Avery stepped out of the ballroom, her heels clicking softly against the marble floor as she rushed past the towering glass doors. Her heart still pounded violently inside her chest, her breath shallow as if the kiss had stolen all her composure. She needed air—space to think, to feel without being seen.
The quiet hush of the night wrapped around her like a fragile cloak. The garden in the back of the hotel was dimly lit, fairy lights strung overhead swaying gently with the wind, casting golden halos across the lawn. In the center, the marble fountain gurgled peacefully, the rhythmic sound of flowing water offering a strange but welcome serenity.
Avery made her way to it, each step laced with a conflicted ache she couldn't quite shake. As she knelt slightly, leaning closer to the fountain's edge, her hand dipped into the water. It was cool, almost icy against her warm skin, and the sensation grounded her, pulling her back from the dizzying high of that kiss.
