The ballroom was too bright.
That was the first thing Aira noticed after she stepped away from him.
The chandeliers were harsh against her eyes, the music too polished, the laughter too easy. Everything in that room moved as if nothing significant had just happened. As if she hadn’t just looked into the face of the man she once thought she would grow old beside.
Lucien stayed exactly where she left him.
He hadn’t expected the impact of seeing her again to be physical. But it was. It sat heavy behind his ribs, pressing against his lungs every time he tried to inhale normally.
She looked… complete.
That was the word that unsettled him most.
Not lonely.
Not bitter.
Not searching.
Complete.
He watched as someone approached her — a woman in a sleek navy dress, probably a colleague. A
