STELLA
There wassomething about the morning after that always made the previous night’s events seem surreal.
Less than twelve hours ago, I’d been curled up beneath a table in my living room, convinced I was living my last moments on earth.
Now, I was drinking my daily wheatgrass smoothie and eating toast in the kitchen like it was a normal day.
If it hadn’t been for Kage’s presence, I would’ve thought last night had been a dream. Or rather, a nightmare.
“Are you sure you don’t want any food?” A pang of guilt hit my chest when I noticed the purple smudges shadowing his eyes. He must’ve stayed awake all night, and he hadn’t known he would get called to an overnight shift. When was the last time he’d slept?
“Yeah, I gotta leave soon, anyway. Christian gave me the all-clear when I told him you were up.” Kage eyed me with a frown. “You gonna be alright?”
“Yep. I’ll be fine.” I injected extra pep into my voice. If I acted like everything was okay, it’d be okay.
Besides, in the glaring light of day, my panic last night seemed disproportionate to the situation.
It was just a note.
I lived in a highly secure building, I was surrounded by people when I went out, and Christian was going to run forensic analysis on the letter. He was the best at what he did; he’d find the culprit in no time. I was sure of it.
Kage didn’t seem fully convinced by my response, but he didn’t argue.
After he left, I went through the motions of my morning routine as best as I could. Forty-five minutes of yoga, followed by fifteen minutes of meditation, journaling, and many hours of agonizing over what to say to Christian, if I said anything at all.
I should thank him for what he did last night, but every time I pulled out my phone, self-doubt paralyzed me.
Ithought him staying with me and asking Kage to look after me was a big deal, but what if he didn’t? He’d worked in security for years. His clients included billionaires and royalty, for Pete’s sake. What’d happened to me probably wasn’t even a blip on his radar.
Plus, he hadn’t reached out all day. No texts or calls, not that I should’ve expected anything else. Obviously, Christian had more important things to do than babysit me. He ran a multimillion-dollar company, and we weren’t even really dating. He’d already gone above and beyond by asking Kage to stay with me overnight.
I didn’t want to embarrass myself by making last night a bigger deal than it was, so I kept my mouth shut and busied myself preparing for an influencer event with an up-and-coming fashion designer that afternoon.
I’d been tempted to skip the event, but I needed something to take my mind off the note and its implications.
You were supposed to wait for me, Stella. You didn’t.
A shiver rolled down my spine as I locked my apartment door behind me. I hadn’t drunk coffee in years, but I was so jumpy I might as well have downed five shots of espresso.
It’s fine. You’ll be in public. Everything will be just fine.
* * *
The event turnedout to be more fun than I’d expected. It was an early look at the designer Lilah Amiri’s new collection, and the clothes were incredible. The perfect mix of elegance and sexiness. Lilah herself seemed genuinely friendly, which was rare in the fashion world. We’d even exchanged contact information so we could meet up for coffee sometime.
After she excused herself to talk to her publicist, I stopped in front of a stunning, semi-sheer black gown that shimmered with subtle golden threads. The skirt draped to the floor in a lavish sweep, and the way it shone beneath the lights made it look like it was woven from the stars themselves.
The gown was a study in quality, both from the design and craftsmanship perspectives.
My mind drifted toward the stack of unfinished fashion sketches buried in the back of my drawer. Guilt pierced my gut as I tried to remember the last time I’d sketched.
Was it two, maybe three years ago?
I’d always wanted to start my own fashion brand. That was one of the reasons I started blogging and took the job at D.C. Style. I’d wanted to establish a name in the industry and make the right connections first.
But somewhere along the way, I’d gotten so caught up in the daily “emergencies”, brand partnerships, and follower counts that I’d lost sight of my end goal.
My guilt thickened.
I told myself I didn’t have the money to start my own brand anyway, but the truth was, I hadn’t really tried to make something work.
Buzzing from my phone pulled me out of my thoughts.
Natalia.
Dread snuffed out every other emotion faster than a candle in a rainstorm.
I shouldn’t feel that way about calls from my sister, but they were almost as stressful as the calls I used to receive from Meredith.
I eased a deep breath into my lungs.