THE SCATTERED VOW
There was a raw vulnerability in her gaze,
a silent cry for air in a room starved of oxygen. I raised my crystal glass toward her in an unnoticable, respectful salute. She didn't smile, but her lips parted slightly, a soft tremble running through her frame before Adrian sharply stepped sideways, deliberately blocking her line of sight.
"Moretti. I trust the evening meets your standards?"
Adrian’s voice cut through the air, smooth as polished glass but dripping with a thin, delicate facade of forced hospitality as he slid into my field of vision, forcing Vivian back into his shadow.