Chapter 4

The lively music and professional dancers on stage now felt like a grating, dissonant backdrop.

The languid, decadent tunes seemed to stir something primal in the air, awakening urges better left buried.

Vivian was the first to unravel. She clawed at her collar, gasping, her cheeks flushed a violent, feverish red.

"So hot... I'm burning up..." she whimpered, her voice thick and uneven.

Her gaze drifted, glassy and unfocused, until it settled on the footman refilling her wine, a tall, broad-shouldered young man with strong arms.

As if drawn by some invisible thread, Vivian suddenly pushed herself up and stumbled…