Chapter 48

• I didn’t sleep the night the press coverage broke. I tried—God, I tried—but my body stayed wired, half-braced, as if the walls might fall in at any moment. My thoughts wouldn’t quiet. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw headlines layered on headlines, their sharp fonts cutting through my skin like they had been designed to wound.
• By morning, I was already dressed. I hadn’t even undressed, really. I had pulled on a soft wrap and wandered barefoot through the boutique in silence, checking each room, touching each rail, letting my fingers brush against the fabrics we had chosen with such care. I didn’t need to do it. But I did. Just to remind myself this place still existed. That I still existed in it.
• Julian found me before the others arrived. I didn’t hear him come in, but when I turned around at the end of the hall, he was already there. Not in a suit. Just in a dark sweater and slacks, his sleeves pushed up, the sharp lines of his face softened by whatever long night he’d had. He didn’t say anything at first. He just stepped into the light with me and waited.