"Stole Julian from you?" I stared at Natalie, her accusation hanging in the air like poison. "That's your version of what happened?"
The room had fallen completely silent. Even Isabelle, still dripping with expensive wine, seemed to hold her breath.
Natalie's eyes narrowed, her perfect mask slipping for just a moment before she composed herself. "Everyone knows what you did, Aurelia. You've always been jealous of what Julian and I had."
I laughed—a hollow, bitter sound that surprised even me. "What you had? You mean the relationship you've been fantasizing about for five years while Julian was mated to me?"
"A mating that only happened because you trapped him," she spat, her voice rising. "You drugged him that night and took advantage of him when he was vulnerable. You knew he loved me!"
Julian shifted uncomfortably beside me. For five years, he'd believed her version of events. For five years, he'd treated me like I was nothing because he thought I'd manipulated him.
