Velvet Secret

er I was ready or not. For months, I had watched it all from a distance, nursing wounds I didn't dare show anyone. Tonight was my re

d through the towering glass windows. The valet took my coat with the same polished indifference I had once mastere

suits clustered near the bar, their laughter sharp with ambition. Women in silk gowns floated past, their smiles pai

ved too deeply, and paid the price when betrayal carved me open. I was here to

y the nerves crawling under my skin. I told myself I was ready. But the truth was, I wasn't sure if anyone could ever be ready to step back into a world

arried weight, the kind that drew eyes without effort. He was tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in a midnight suit that seemed cut from sh

sibly, those ey

m had emptied, the chandeliers dimmed, and it was only us. I tore my gaze away, pretending to s

the way people stepped aside without him asking. He didn't smile. Didn't need to. H

stopped beside me. His vo

e back in

ing his gaze fully. Up close, his eyes were worse than I'd imagin

glass.One corner of his mouth curved not a smile, not quite. "You carry yourself lik

close he was

ng my voice steady. "What

n he spoke, his words seemed designed to unsettle. The

onversation there, turned away, retreated into safety. But something in

s?" I asked, lifting a brow,

too much for someone I've ju

in months, I wasn't thinking about betrayal, or loss, or survival. I was thinkin

ced away for a heartbeat, forcing air into my lun

as empty. No trace he

mering gowns, but he had disappeared like smoke. My pulse ra

I had imagined it all, my eyes caught on

. No smile, no words, only that storm-gray gaze pinning me in place. And in that sile

nly the