Chapter 121

Caroline’s

Point of View

A wave

of icy fear crashes over me and for a moment, I struggle to breathe.

A

restless energy pulses under my skin making it hard to stay put. My fingers

drum on the table's surface, my leg jiggles a bit as I keep glancing at the

hall's entrance. The sounds around me—polite talk occasional laughs, glasses

clinking—blend into a vague buzz. My brain feels too knotted with worry to make

sense of anything .

I

shouldn't feel this way.

I want

to concentrate. Today matters. It's the time we submit our designs, the

result of weeks of work, imagination, and all-nighters. I ought to feel sure of

myself prepared to step up and take my spot among the top contenders. But

instead, an odd growing worry twists in my gut making it tough to breathe.

Why?

Just

because I hear Dolly’s name again after years. It has been years, I should have

thrown away all the betrayal I have received from them. However, they are

right, old wounds doesn’t mean it is completely heal.

"Caroline?"

I