Vivian's POV
This is the first premiere with my name actually on the poster, and for exactly eleven minutes, standing on the carpet in a dress Marcus's stylist chose without asking my opinion, I let myself feel like the year is finally turning into something survivable. Eleven minutes of flashbulbs and practiced smiles, of pretending the knot in my stomach has loosened for good. Eleven minutes of almost believing my own performance.
Then I see him.
Chase, in a suit that fits like it was made for exactly this moment, camera flashes already swarming toward him the second he steps out of the car. He doesn't rush. He never rushes. He pauses at the curb like the carpet exists solely to admire him, one hand sliding into his pocket, the other extended toward the woman climbing out behind him.
