A love so pretty

ulders were unbared by silk, her skin still tingling from a night that felt more dream than memory. She blinked once, slowly, as uncertainty ent

ath was

ny Ma

d success. The man who, in sheer violation of reason and rule, had danced with her, kissed her, and promise

o the other side of

like Anthony didn't hang aro

rapped her arms around her knees. Her black hair fell in loose waves down her back, and she looked out at the city horizon through

ht had b

asn't somet

hardware. Marble tops. Monogrammed towels that probably cost more than her whole month's rent. Bella

e counter alongside a tiny vial of

re me last nig

would know Anthony's writing anywhere. It w

't want it to stop. Freeze this moment. Put it in a bottle. Imagine she wasn't on the brink of going bac

air, her shoes beside it. The wall clock told her it was 6:20 a.m. She h

g a trail left behind. Questions. Or worse, pit

ime fai

e in j

tiful

heels clicked softly on the marble floor of the building lobby. The doo

rs, the honking horns, the distant shouting of a street vendor it all pained h

r reflection in the black glass. Her hair was disordered, her makeup sm

e city, Bella settled back into he

ast night

t had bee

An ephemeral indulgence

to herself, embracing hers

walls the ones she had so carefully built after all those yea

e want

was the

at odd moments Bella shrugged out of her dress and tossed it across the bed. The mattress groaned in

at the street. A dog yelped in the distance. A man cursed

longer felt

pages filled with late-night doodles after waitressing shifts or working as

ered the b

gaze boring into hers like he coul

led as she pic

he paper. A corset. Off-shoulder style. Re

she had wanted t

't ready to talk yet. Not until she knew what this was. Not until she

self toast and eggs. The familiar routine steadied he

wn nu

t skippe

n for a solid thirty se

el

el

h like fine whiskey. She

she whi

Anth

kno

th of them didn't quite

he said after a while

e said, attemptin

p sooner. I did not ex

r. I retreated. The

ile

?" he asked.

creamed for her to run and hide

eart said

whispered

ice. To

stunned silence. She hadn't anticipated that he

he

needed to cl

ould be running

t terri

e rest of the day. Packed away her fabrics. Repl

p at the ceiling, replaying every moment from the ball, ev

awned again, her

his office. Sh

ould not

tev