Chapter 47 The Ball

• Kieran’s POV
• “I’d like everyone to meet my daughter-in-law, Andrea Gra-” my mother cleared her throat as the room fell awfully silent. You could hear a needle drop. “Andrea Vasquez, my son’s wife.
• For a moment, the silence stretched, taut and uncomfortable, before the applause finally rose, polite, restrained, but loud enough to fill the gilded ballroom. Crystal chandeliers trembled with the vibration. My mother beamed with pride as she extended a graceful hand toward Andrea, calling her to the stage.