Chapter 37: At the hotel with Henry

I headed inside and washed up, trying to scrub away the heaviness sitting in my chest.

Then I slipped into the black outfit — the one that clung to my hips and traced every curve I once believed could make Noah stay.

I dusted my skin with Cledbel powder, fixed my lashes, and sprayed myself with perfume — too much of it. I wanted to drown in the scent of someone who still mattered.

It took thirty minutes to become the woman I used to be. The woman Noah once desired.

Before leaving, my gaze drifted to the lipstick I’d bought weeks ago. I thought everything was about the shade didn't wear, so I got one hoping to catch his attention again. It hadn’t worked, but maybe tonight, it did need to.

I picked it up and glided the color across my lips, a trembling breath escaping me as I stared at my reflection.

I was beautiful. Still beautiful.

And yet, I’d been cheated on — told I was no longer enough. That my beauty had faded like old perfume.

A sharp exhale broke through me. I straightened, gr