---
"A crown of diamonds, placed upon a trembling heart — not for love, but for legacy."_Unknown
Silence.
Not a sound moved across the grand hall, except the wind brushing the drapes at the far corners and the distant hum of the string quartet. Maeve stood frozen, Levi Gazdanov still knelt before her, one hand extended, calm and sure. It was as though time itself refused to move without her answer.
Linda Johnson recovered first.
A step forward, a quick smile, too wide to be sincere. "Mr. Gazdanov, perhaps you'd consider—maybe it's one of my daughters you meant. Katie or Kelly? They're both—"
Levi's eyes lifted to her with all the expression of a stone. It wasn't anger. It wasn't even impatience. Just a quiet command that shut her up with more finality than any word could.
Linda faltered, her throat tightening. "Of course. I mean—if that's your decision…"
She turned to Maeve, lips stiff. "She accepts," Linda announced quickly, with the devious smile still plastered on her face reaching for Maeve's hand.
Levi didn't even look at her. "I believe it was her I asked."
The silence struck again, harsher this time.
His gaze returned to Maeve. Steady. Waiting.
Maeve looked up, her chest tightening like someone had tied it shut. Linda's hand was already on her back, pressing lightly — a warning in disguise. The crowd leaned in. Her cousins stared. Maeve's lips parted, her breath trembling.
She glanced at Linda.
Linda's look was sharp and commanding, her smile just wide enough for others to miss the pressure in her eyes. Maeve's voice barely rose above a whisper. "I… I will."
The crowd erupted into applause, but it was tinted with disbelief. Murmurs rippled as if people tried to place the name Maeve Johnson in a line of significance but failed.
Levi stood slowly, taking a black velvet box from his assistant.
Inside sparkled a diamond ring — simple in shape but immense in worth. Worth more than most of the people present wealth combined. A stone so clear, so large, it nearly caught the light of the chandeliers and held it hostage. Gasps scattered across the room as he slid it onto her finger with graceful precision.
Maeve stared at it like it was forged in another world.
Levi's voice was smooth, as if the moment didn't carry the weight of a life sentence. "You'll be informed when the wedding date is set."
He turned to Linda, gave a curt nod, then walked away with Anton trailing behind.
---
The ride home was filled with dead silence.
Linda's fingers trembled in her lap. Katie, the youngest of the girls but still two years older than Maeve, broke down first. Her face crumpled, and she sobbed into her hands, loud and dramatic. "He was supposed to pick one of us," she cried. "It was our moment!"
Kelly, ever poised, looked at her sister with cold disdain. "Stop crying. It's embarrassing."
Maeve sat by the window, the diamond ring heavier than any chain. She wished it had been a nightmare. A mistake. A cruel prank. But it wasn't.
The moment the car pulled into the Johnson's modest estate, Linda rushed inside, calling out, "Archie! Archie, where are you?!"
Archie came out from the kitchen, wiping his hands with a dish towel, casual until he saw the expression on his wife's face.
"He picked Maeve," she blurted, like it burned to say.
Archie blinked. "What?"
"He proposed. To Maeve," she repeated, voice coated in disbelief.
And to everyone's shock—Archie smiled. Wide and genuine. "Well, I'll be damned."
He walked over to Maeve, who still hadn't stepped past the door. "Congratulations, sweetheart."
Maeve stared at him like he'd spoken in another language.
Archie turned to his wife and daughters, clapping his hands together. "This is incredible news! Levi Gazdanov—asking for your cousin's hand means this family just got upgraded."
"But Dad—" Katie started, sniffling.
"No buts," Archie said. "Do you know what this means? Wealth, status… suitors will line up for both of you. If Maeve's good enough for Gazdanov, you two must be worth diamonds too."
He kissed Linda's temple, already buzzing with excitement. "Bring out the fine wine. We're celebrating."
And just like that, the room changed.
Katie wiped her tears. Kelly folded her arms, expression unreadable. Linda ordered the kitchen help around, her husband's words making wonderful sense to her. Toasts were made. Glasses raised. Laughter forced into the air like glitter too heavy to float.
Maeve slipped out, unnoticed.
In her small room at the back of the house, she closed the door, dropped her heels, and slumped to the floor.
Hands on her knees. Chest rising in shallow bursts.
The ring caught the dim light.
Her head fell forward, and she sat there like that—still, silent, a broken clock with nothing left to tick.
She hadn't imagined her night ending like this. She hadn't imagined becoming his.
---
Three Days Later
A thick cream envelope arrived, sealed with the Gazdanov crest. Linda opened it before anyone else could touch it, her eyes scanning the letter before calling everyone into the living room.
"The wedding will take place next Saturday. One week from today." she said. "And our dearest in-law will handle all the payments, just for us to make our choices." She raised her voice, squealing like a banshee.
A quiet fell over the room.
Katie's jaw dropped. "So soon?"
Archie smiled again, already pulling out his phone. "Then we better get moving. We'll need designers, makeup artists, flowers, press invitations—"
Kelly sat back, arms crossed. "She'll need a new wardrobe. She can't walk in looking like a maid."
Maeve stood at the edge of the room, back pressed to the wall.
The world moved around her, loud and bright and fast — planning, dreaming, scheming. Dresses, hair, interviews, status.
And she?
She was just the girl who hadn't wanted to be seen.
Now, she was the bride of the most wanted man in the city.
And she had no idea why.
---