Aria spotted movement in the corner of her eye just as she was ready to sip from the champagne glass.
"Wait! Perfect timing!" With jangling camera equipment, the wedding photographer hurried at them. "Before we lose this lighting, I have to get the formal shots with the wedding couple!"
Aria lowered the glass in a way that she hoped looked like mild disappointment instead of overwhelming happiness. "Certainly! These pictures will remain jewels forever."
Aria grabbed her chance as the photographer started setting up his camera. She subtly moved toward an adjacent table where some guests had left their drinks. She exchanged her champagne glass with an identical one belonging to an old family friend with the deliberate ease of someone who has attended many social gatherings.
She looked from the corner of her eye and saw Bella's face: a flutter of irritation quickly covered by a brilliant smile. Bella said, "Oh, what a shame we missed the toast moment."
Her voice carried just the right degree of disappointment. Marcus's response was more subdued. The little tightness around his eyes, the way his jaw tensed almost imperceptibly before softening into his lovely smile. It was clear that the delay ruined whatever they had planned for that champagne glass.
"Don't worry," Aria replied gently, lifting her fresh glass. "We will have lots of time to celebrate."
Twenty minutes for the picture session meant several setups and postures. Aria kept her happy bride mask through it all while watching the family friend who had unwittingly taken her original glass. The woman kept talking and laughing regularly, without displaying any symptoms of sickness or pain. Either Aria's doubts had been sheer psychosis, or the dosage had been too low to have noticeable results.
Aria poured herself into the perfect bride role throughout the reception that followed. Her thoughts compiled every discussion as she moved among guests, with Marcus's arm possessively around her waist, smiling and laughing at suitable times.
She listened closely to every name Marcus mentioned and every deal he discussed as he chatted with his company friends. She saw his body language vary depending on who he was addressing—confident and demanding with some, subservient and conniving with others.
"The Chen portfolio has such interesting diversification opportunities," she heard him say to a man she did not know. "Once we have fuller integration, the prospect for expansion is remarkable." The wording gave Aria shivers down her spine. The phrase "once we have fuller integration" is used instead of "once Aria decides" or "once we discuss," as if her permission had no bearing on choices about her own empire.
Bella stayed close all evening, remarking on how "perfect" everything was, how "lucky" Aria was to have met such a committed spouse. But, especially when Aria tried to have private talks with some visitors, her hovering seemed more like surveillance than friendliness.
The first dance she did with Marcus felt more like a show for an audience than a private moment between the newlyweds. Marcus muttered what ought to have been beautiful nonsense in her ear as they swung to the romantic melody.
"You look great in the diamonds from my family," he said, his breath warm on her neck. "Everything looks better when it belongs to me."
Not "us."
Rose petals were scattered over Egyptian cotton sheets, champagne was cooling in a silver bucket, and floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of the city lights—a masterwork of romantic excess just waiting for them after the celebration.
Marcus carried her across the threshold with great grace so the hotel staff might see his devoted partner perform.
But little changes in his conduct started to show when their door closed and they were really alone. The frequent caressing started to seem possessive rather than loving. He quickly turned his attention to his phone and checked his messages with a sense of haste that didn't seem right for a wedding night.
Aria excused herself to the marble bathroom, presumably to change into her honeymoon underwear. Rather, she turned on the voice memo app on her phone and stashed it in her cosmetics bag, ready to capture bedroom talks.
She spotted Marcus pacing and in a hushed phone call when she came out. He said, "No, the timeline can't be moved up yet." His voice had a sharp edge she had never heard before. "I must acquire complete legal access for at least another month. Yes, I am aware of the strain, but right now we cannot afford any errors."
When he saw her, he quickly ended the call and went back to being a lovely husband right away. "Sorry, sweetheart. Some quick business that couldn't wait."
The attempted intimacy that followed seemed mechanical, calculated—like Marcus was going through the motions of what a committed spouse should do rather than expressing real desire. Every touch, every whispered affection felt practiced for an audience of one who was meant to be too trusting to see the difference.
Aria kept on her lovely wife mask while grabbing every chance to acquire information during their honeymoon at an exclusive Caribbean hotel. Marcus left documents accessible, and she discreetly photographed them.
She would hear from nearby rooms or via half-open doors as he made business calls. It was both telling and scary to see how much confidence he was having. He talked more freely about "joint account simplification" and "streamlining business operations," terms that seemed logical on the surface but had sinister connotations for her financial freedom.
More unsettling were the credit cards she found in his wallet, ones connected to her company accounts she had never approved. When she asked him about them, his response was coherent and rational. "Only emergency access, sweetie. For company spending when you're not free to authorize it. This is perfectly normal for married couples like us."
Marcus's behavior was not typical, and Aria was starting to realize that her fortune had made her a target long before she had ever met him.
Aria woke up on their last night at the lodge to find Marcus's side of the bed empty. The digital clock displayed 2:47 AM, an odd hour for casual drifting.
When she heard voices, she got out of bed and followed the noise to the lounge. She could see Marcus sitting at a computer, apparently on a video conference call, through the glass doors.
She could hear bits of the discussion that caused her blood to start running cold as she moved nearer and stayed in the shade. "The Chen acquisition timeline is moving exactly as planned," Marcus said to someone on the screen. "We can remove the last obstacle once I have complete legal access to everything."
Aria shoved herself against the wall, her heart thumping so loudly she worried Marcus could hear it. This was more than just pilfering her money; he was organizing a total business takeover using her fortune as the prize and herself as the target to be removed.