A Woman on a Mission

POV: Valerie

The tense, restless night before Darius's monumental arrival, my expansive bedroom turned into a chaotic scatter of expensive silk and delicate lace. Discarded velvet hangers littered the hardwood floor, abandoned in the frenzy of preparation. Gemma stood in the center of the mess, holding up a deep-V, scandalous crimson gown that bled color into the dim room.

"This," she insisted,