Chapter 209

• Gustavo POV
• I woke before the alarm, the room still dark except for the thin line of gray light slipping between the curtains. I lay there on my back, hands behind my head, staring at the ceiling. The sheets were cool against my skin. My mind went straight to yesterday.
• The study. Valentina walking in with the tablet already open, no knock, no pause at the door. She sat across from me like the chair had always been hers. We were going over the floor plan for the ball, and she pointed at two names side by side.