Chapter thirty-five

Throwback, Late Afternoon

The sky glowed in rose and lavender as the chauffeur’s sleek black sedan wound up Oden Manor’s curved drive. Amiriam inhaled the mingled scents of freshly trimmed hedges and brine-laced sea air drifting in from the shore. Her heart fluttered with anticipation—tonight’s dinner would be her first formal event since the gala, and she longed to prove she truly belonged here.

The driver—face shadowed beneath his cap—stepped down and offered his gloved hand. Amiriam clicked her heels on the cobblestones and accepted it, her emerald-chiffon gown stirring in the breeze. Delicate ruffles mirrored the manicured greens beyond the gates; pearls graced her collarbone, and her hair was swept into a soft chignon. She felt both vulnerable and radiant.

A footman pushed open the iron gates, their ornate scrollwork framing the scene like a painting. Beyond them, the pale stone manor rose, turrets entwined in ivy, lanterns flaring along the drive in warm pools of light. Amiriam