Aria's POV
The entire pavilion went silent.
My grip tightened around the microphone, heart hammering against my ribs.
This was Sylvia's real purpose—she'd deliberately put me onstage so someone could publicly question my identity, question my relationship with Damian.
Whispers began rippling through the crowd. I caught fragments of cutting commentary:
"So she was married before?"
"Alpha Holt's Luna? Then she and the Alpha King..."
"She's Vincent Smith's illegitimate daughter, after all. Who knows what she did before she came back?"
My gaze involuntarily turned toward where the Blackwood family sat.
Luna Elena almost instinctively started to rise, but Alpha Andrew pressed her shoulder, keeping her seated.
The Alpha King's expression remained calm and detached
