Crossing Lines
Attendants glided past in black designer suits, polished and polite with just enough disdain behind their smiles to let you know you didn’t belong.
I still wore a sun-kissed cotton dress from the island and sandals. They saw me. Judged me. I smiled anyway.
“Shall I pull something from the private collection?” one asked, voice clipped, eyes cool.
“No need,” I said, brushing past her.
I tried on Dior—too eager. Valentino—too stiff. Saint Laurent—too loud. Nothing hit.
Then, at Étoile Noire, I found it.
A gown in liquid black. Clean lines. Plunging neckline. High slit. Power stitched into every seam. It didn’t shimmer—it devoured light. I stepped into it, and in the mirror, I didn’t see the gir