I woke to the soft rustle of curtains moving in a breeze I couldn’t even feel. For a second, I didn’t know where I was. The ceiling above me wasn’t mine; it didn’t have the faint water stain in the corner or the glow-in-the-dark sticker remnants I’d never bothered peeling off. This one was smooth, high, ivory, with a chandelier so delicate it looked like one loud breath could shatter it.
Ray’s mansion.
Yesterday’s memories drifted back in slow, hazy pieces. The mall, the quiet way he stayed behind me instead of beside me, the strange gentleness for someone with the reputation he carried. The ride back. The way I’d fallen asleep before I even realized I’d closed my eyes.
And now… morning.
I turned onto my side, the sheets cool and expensive and far too soft. Like sleeping inside a luxur
