The Walk

Julian opened the double doors to the ballroom.

The noise hit them instantly. The party was peaking. The bass was thumping, the laughter was shrill, and the air was thick.

But as they stepped through the threshold, the dynamic in the room shifted.

People noticed Julian first. The heir. The billionaire. The predator in the high castle.

Then they saw who he was holding.

They saw the hair. They saw the face. They saw the girl who had disappeared.

Whispers started like a brushfire.

*Is that...?*

*It’s Lily Hart.*

*Is she with him?*

Lily felt the instinct to look down. To hide.

Julian squeezed her hand. A silent command. *Chin up.*

She lifted her head. She looked straight at the crowd. She locked eyes with a producer who had refused to return her calls three years ago. The man looked as pale as a sheet.

Julian didn't rush. He walked her through the center of the room, cutting a path through the elite. He glared at anyone who stared too long. He was a shield of black wool and arrogance, deflecting the judgment so it couldn't touch her.

They reached the center of the room. The influencer from earlier was being escorted out by security. He saw them. He opened his mouth to say something nasty.

Julian simply looked at him. The influencer closed his mouth and vanished.

They reached the private elevator bank. Julian pressed the button.

The doors slid open. They stepped inside.

As the doors closed, shutting out the noise, the staring eyes, and the past, Lily let out a breath she felt like she’d been holding since she was eighteen.

The elevator began to rise, not down to the street, but up. To the helipad. To the future.

Julian turned to her. The hard lines of his face softened. He reached out and brushed a smudge of champagne from her cheek with his thumb.

"Welcome back, Lily," he whispered.

Lily leaned into his touch, finally safe. Finally seen.

"I'm not back," she said softly, resting her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm just starting."

Julian kissed the top of her head. "Then let's make it a hell of a show."