The Lottery of Fate
The southern air wrapped around me like a warm tide.
Back in Chicago, I’d still been buried under a heavy coat.
Here in Miami, I stepped out of the airport in nothing but a T‑shirt.
My parents were waiting for me, beaming.
And beside them stood a man I’d only seen in business magazines.
Julian Monroe.
Unlike Adrian, whose power lived in the shadows, Julian was the golden heir—the kind mothers brag about and newspapers praise.
My fiancé.
My parents even arranged a separate car for the two of us so we could “talk.”