The sun crept in slowly through the heavy drapes, golden and cruel, warming the cold hardwood floors of the unfamiliar bedroom. Aira woke to silence—not peace, but the suffocating kind of quiet that made her skin crawl. She sat up slowly, her back aching from sleeping curled up in the corner armchair all night.
She hadn't dared touch the dark silk sheets of the bed.
A sharp, impatient knock shattered the quiet.
"You've got ten minutes," Dominic's deep voice floated through the heavy wooden door. "Wear something nice. I'm taking you out."
"No."
"That wasn't a suggestion."
She gritted her teeth, dragging herself across the cold floor toward the massive walk-in dresser. Every dress was high-fashion designer, every shoe far too expensive to belong in her world. She deliberately chose the
