Serenity
The morning after the gala was quieter than usual, the kind of silence that sat heavy in the air, pressing down on everything. I woke up early, too early, like my body couldn’t quite settle after the chaos of the night before. Luca’s words from the gala—the way he had stood up for me, defending me in front of Caroline—echoed in my mind. There was a flicker of something between us, something real, something I hadn’t expected. But I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Luca and I hadn’t talked much after that. He had kept his distance, as if waiting for me to process everything, as if giving me the space I needed. But it wasn’t just space I wanted. It was answers. It was clarity.
I slipped out of bed, the soft sheets slipping around my body as I stood, my feet cold against the hardwoo
