Anna’s POV
The grand hall looked like it had been carved out of gold and glass. Crystal chandeliers hung heavy above us, dripping light down onto the polished marble floor that gleamed like still water. Every corner seemed designed to remind you of power and money: towering arrangements of white lilies and roses, silver trays carried by men in pressed black uniforms, champagne bubbles catching candlelight. The guests looked like walking works of art themselves—women in gowns that seemed to defy physics, sequins and silk that caught every eye, and men in tuxedos that looked stitched directly onto their frames. I suddenly felt like I’d stumbled into a world that was both familiar and alien, the kind of world I used to dream of but never dared to step inside.
Nera led me through it all like
