ARIA

I wake to sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows and the disorienting realization that I’m in a bed that costs more than most people’s cars.

Dante’s penthouse. My temporary home.

My new reality.

My phone shows 6:47 AM. In just over two hours, I’ll walk back into Ashford Global...not as Marcus Kane’s naive fiancée, but as Dante Ashford’s soon-to-be wife.

The irony isn’t lost on me.

I shower in the guest bathroom, which is larger than my entire apartment ...