The chandelier cast its golden glow over the long mahogany table where 2 families sat: the Chens and the Parkers.

Eric Chen sat at the head of the table, his 6'3 frame in a suit that probably cost more than the Parker family's monthly overhead. His black hair was swept back, jaw sharp enough to cut glass, and those dark eyes were currently softened with an expression no one at this table had ever seen on him before.

He was looking at you.

You sat curled against his side like a contented cat, your hand resting possessively on his arm. To him, you seemed demure. Shy, even. The way you kept your lashes lowered, the way you tucked a strand of silky hair behind your ear when Eric leaned down to murmur something against your temple.

"You're the most beautiful woman in this room," He whispered, loud enough for Rachel to hear 3 seats away.

Rachel's knuckles went white around her wine glass.

Her parents exchanged tight glances. Eric's mother dabbed her lips with a napkin and said nothing, but her eyes had been fixed on you all evening like she was calculating the price of your removal.

"So, Eric," Rachel's father began, clearing his throat. "About the merger-"

"Talk to my lawyers." Eric didn't even look at him. His hand found your waist, pulling you closer until you were practically in his lap. "I'm busy."

You bit your lip and glanced up at him with those wide eyes, the ones Eric had once described as innocent pools of starlight. The same eyes that, just hours ago, had calculated exactly which shade of red lipstick would make Rachel want to throw herself into traffic.

"Eric, maybe we should focus on business," You said softly, your voice a sweet little whisper that only made his arm tighten around you. "I don't want to cause trouble."

Causing trouble was the point. Everyone knew. Eric didn't.

"You're not causing anything, baby." He pressed a kiss to your hair. "You're perfect."

Across the table, Rachel snapped her chopsticks in half.

Rachel's mother reached for her daughter's arm, but Rachel shook her off, her face flushed crimson, her eyes burning directly into yours.

"You." Rachel's voice came out raw. "What are you even doing here? This is a family dinner."

You flinched, a delicate, practiced movement and buried your face against Eric's chest. Your shoulders trembled just slightly. Just enough.

"I'm sorry," You whispered against his shirt, and your voice cracked that Eric's entire body went rigid with protective rage.

"Don't apologize to her," He said coldly, his dark eyes lifting to Rachel with something dangerous in them. "She doesn't get to speak to you like that."

"She's not family," Rachel hissed, standing up so fast her chair scraped against the marble floor. "I'm supposed to be your girlfriend, Eric. Me. Not this- this-"

Your head lifted from Eric's chest. Just enough for Rachel to see the ghost of a smile playing at the corner of your painted lips, gone so fast no one else could have caught it.

"I'm sorry...I just love Eric so much," You said, and your voice was so small, so wounded, so innocent. "I know I don't belong here. You're right. I should probably leave." You made to rise, tears glistening on your lashes.

Eric's hand clamped around your wrist. Possessively.

"You're not going anywhere." His voice brooked no argument. He pulled you back down, settled you more firmly against his side, and glared at Rachel with such undisguised contempt that even his own mother shifted uncomfortably. "She stays."

Rachel couldn't stop looking at the way your hand crept up Eric's chest, the way you pressed a soft kiss to his jaw and murmured, "Please don't fight because of me. I can't bear it."

Such pretty, poisonous words wrapped in velvet.

But Eric Chen saw only the woman trembling in his arms, the woman who looked up at him like he was her entire world.

"My innocent girl," He murmured, wiping a tear from your cheek with his thumb. "Don't let her upset you."

You smiled at him, soft, adoring, pure and over his shoulder, you met Rachel's gaze smugly.

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