CHAPTER 21

At that moment Daniel leaned back slightly, his expression carefully neutral, but there was something calculating in his gaze.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Valentina," he said smoothly. "Especially after hearing that you got married."

Valentina said nothing. She didn't flinch, didn't react, but inside, she could already feel where this conversation was going.

Serenity, ever the opportunist, took the silence as her cue to push further.

"Well," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "since we're all here, why don't we sit together? It's been so long since we last caught up."

Without waiting for an answer, she slid into a chair at their table, pulling Daniel down beside her.

Valentina clenched her jaw. Uninvited, yet completely at ease. That was always Serenity's way.

As soon as they were seated, Serenity leaned in, her voice dripping with feigned sympathy.