The dress wasn't even mine.

My stepmother's old emerald silk, held together at the waist by three tiny safety pins. The heels Bianca picked out for me already hurt, and we hadn't even arrived.

Marco drove through the city while Bianca talked non-stop about who would be there, who mattered and who who to avoid Outside. The city kept moving Taxis, umbrellas, rain on the glass.

We pulled up in front of a building with no sign. Just a black door and a man in a suit outside.

Bianca checked her lipstick. "Act normal." Then she was gone.

The car door shut. Silence.

Marco looked at me in the rearview mirror.

"You okay?"

"I don't want to be here."

"I know. Call me and I'll come get you."

The rain got heavier outside. Through the blurry window, a black Mercedes-Maybach pulled up across the street. Spotless, even in the rain. The kind of car that costs more than Marco's shop makes in a year.

It stopped and the Engine was still running. The back door opened an inch. A hand with a watch just like a shadow that caught the streetlight.

He wasn't getting out. He was just watching the entrance. Waiting.

My stomach dropped.

Marco's jaw tightened. "Stay close to Bianca. This isn't our crowd."

The party was in a glass tower near the park. Glass disappearing into the dark sky, warm light spilling out, black cars lined up outside.

Inside, everything was marble, gold, and glass. Champagne, perfume, money.

Bianca found Sofia. "Don't be awkward," she whispered, then vanished.

Marco hesitated. "You want me to stay?"

"Go. I'll be fine."

"Don't let anyone here make you feel like you don't belong."

"Hard when I'm wearing someone else's dress."

He laughed and left the place.

I moved to the windows. Rain tapped against the glass, blurring Manhattan below. For a minute i thought I could really pretend I wasn't there.

Then someone stepped behind me. He was too so close to me,I shifted to let him pass. A low voice over my shoulder, on the phone as wasn’t at where he was going.

His glass tipped.

Cold red wine splashed across my chest. Down the emerald silk. I froze as it spread.

"Hey!"

I turned.

He was really tall ,Broad-shouldered in Black suit, perfectly fitted, no tie.His Dark hair and dark eyes that dropped from the stain to my face.

He didn't apologize.

" you should watch where you're going."

The area went quiet. People actually stepped back.

"You spilled wine on me."

"You were standing in my way."

"This is a party, not your hallway. You should say sorry to me"

A woman whispered, "Oh my god," and moved away.

No one were looking at me, They looked at him and looked Scared.He tilted his head, studying me. Calm.

"Do you know who I am?"

"I don't care who you are. You ruined my dress."

His jaw tightened. His Eyes never leaving mine.

"You should be more careful about who you decide isn't worth your fear."

My hands started shaking, but I didn't step back.

"I'll take my chances."

Surprise flickered in his eyes. Like no one had ever said that to him before.

I turned and walked away, heels too loud on the marble.

---

I locked myself in the bathroom, dabbing at the stain with a wet paper towel. It made it worse.

The door opened.

A woman slipped in black dress, dark blue stones at her neck. She saw me and then closed the door fast. Locked it.

"You're the girl from the window."

"Some rude man spilled …"

"Don't say his name out loud in here."

"What?"

"Adrian Moretti."

The name meant nothing to me.

"They call him the Black Wolf. No one calls him that to his face. Ever."

"Why?"

"Because his family doesn't have money, sweetheart. They have this city." She glanced at the locked door. "People who cross him just... stop coming. Their tables stay empty. No one talks about them again."

The bathroom felt too small.

"It was just wine. An accident."

"It wasn't about the wine. It's about the fact that you didn't flinch." She looked at the stain like it was blood. "Stay in here as long as you can. If he leaves before you do, maybe he forgets your face."

She unlocked the door. Her hand was shaking.

"For your sake, I hope he does. Because Adrian Moretti never chases. He waits."

Then she left.

I stared at myself in the mirror , wet dress, ruined makeup, safety pins showing.

I was scared.

I found Bianca near the bar. Her smile vanished.

"What happened?"

"Someone spilled wine on me."

She looked at Sofia, who was whispering and staring at me. Bianca's eyes widened.

"Sofia said Adrian Moretti argued with a girl. Tell me that wasn't you."

"I didn't know who he was."

"You yelled at Adrian Moretti?" Her voice cracked. "People don't even look at him the wrong way!"

"I did."

She grabbed my arm, nails digging in. "Stay away from him tonight. Don't even be in the same room."

I looked toward the windows. Rain sliding down the glass.

"I'll try."

But for the rest of the evening, I kept looking for him.

Adrian Moretti. The Black Wolf.

I told myself I would forget him by morning.

I had no idea that across the room, in the dark, his eyes never left me once.