Maria:
The invitation doesn’t try to impress you.
It doesn’t need to.
Everything about it is quiet. Heavy paper, clean lettering, no extra explanation. Just a date, a location, and a name that already carries enough weight on its own.
Rothfield Foundation.
Lily turns it over like she’s expecting something hidden on the back. “You know this is not a normal event, right?”
“It’s their annual gala,” I say, fastening my earring. “They do it every year.”
“Not like this,” she murmurs. “This feels like… I don’t know. Bigger.”
I glance at her reflection through the mirror. “You say that about everything.”
“I don’t,” she says, sitting up straighter. “This is different. I can feel it.”
I don’t argue.
Because I felt it too.
I just didn’t say it out loud.
The venue confirms it.
It’s not j
