Emberly
I woke up at five in the morning with my heart already racing, like it had been running all night without me.
The house was alive before the sun was. Doors opening and closing. Voices all around. Footsteps rushing down the hallway. Relatives I barely recognized drifting in and out of rooms like ghosts, whispering congratulations, whispering prayers. Someone laughed downstairs. Someone cried in the kitchen. It all felt too loud, like the world had decided today was important even if I wasn’t ready for it.
Before I could even sit up properly, hands were already on my face.
“Relax, sweetheart,” the makeup artist said gently, brushing foundation across my skin. “You don’t want puffy eyes.”
I wanted to tell her I wasn’t crying.
I wanted to tell her I was just… scared but I kept my
