The Mistress
Dan had described to his mistress.
I opened my makeup drawer and bypassed the muted roses and the soft corals he preferred. I reached for a heavy, square tube I had bought in secret, hidden beneath the velvet lining of my jewelry box. I uncapped it, revealing a shade so deep and visceral it looked like an open wound. Blood Red.
I applied it with surgical precision. The pigment was thick, matte, and unapologetic. It didn’t soften my features; it sharpened them into a blade. It turned my mouth into a weapon. This wasn’t makeup; it was war paint.