MELISSA'S POV

I woke up with my mind still running.

The room was quiet, but my thoughts weren’t. Not even close.

Louis Vuitton.

The shoot.

Xavier.

Everything about today felt too big. Too polished. Too staged. And I was still somewhere between reality and performance, unsure of how to split myself into both without falling apart.

But I had to do it. I sat up, dragging my legs out from under the covers, and padded to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, staring at my tired eyes in the ...