The gala shimmered around Olivia like a dream that had soured too quickly. The chandeliers glowed with warm gold, the music drifted like silk through the air, and laughter rippled across the ballroom. Yet none of it reached her. Not truly. Not after what she had witnessed.
Simon’s words still cut sharply inside her. A slow, steady ache pulsed beneath her ribs, each breath reminding her of the simple truth he had handed Valerie without hesitation.
The arrangement supports my work in Madanunan.It is practical. Effective.
She had always known the nature of their union, but hearing it spoken aloud so coldly, so cleanly, made the truth feel heavier than any chain she had worn in the Salvador house.
A waiter passed with a tray of champagne. She took a glass, hoping the bitterness would quiet
