Chapter 20 A Bride, A Maid, A Lie

• Morning came too soon, too fast.
• In the Moretti home, there was a heavy, buzzing presence, charged with an unfamiliar tension the very walls could sense. Light streamed through great windows, bathing floors in bright golden light, without warmth to it. Only the semblance of peace.
• Jessie was already attired in a see-through satin dress when she appeared at the top of the marble staircase. The subtle aroma of expensive perfume, scented and floral, followed her like smoke as she made her way with her hair heaped regally about her shoulders.. She sipped the coffee daintily before she noticed Isabella by the hall, quietly sweeping under the stairs.