The grand ballroom shimmered with golden lights, the buzz of high-profile conversation blending with the soft clink of champagne glasses. The air was thick with the kind of wealth that Malia had never been part of, but had always strived to navigate. Tonight, it was the perfect place to prove herself—if she could survive what was coming next.
Malia stood near the edge of the crowd, her posture confident, but her mind still wrestling with the weight of the choices she had made. The gala—held in celebration of her business' expansion—was supposed to be a victory, a moment for her to finally stand in the light of everything she had achieved. But Selene had other plans. As much as Malia had hoped to leave the drama of her past behind, Selene's shadow was still there, creeping into the most important moments of her life.
