Elara walked up the stairs slowly, Adrian's coat heavy around her shoulders. It was the only thing stopping the cold from reaching her skin.
She found the room he had mentioned without trouble, and when she turned the knob, it opened at once.
She took a deep breath and stepped in. The room did not look like a bedroom. It felt too neat and too arranged, like a place meant to be looked at rather than lived in.
She did not stay there long. Her eyes moved to a door at the side, and she walked toward it, pushing it open.
It was the bathroom.
Finally alone, she let Adrian's coat slip from her shoulders and fall onto the floor. She stood still for a long time, staring at nothing. Then she bent down and picked it up again, placing it carefully on the counter.
Standing in front of the mirror, she could now see everything clearly. The seam of her dress had not just come loose. It had been cut cleanly. The fabric hung uselessly on her upper body, exposing more than it covered.
