Lavish Trappings

He handed Lily a towel within the suite, his motions steeped in ingrained courtesy. Only then did she fully register her disheveled appearance.

A bitter chuckle nearly escaped at the realization that she no longer belonged amid such lavish trappings. "Don't be so formal, Alex," she chided gently. "It's just me."

Just me. Her detachment from the exclusive realm he inhabited was devastatingly profound.

As Alex settled beside her, studying her with familiar curiosity, Lily ached for their old camaraderie. But the stilted silence stretched interminably, causing discomfort to settle over them like a spectral fog.

Lily busied herself needlessly, using every gesture as a shield against the gnawing urge to ask the searing questions on her tongue. Alex watched with unguarded adoration in his warm, sable eyes as she lifted her gaze.

Suddenly, she could no longer bear his tender scrutiny. As her composure failed her, the familiar sting of tears blurred her vision.