CHAPTER 263
KATYA POV
By the time Chiara finished, I barely recognized myself. She'd dried my hair slowly, carefully, like it was something fragile instead of just… me.
Her fingers were gentle as she worked, guiding the warm air through the strands until my hair fell loose and soft down my back, not perfectly just natural.
When she leaned in to swipe a bit of lip gloss across my mouth, I'd stiffened at first out of instinct, my hands curling into the hem of the dress.
"Relax," she murmured, amused. "I'm not poisoning you."
"I know," I said quickly, then softer, "I just—" She smiled at me in the mirror. "You don't have to explain."
The dress felt strange on my body. It barely brushed my thighs when I moved, the skirt flowing freely instead of clinging or weighing me down.
The straps tied softly at my shoulders, leaving my arms bare, my skin exposed in a way I wasn't used to. Almost sleeveless. Almost daring.
Yellow.
