Chapter 2 Engagement Ceremony

Mira's POV

By the time our company van pulled beneath the hotel's covered entrance, the place was already alive with activity.

News vans occupied one side of the driveway while luxury cars rolled to a stop one after another, dropping off politicians, business executives, and celebrities.

Security officers stood at every entrance, checking invitations as flashes from dozens of cameras lit up the evening.

I climbed out of the van, adjusted the strap of my camera bag, and joined the line forming at the media registration desk.

"Press ID, please."

I handed the young woman behind the counter my identification card. She glanced at the screen in front of her before smiling politely. "Miss Mira Sutton?"

I nodded. "That's me."

She clipped a media badge onto my blazer and handed my card back. "Welcome. The press conference will begin shortly. Please proceed through security."

"Thank you."

The security check took longer than I expected.

My camera bag went through the scanner twice before one of the guards finally nodded and waved me through. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine."

I entered the hotel and followed the signs leading to the ballroom. The voices reached me before I reached the doors. Laughter, music, and conversations blending into one another.

When I stepped inside, I stopped.

The ballroom was impressive, but not because of the flowers or chandeliers. It was because nearly everyone in the room seemed important enough to make tomorrow's headlines.

Cabinet ministers, business tycoons, foreign investors… Everywhere I looked, someone was shaking hands with someone wealthier than themselves.

I slipped my notebook from my bag and jotted down a few quick observations. Who greeted whom, who ignored whom, who smiled only after spotting a camera.

A ripple of excitement spread across the ballroom.

Someone near the entrance called out, "Miss Pierce has arrived!"

Every photographer moved at once. I found a space between two camera operators and lifted my own camera.

Vanessa Pierce entered with an easy confidence that suggested she had spent most of her life attending events like this. She smiled as she greeted guests, stopping occasionally to exchange hugs or brief conversations.

I lowered my camera after taking a few photographs.

Less than a minute later, the atmosphere changed. People began looking toward the entrance, and I followed their gaze.

Kieran Vale had arrived.

Unlike Vanessa, he didn't pause for the cameras. He acknowledged greetings with short nods and brief handshakes but never lingered long enough for conversation. He moved through the room with the quiet confidence of someone accustomed to attention yet completely uninterested in it.

I raised my camera to take a few shots.

He remained courteous every time, but there was a rhythm to it. Eventually, he reached Vanessa, and she smiled warmly as she slipped her hand around his arm.

The photographers immediately began shouting instructions. "Mr. Vale, this way!"

"Look over here!"

"One more!"

Camera flashes exploded across the ballroom. Vanessa leaned slightly closer, still smiling. Kieran smiled too, but it never reached his eyes. The instant the cameras lowered, his expression disappeared.

Before I could think more about it, a member of the hotel staff approached the press area. "Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, "the press conference will begin in five minutes. Please take your places."

The conversations around me stopped. Reporters reached for notebooks, while camera operators adjusted their equipment.

I switched on my recorder, tucked my notebook beneath my arm, and took my place with the others.

The moderator stepped onto the stage and welcomed everyone with a smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us this evening. Mr. Kieran Vale and Miss Vanessa Pierce will now take a few questions from members of the press before the engagement celebration continues."

Almost every hand in the press section went up.

"Yes, the gentleman in the front."

A television reporter stood first. "Mr. Vale, congratulations on your engagement. Have you set a wedding date yet?"

Kieran glanced briefly at Vanessa before answering. "Not yet. We've both been busy with work, so we're taking things one step at a time."

Another reporter stood. "Miss Pierce, have you started planning the wedding dress?"

Vanessa laughed softly. "I've certainly looked at a few designs, but nothing has been decided."

Another question followed. "Will the wedding be held here in the city or somewhere overseas?"

"We're still discussing the details," Vanessa replied. "When we've made our decisions, you'll all be among the first to know."

The questions kept coming, but all of them sounded identical to the last.

The moderator checked his watch. “We have time for one final question.”

I lowered my pen, and took a quick look around. Most of the reporters seemed satisfied, like they already had enough material for tomorrow's entertainment pages.

I glanced down at my notebook, and most of my page was filled with observations instead of quotes.

Earlier that afternoon, while searching through old articles about Kieran Vale, I'd come across a short report about the yacht explosion that had claimed his wife's life.

It wasn't detailed, and just had a brief summary, but has refused to leave my head since then.

A man who had once stood before cameras mourning his wife was now standing before those same cameras announcing another engagement.

How could someone move on so fast? I genuinely wanted to know.

Before I realized what I was doing, my hand was already in the air.

The moderator looked in my direction. "Yes... the reporter in the third row."

Several reporters lowered their hands with disappointed sighs.

I stood.

For the first time that evening, dozens of faces turned toward me instead of the stage, but I ignored them.

My attention remained on the man standing beneath the lights. "Mr. Vale."

He shifted his gaze toward me.

I took a slow breath. "Three years ago, the entire country watched you mourn the loss of your wife."

The smiles around the ballroom faded. Even the clicking of cameras became less frequent.

"And tonight," I continued, "you've announced the beginning of a new chapter in your life." I paused only long enough to make sure my voice remained steady. "What does it feel like to finally move on?"

Silence settled over the ballroom.

Every pair of eyes turned toward Kieran Vale, including mine.

For a heartbeat, no one moved.

Then I noticed his fingers tighten around the champagne flute in his hand until his knuckles turned white, and his jaw flexed once. The smile he'd worn throughout the evening disappeared as if it had never existed.

His eyes met mine, and I noticed shock flickered across his face, but it lasted only for a second.

He blinked once, drew a slow breath, and the expression vanished behind the same calm composure he'd worn since arriving.

If I hadn't been watching him so closely, I might have believed I'd imagined it.

Around me, the room remained unnaturally quiet. Even Vanessa looked at him with quiet uncertainty, as though she hadn't expected my question to affect him this much.

For reasons I couldn't explain, it felt less like he'd heard my question, and more like he'd just seen a ghost.