Chapter 22 — Poison in Crystal
Aria's POV
The music swelled — violins rising over hushed murmurs and clinking glasses.
Aria stood by the long banquet table, holding a champagne flute she hadn't yet touched. Lucien was across the ballroom, locked in discussion with Argento and two other men who wore secrets like cufflinks.
She didn't mind the distance. It gave her space to breathe.
Until she felt a presence behind her.
"Darling," came the honeyed voice she dreaded.
Aria turned.
Sofia.
Wrapped in blood-red satin, slit to her thigh, every inch of her screaming power, hunger, and cruelty. Her lips curved as she stepped closer, brushing a strand of Aria's hair off her shoulder without permission.
"Brave of you to show up tonight," Sofia murmured, smiling like they were old friends. "Though I suppose someone had to play the wife."
"I don't play," Aria said softly, not moving an inch. "Unlike you."
Sofia's smile froze for half a second.
Then she leaned in, whispering, "Lucien always did have a taste for delicate things. They break so beautifully."
Aria's fingers tightened around her glass, but she kept her voice even. "Then be careful. I don't shatter. I cut."
Sofia's eyes glittered — amused, maybe impressed. But not done.
"Enjoy the party," she purred.
And then she vanished.
---
Lucien's POV
He felt it before he saw it.
A shift.
He turned from the conversation, scanning the room—and then he saw Aria.
Still standing. Still poised.
But… off.
Her skin was too pale. Her posture too tense.
And she hadn't taken a sip of her drink.
He moved instantly.
By the time he reached her, she was swaying slightly, eyes glassy.
"Aria," he said, voice low and sharp. "What did you drink?"
She blinked up at him. "Nothing. I was just—"
Her knees buckled.
Lucien caught her before she hit the ground.
Chaos threatened to ripple through the room, but he shut it down with a single look toward Enzo, who was already moving.
"Get the car," he ordered.
He turned back to Aria, who clung to consciousness but looked lost, blinking hard as though the world wouldn't stay still.
"Lucien…" she whispered, voice slurring.
"I've got you," he said. "You're okay. You're okay."
But he wasn't sure she was.
And that made something primal uncoil in his chest.
---
Back at the Estate
He carried her into the bedroom himself.
Ordered Clara to bring water and call the doctor — discreetly.
Aria was fading in and out, her skin cold and damp. Her voice barely audible.
"I didn't… drink it," she murmured.
"I know," he whispered, brushing damp hair from her forehead. "You're strong. But someone wanted you weak."
And he already knew who.
---
Later That Night
Lucien stood in the study, a half-empty glass in one hand, the Palazzo crest still clutched in the other.
Sofia.
Of course it had been her.
A waiter confirmed she slipped him money to serve Aria "a special drink" from a tray no one else touched.
She didn't want to kill her.
Just humiliate her.
Break her.
But she made one mistake.
She underestimated how much Lucien cared.
He hadn't said it. Not out loud.
But tonight had proven it.
Because when Aria nearly collapsed in his arms, something inside him snapped.
Not with fear.
With fury.
---
Aria's POV
She woke to darkness.
And Lucien's voice.
Low. Steady. Dangerous.
He was on the phone, just outside the bedroom.
"I don't care who she's connected to. I want every name she's spoken to in the last week."
A pause.
"No, you listen. If Aria had touched that drink, if she'd been left alone for five more minutes—"
Another pause.
Quieter. Sharper.
"I would've burned the entire villa down."
Aria swallowed hard.
Not out of fear.
But out of something far more terrifying.
Emotion.
Because he meant it.
Every word.
---
Lucien came back into the room not long after.
He stopped when he saw her awake.
His expression didn't change much.
But his voice did.
"You should've told me you weren't feeling well."
"I didn't know what was happening," she whispered.
He sat on the edge of the bed.
Aria looked at him for a long time.
"You think she did it?"
Lucien didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
And Aria didn't ask what he would do next.
Because she already knew.