Mio Sole

11 [Niklaus]

**June 15th, 4 pm**

   Aleksandr and I share another glance as Sebastian covers his mouth with his hand, trying to hold back a laugh. The dumbass had been laughing almost nonstop for the entirety of the last show, turned halfway in his seat to face Aurora. I'm 100% sure that he couldn't tell me the color of a single item showed after Aurora's designs.

   I'm not sure anyone could, to be fair. Aurora's show had been the best by far—not that any of the others could even compare. The style, the colors, the mythology behind all of the designs, all of it fit together perfectly. I have no doubt that by tomorrow, all of the designs will have made their way onto some news site or another despite the strict 'no photos' policy.

   People rush to the other room as soon as the lights turn back on, signaling the end of the show. Almost everyone makes their way towards the section for Aurora's designs, resulting in startled looks from the workers before it turns into panic at the rush.

   Sebastian stands slowly, offering his hand to Aurora. I barely suppress an eye roll at the fact that he let his guard down with her despite all of our warnings not to.

   Aurora stands, pushing right past him without so much as a glance back. Her rejection brings a smirk to my lips, which only grows at Sebastian's confused expression as he trails after her, looking for all the world like a lost puppy and not the heir to the Mexican Cartel.

   Stefan sends a quick, half-hearted glare my way before following Sebastian. With a shared sigh of exasperation, Alec and I follow. Aurora makes her way towards another designer's section, and he greets her with a smile and a respectful nod as she nears. At least the other designers seem to respect Aurora's success rather than holding a grudge about her show being better.

   Sebastian finally separated from Aurora as she works the room, greeting both designers and guests alike. He winds up at Aurora's section anyways, his eyes locking on the golden axe exactly like the one for the Hephaestus design.

   A bid is already going on for it, seeing as there's only one of each weapon from the designs. Aurora either severely underestimated how many people would want one, or wanted to keep the price for that single one outrageous. A glance over Sebastian's shoulder at the insane number he writes on the card to up the bid makes it likely that it's the latter.

   "He fell for it," Alec says, falling into step next to me as I circle the room again. I glance at him, prompting him to elaborate. "Aurora's act."

   "No, I don't think he did," I say, watching the heated glance Sebastian throws towards Aurora as she speaks to one of the guests that was in the front row. "I saw his face earlier when Aurora's designs were being presented. I think he knows exactly how much she is hiding behind the innocent mask. And I think it turns him on."

   Aleksandr sends a glare my way at the last part, but doesn't argue. I continue, "Stefan is, too. Not to innocent act, but he likes how successful she is. He got it into his head that she could be a good match for him, both with her talents and the fact that she's Giovanni's daughter."

"I swear to God, if they start fighting over her, I'll kill them both." Alec says, turning a heated glare to where Stefan is scaring away anyone trying to outbid Sebastian.

I just shrug as I stop in front of the shop for the first designer we'd seen. While Aurora's were by far the most creative, this designer's were more practical in our field. First impressions are always important, and I'd rather have people fear me than think I have nice abs.

...I do have nice abs, though.

I purchase a sleek, all black suit and give the shop owner my measurements to tailor the suit. Simple, but fitted enough to show off my trim waist. The perfect suit to wear to the Archer and Aurora's gala on the 30th.