CHAPTER 274
KATYA POV
It was almost time for dinner.
The house had shifted into that quiet, anticipatory stillness it always adopted before important evenings.
The kind where footsteps softened, voices lowered, and even the air felt heavier—as if it knew something was about to happen and was waiting politely for permission to breathe.
I stood in front of the mirror in my room, barely recognizing the girl staring back at me.
Red.
The dress was red. Not just any red, but deep, the kind that didn't ask for attention yet commanded it anyway.
It hugged me in a way that felt unfamiliar—intentional. The fabric clung to my waist and hips before falling smoothly, the diamond designs sewn into it catching the light every time I shifted even slightly.
They weren't loud or excessive, just enough to shimmer subtly, like the dress was alive and responding to movement.
