Chapter 21

Champagne flutes clinked like forgotten wedding bells as Dashiell and Ari, two bronzed gods amidst the faux tan crowd, navigated the opulent deck of The Indomitable. Two years since their last bro-down, and the air crackled with a mix of catching up and unspoken secrets. Dashiell, ever the master of deflection, regaled Ari with tales of billion-dollar deals and boardroom conquests, conveniently skipping the juicy details of his near-death car crash. Ari, in turn, spun a yarn about wrangling a giant electric ray in the muddy depths of the Birnudilah River. Dashiell expressed a healthy amount of scepticism. As usual, when it came to his friend Ari, he could never tell if he was making it all up or just embellishing. Then came the elephant in the yacht’s crystal harbour: the ring glinting on Dashiell’s finger. ‘Engaged, huh? Selene finally wear you down with her Chanel-coated hints?’ Ari’s eyes, sharp as a shark’s, probed for a flicker of joy, finding only a dull ache. Dashiell forced a s