Hours later, we finally made it home.

I couldn’t eat. I didn’t even bother changing. I just collapsed on the bed and lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling, my chest heavy with thoughts I couldn’t shake.

Then it hit me.

I shot up, my heart racing as if I’d forgotten something important. 

I rushed straight to the laundry basket and pulled out the gown I had worn to the gala. My fingers trembled as I searched through the fabric, and there it was—the card Xavier had slipped to me.

I ...