lliant light over the ballroom, making the diamon

e was laughing, their voices a dull roar in my ears. They were celebrating my father'

court. My father stood beside her, his smile wide and proud. I was

red to her friend near me, her voice sharp. "She has

to me for a second before looking awa

f my life. I smoothed down my simple black dress, a stark contrast to the glittering gow

back to a different party, years ago. I was younger then, full of a hope that now felt fooli

ed wine all over the front of it. My father had scolded me for being clumsy, for embarrassing hi

s be the one to blame. My mother' s health had started to dec

or attention, his arm wrapped possessively around Clara' s s

he began, his voice booming. "It' s a special night, and to m

tely skipping over me. Clara glowed under the attention, h

s voice thick with emotion, "has just accept

s. He was the only person in this suffocating world who had ever shown me genuine kindness

ed on Clara' s lips as she looked directly at me. It was a message, a final, devastating blow. The glass in my hand trembled, and

s a blur of color and noise. I just had to get out, to breathe air that wasn't thick with her victo

ing, my body shaking. It was over. Whatever small hope I had been

l night for

light from the doorway. He was tall, dressed in a perfectly tailored dark suit. I had never seen him before, but h

I asked, my voice

ow," he said, his lips curving into a slight, unreadable smile. "And that was

t, but his presence was a strange interruption to my despair. I

ntinued, his gaze unwavering. "But maybe you

ng. But as I looked at this stranger, a tiny, unfamiliar spark of defiance ignited within me. The humiliation, the yea

something else was there now too, a cold, sharp resolve. I would not let them break me. Not tonight.

ot to him, but to myself. "

ed straight towards the center of the room, towards my father and Clara and her new fiancé. The apatheti

ring for a second. My father' s expression hard

" he hissed, his voice low and threate

dy, loud enough for those nearby to hear. "I

es. She wasn't used to me fighting back. This was new territory. The man from the balcony had appeared in the doorway, watc

shift in the atmosphere. The air crackled with t

r voice dripping with false swee

my gaze drift to Julian, who looked deeply uncomfortable. "You

crossed her face. She quickly masked it with a radiant s

ngagement, a perfect family. But I knew the truth. I saw the cracks in the facade. And for the first time, I felt a surge of power.