After the movie's release, Ruby had started receiving so many production invitations — big companies, small studios, even a few city folks who wanted her to do special effects for short films. And though each invitation made her heart flutter with old excitement, she politely declined every single one. Sometimes she'd look at the unopened letters on her desk and think, Maybe I should have taken at least one… But every time, she pictured Milo's soft eyes looking up at her from that hospital bed and she knew she'd rather spend her evenings beside him than behind another editing desk for now.
Her own company, though, was speeding up faster than she'd expected. Orders were picking up, fabrics from Dreadmire village had started arriving in neat bundles, and her little team was slowly growing. Some days she'd wake up before sunrise, her mind already filled with lists, meetings with tailors, suppliers, new sketches.
