Page 166 of The Encore’s Crown

“I’m serious, though. Think about it. I want to see you as much as possible when I get back.”

The warmth in my chest blooms across my body before I can stop it.

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll just make sure you’re too distracted to hold down a normal job anyway.”

His tone is playful. The promise under it runs over every mark still hidden beneath my clothes. In a day and a half, he nearly managed it. A month makes me swallow hard.

“Yeah, yeah,” I say. “We’re a secret. Me suddenly becoming your PA wouldn’t look suspicious at all.”

“I have ways.”

I smile and lean back against the mirror. Downstairs, Mama calls my name. I close my eyes.

“There it is. My chore assignment. I have to go.”

“Call me later? I miss your face, I need video.”

“After Mama and Tata go to bed.”

“Definitely after they go to bed.”

Neither of us moves to end the call. I smile into the silence.

“You hang up.”

“No.”

“Kiri.”

Mama calls a third time. I laugh under my breath and finally pull the phone away.

“I'll talk to you later.”

“I'll be here later.”

I wait one more second, listening to him breathe.

Then I hang up before I can start missing him while he’s still there.

Chapter 57

Collaborate

Natalia

The first package arrives before breakfast.

By ten, there are six more stacks in the entryway. By noon, Mama stops asking what I ordered and starts insisting I must have accidentally joined some kind of subscription cult.

Perfume. Makeup palettes. Skincare. Clothes. Shoes. Jewelry. Five different brands I’ve followed for years, three I’ve tagged before, and one I mentioned once in a story because their winter collection made me briefly believe I could become the kind of woman who wears white cashmere without spilling coffee down the front. Every box comes with some version of the same note.

We’re so excited to collaborate.

By the time another courier leaves two enormous garment bags draped over the banister, the house looks like an influencer warehouse exploded inside it.

Mama stands in the middle of the living room with both hands on her hips. “Natalia, what is all this?"