lDiana exhaled a long, shaky breath, trying to steady the frantic rhythm of her heart. The past was no longer a shadow, it was a rising tide, threatening to drown the quiet life she had spent years building.
A buzz vibrated against her palm,a message from Bryan.
"Just bought a dress for tonight," he wrote, followed by a photo of the garment and a smiling emoji.
Diana stared at the screen. It was a masterpiece of diamond-encrusted red silk, bold and unapologetic.
It was the kind of dress a woman wore when she wanted to be the only person in the room. But Diana’s thoughts immediately drifted to the simpler gift her daughter had already picked out for her.
The weight of rejecting him pulled at her conscience.
"I already have a dress for the party, Bryan..." she typed back, her thumbs
