Across The Sea

I shouldn't be here. I know it. But the polished floors, the laughter, the music-it's a world that would never notice someone like me. And yet, the moment I saw her... Isabelle Montague, leaning against the railing, wind in her hair, completely untouchable, my chest twisted so violently it hurt to breathe.

I've only just met her, and already my entire being aches. Every polite bow, every whispered word I'm forced to speak, it feels like a betrayal of what I want to scream. I'm supposed to be invisible, a servant in her world-but my eyes, my heart, refuse to obey.

She glanced my way for the briefest second, smiled politely, and returned to her laughter with that insufferable lightness I'll never have. And I-standing here, powerless-realize that from this first instant, from this first glance, I am already lost.