Serenity
The gala was everything I had come to expect from Luca’s world. Lavish, extravagant, suffocating in its perfection. The ballroom gleamed under crystal chandeliers, the sharp clicks of stilettos and the soft rustle of silk dresses filling the air. Conversations flowed as smoothly as the wine being poured, all of it wrapped in a layer of fake smiles and carefully curated facades.
I hadn’t been here long—maybe an hour, maybe less—but already, the weight of the evening was starting to wear on me. The guests, the glittering crowd, moved around me like phantoms, their voices a blur of polite chatter and business deals. I wasn’t part of them. I never would be.
I stood near one of the large windows, my fingers tightening around the delicate stem of my wine glass. Outside, the city stre
