Dawn arrived without ceremony.
No thunder. No dramatic sunrise. Just a pale stretch of light filtering through floor-to-ceiling glass, washing over marble floors and quiet luxury.
Alessia Romano stood by the window of her father's penthouse, a porcelain cup of untouched espresso cooling beside her. The city below was already awake, cars gliding through intersections, people rushing to places that mattered far less than the decisions she was about to make.
Tomorrow.
Adrian Blake was getting married tomorrow.
The thought sat in her chest like a foreign object. Not pain. Not heartbreak. Something colder. Something sharper.
Finality.
Her phone vibrated against the marble countertop.
Victor Blake.
She stared at the name for a long moment.
Two weeks ago, she would have ignored it without a second thought. Three weeks ago, she would have smiled and told Lina to mark her schedule "unavailable." A month ago, Victor Blake was simply… convenient.
Now?
Now the timing had shifted.
