
He did something better.
He gave me a salute.