Liora's POV
"I am not a mistress."
Selene stood in the center of the crowd, spine ramrod straight, chin lifted high-but I could see her fingers trembling where she clutched the fabric of her gown, knuckles pale.
Rowan blinked, looking almost innocently surprised.
"You're not?" He tilted his head. "That's not what your private messages suggested. The ones you sent while he was still with his official partner."
He paused, as if recalling the wording.
"Something like-'She doesn't deserve you. I'll make you Alpha.' Wasn't it?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried. The circle of onlookers heard every word.
Selene's face flared crimson.
"You're lying," she hissed through clenched teeth.
"Am I?" Rowan didn't rise to the bait. He simply shifted his gaze past her, toward the edge of the crowd. "Was I lying, Kade?"
Every head turned.
Kade stood near the back, a glass of champagne still in his hand. He didn't move. He didn't speak.
The silence was deafening.
Whispers spread like wildfire. Selene whipped around to face him, eyes blazing.
"Kade! Why aren't you saying anything?"
A faint smirk curved Rowan's lips. "Because it's true."
Selene's chest rose and fell sharply. She had shot Rowan one venomous glare before snapping her head toward me. Her gaze cut like a poisoned blade.
"And what about her?" She pointed straight at me, finger shaking. "Liora, since when did you become Rowan's date? Playing both brothers-have you no shame?"
I looked at her, her finger still aimed at me, trembling slightly.
She needed an outlet. She couldn't win against Rowan, so she was trying to tear into me instead.
I lifted my chin, my expression turning cold.
"Be specific, Selene. What exactly have I done?"
"I know you still want Kade!" she nearly screamed. "Stop pretending!"
The room fell quiet.
I heard myself laugh softly.
"How interesting," I said, the faintest smile still on my lips. "You actually think I want some trash like him."
Kade's expression flickered.
I didn't look at him. My eyes stayed on Selene.
"Listen carefully. I don't want him. You should know how quickly a broken heart heals-once you stop begging for scraps, the world becomes yours."
Silence.
Selene's face flushed an ugly shade of red.
"You-you're the trash!" she snapped, her voice cracking. "The lowest kind! Don't you dare try to belittle us!"
I tilted my head and offered her a gentle smile.
"If I'm no threat to you," I said softly, "then why are you so restless?"
She froze.
It had only lasted a few seconds before she recovered, her lips twisting into something cruel.
"Fine. Let's settle this publicly. No claws-music. A piano duel. You and me. Let everyone see who doesn't belong here."
I raised a brow. "You really think music determines who deserves love?"
"Do you accept or not?" Her patience had clearly run out.
"I accept," I said calmly. "But if you lose, you kneel. In front of everyone. Three times, you call me 'superior'-and admit you're the third party."
Her mouth opened, then shut again.
That condition hadn't been part of her plan.
I didn't wait for her to recover. I walked past her toward the grand piano at the far end of the hall.
"Elders first," I murmured as I passed her shoulder.
I heard her teeth grind behind me.
Selene took her seat at the piano. She inhaled deeply, lifted her hands, and began.
A romantic piece-Chopin's Nocturne.
Her technique was polished. Clean tone, precise ornamentation, flawless pedal work. I could tell she had practiced it countless times.
But it was tight.
Rigid. Overly careful. She chased brilliance, not emotion. The notes marched out in perfect formation-disciplined, obedient, lifeless.
When she finished, she lifted her hands and listened.
Polite applause followed. Courteous. Controlled. Nothing more.
She stood, chin high, and brushed past me.
"Your turn."
I sat down on the bench.
The keys felt cool beneath my fingers. I raised my hands, holding them suspended for two seconds before letting them fall.
The first note drifted into the air.
Soft-like a raindrop touching water.
Then another. And another. The rain turned to a stream, the stream to a rushing current. Layers of rhythm built under my fingertips, faster and faster.
I heard nothing else.
Only the music.
Only the connection between flesh and ivory.
Complex. Wild. But every note deliberate, every phrase alive with intention.
I felt a gaze settle on me.
Rowan.
He stood at the edge of the crowd, utterly still.
My fingers never faltered, but I lifted my eyes and met his.
Something flashed across his face-pride. Real pride. Unmasked, unguarded. He looked at me as if I were something precious.
My chest tightened sharply, threatening my focus. I lowered my gaze and pressed on.
The final chord struck.
The room froze.
Then the applause exploded.
"That was incredible!"
Someone even stood.
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the hall, eyes shifting from me to Selene and back again.
Selene's expression darkened like a storm about to break.
I rose from the bench and turned to her.
"You lost," I said evenly. "You may kneel now."
