Chapter 92: Stunning

"Shall we?" the hairstylist asked gently, once Sienna finally made her way out to the small chair set up in the hallway, breaking her out of her own thoughts.

Sienna nodded, settling into the chair, and let herself be swept away into the next hour, hands moving deftly through her hair, careful brushes sweeping color across her face, the mirror in front of her slowly revealing someone she barely recognized, polished and radiant in a way she hadn’t allowed herself to feel in a very long time.

By the time she stood, fully dressed in the deep blue gown Aria had chosen, her hair swept elegantly to one side, her makeup soft but striking, Sienna caught her own reflection in the full-length mirror and simply stared for a long moment, hardly believing the woman staring back at her.

She looked, without question, remarkable.

And somewhere deep down, underneath all the nerves about the Capri meeting waiting for her that night, underneath the tangled, complicated feelings she still refused to name where Viktor was concerned, a small, quiet part of Sienna couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he saw her.

Viktor was waiting at the bottom of the staircase when Sienna finally began her descent, and the moment his eyes found her, every trace of the composed, unreadable expression he usually wore seemed to slip away entirely.

"Holy cow," Marcus muttered under his breath, standing a few feet away, his voice pitched low enough that he probably thought no one else would catch it. "Boss."

"Stunning," Viktor said, more to himself than to anyone else, his eyes tracking slowly over the deep blue gown, over the careful sweep of her hair, over the confident, steady way she carried herself down each step despite the nerves Sienna knew were coiled tight somewhere behind her ribs. "Elegant."

"Boss, you’re drooling," Marcus said, leaning in slightly, his voice barely more than a whisper meant just for Viktor’s ears.

Viktor shot him a sharp, warning glance without ever fully looking away from Sienna, and Marcus wisely fell silent, though the small, knowing smirk didn’t entirely leave his face.

"My bestie is an absolute beauty goddess," Aria announced loudly, appearing at the bottom of the stairs a moment later, dressed in a sleek black gown that fit her perfectly, though the slight tightness around her mouth suggested she wasn’t entirely thrilled with it.

It wasn’t the dress she had wanted to wear. She had picked out something bold and bright, something that matched her personality far better than the safe, expected black currently draped over her frame, but her mother had taken one look at the original choice and delivered an ultimatum sharp enough to leave no room for argument.

Change, or risk being cut off from the Cross family name entirely. Aria knew, without a shred of doubt, that her mother meant every word of it.

Viktor’s eyes flicked briefly toward his niece, something almost sympathetic passing behind them, but before he could say anything at all, Sienna had already reached the bottom of the stairs, and his attention snapped fully back to her.

He offered his arm without a word.

Aria stepped forward at the same moment, offering her own hand, clearly expecting to walk in beside her best friend the way they always had at every important event either of them had ever attended together.

Sienna reached for Aria’s hand instinctively.

Viktor moved faster.

His fingers closed gently but firmly around Sienna’s wrist instead, pulling her smoothly toward himself.

"You’re riding with me, your husband," he said, his voice leaving absolutely no room for negotiation. Then, glancing at Aria over Sienna’s shoulder, he added, "And you. Stay out of trouble. Behave."

"Me?" Aria said, pressing a hand to her chest in mock outrage as Viktor steered Sienna toward the front door. "I always behave!"

She hurried after them anyway, her heels clicking rapidly against the marble floor, while Sienna twisted back to look at her friend with wide, betrayed eyes, silently accusing Aria of abandoning her to face the wolves alone.

"I’m right behind you, baby girl," Aria called after her, laughing. "And you look great, by the way!"

By the time they reached the cars, Viktor opened the door and helped Sienna inside before settling in beside her, the door closing softly, sealing them both into the quiet, private space of the back seat.

"You look great, by the way," Viktor said again, more quietly this time, meant just for her. "Blue suits you."

Sienna smiled faintly, keeping the thought to herself. He had told her red suited her once too, back at the Morozov gala, and that particular night had ended in bloodshed and chaos neither of them had fully recovered from since.

Blue, apparently, was simply the next color on his list. She didn’t bother asking whether it happened to be his favorite. Some part of her, quiet and certain, already suspected she knew the answer to that.

"Thank you," she said instead, softly.

The drive to the Capri estate passed mostly in silence, though it wasn’t an uncomfortable kind of quiet.

Sienna found herself watching the city lights slip past the window, her mind cycling slowly through everything about her family, about the men who had come looking for her at the university, about blood samples that always seemed to vanish before anyone could examine them properly.

She pushed the thoughts aside as best she could. Tonight required focus. Tonight required careful, steady composure, the kind she had spent weeks teaching herself to summon whenever the ground beneath her felt uncertain, since danger became part of her name now.

The Capri estate rose up ahead of them eventually, an enormous house lit up in warm gold light, cars lining the long circular driveway, uniformed staff moving briskly between them.

Viktor stepped out first, offering his hand to help Sienna from the car, and together, hand in hand, they made their way up the wide stone steps toward the entrance.

They were greeted almost immediately by a tall, broad-shouldered man with silver-streaked hair and sharp, calculating eyes, his smile polished and practiced in the way of a man who had spent decades perfecting exactly how much warmth to show and exactly how much to withhold.

"Viktor," the man said smoothly, extending a hand. "So glad you could join us tonight." His eyes shifted toward Sienna, lingering a beat too long, something unreadable flickering behind his gaze, before the polite smile returned. "And this must be your lovely wife. Nice to finally meet you."