In her room, the air felt colder. She peeled herself out of the gown, each button stiff against her trembling fingers, and slipped into a silk robe. The fabric slid across her skin like a whisper, a small mercy against the weight of the day. On the vanity, her sketchbook waited. Her gaze lingered on it before she pulled it into her lap.Her fingers brushed the pencil, and the pencil moved swiftly, the first lines hesitant, then bolder. A neckline here, a cascade of fabric there. Ruffles, hems, folds—each stroke pulling her deeper into a world of her own making. For the first time since stepping into the Mercer mansion, she could breathe. She spoke softly as she worked, the words spilling into the silence. “They’ll expect me to be a perfect wife, to smile for cameras, to nod and play along. But they won’t see this. They won’t see me.” Her hand trembled. She pressed harder, darkening the lines. “I won’t disappear.” The knock came suddenly, sharp and decisive, rattling the doo
Last Updated : 2025-10-01 Read more