Rain lashed against the stained-glass windows of the Cooper estate. Inside, the chandeliers flickered under the weight of a storm that mirrored Charlotte Cooper's heart.
She gripped the edge of a marble pillar, her vision blurred—not just from tears, but from the bitter aftertaste of the wine Meredith handed her earlier.
A glass of betrayal.
The ballroom spun around her. Gowns shimmered. Laughter echoed. Her father's cold gaze from across the hall burned into her back.
Charlotte's heels clacked on the marble as she stumbled toward the balcony, desperate for air, for distance, for escape. She didn't belong here—not anymore.
Not after what Meredith had done.