~Kate~
I closed the door to the hallway behind me like I was sealing off a part of myself.
Everything inside me trembled…from the slap, the kiss, the look in Sebastian’s eyes. My skin still burned where his fingers had touched it, and my chest felt like a war zone of regret and restraint. But none of it could show.
I smoothed down my dress, straightened my back, and lifted my chin. I would walk back into that party like nothing had happened. Like I hadn’t just nearly collapsed under the weight of the past. Like my ex-husband hadn’t tried to pull me back into a history I was still crawling out of.
The moment I stepped back into the venue, the sound of champagne flutes and distant laughter wrapped around me again. Lights glittered, crystal chandeliers swinging slightly above the open bal
