Kimi lingered with her friends in the elegant party hall, though fragments of her earlier encounter with Kolton kept surfacing in her thoughts like unwelcome guests. Despite the intrusive memories, tonight carried a lightness she hadn't experienced in months. The weight that had pressed against her chest for so long seemed to have finally dissolved.
The knowledge that no one could point fingers at her anymore filled her with an intoxicating sense of liberation. She was truly free now. The constant dread of public humiliation had lifted like morning fog.
From her position on the plush velvet couch, Kimi's eyes swept across the crowded hall with growing concern. She had been searching for Kirk ever since returning from her unexpected meeting, yet he remained nowhere to be found. Her initial plan had been to locate him after catching up with Olive and Rylie, but now thirty minutes had passed without any sign of him.
The absence gnawed at her more than she cared to admit.
