The moment Gabriella stepped outside, the sound of the ballroom disappeared behind the heavy wooden doors.
Not completely.
The orchestra still played somewhere beyond the walls, the faint melody drifting into the night whenever the wind decided to carry it. It sounded distant now, almost unreal, as though it belonged to another world entirely.
A world she no longer belonged to.
She kept walking anyway.
Fast.
Her pace matched the rhythm of her falling tears.
The marble terrace stretched before her, illuminated by warm golden lamps that cast long shadows across the polished floor. Beyond it lay the gardens, where rows of trimmed hedges, flowering shrubs, and towering acacia trees swayed gently beneath the evening breeze.
The air was cooler outside. It carried the scent of fresh grass and blooming Sampaguita. Normally, she would have admired the beauty of it.
Tonight, she barely noticed.
