Chapter 276

• The woman who entered carried herself with quiet authority, dressed in a tailored stone-blue blazer patterned subtly like shifting clouds. Her steel-gray hair was pulled back into a precise, impeccable updo, betraying her experience and commanding respect. She looked to be in her fifties, every movement measured and deliberate.
• Her daughter, in contrast, was dressed with understated simplicity. Under a soft white fur coat, she wore an apricot-yellow dress that complemented her youthful, delicate features. Yet despite her beauty, a faint melancholy shadowed her eyes, as if the weight of family expectations rested heavily on her young shoulders. Without the warmth of her dress’s color, her demeanor might have seemed even more somber than her mother’s.
• I invited them both to sit, keeping my tone steady and gracious. “When you sent your invitation a few days ago, Madam Prince, Ryan was undergoing intensive treatment. I regret that I couldn’t meet you then and feared appearing impolite, so I asked someone to respond on our behalf. Now that Ryan is on the mend, I wanted to welcome you here personally and thank you for your concern.”