Public Shame, Private Triumph

The air in the ballro

my head. "Let it go."

lieve me. She

hing for any sign of d

arefully constructed neu

I started, my

ng in her tone. "Don' t make this w

n was ruined. My h

econd. His sycophantic friends,

lieve he' d

erate for

her, having a

ere like ston

ss spread throu

ging the crowd, smoothing thing

nding, everyone. Let' s ge

was brig

started picking up my mother' s medi

s fees, the evidence of my struggle

ed. They ju

ck into my bag, m

Bella one last time. Sh

t, smiling. As if nothing had

It was Marcus Bell, t

"Ethan, let' s go,

, unable

ballroom, away from t

face. It didn' t help th

anything for a wh

" I finally choked out.

s her image, Ethan. And Juli

rld I clearly w

s planted, Mar

e kind. "But proving it now... Julian an

ger rise, but it was qui

as just a sous-chef.

zzed. A tex

tomorrow. We need to

She didn' t want me t

yal felt