The rain that night was relentless.

It hammered against the windows of my limousine as it pulled up to the curb, each drop a tiny drumbeat telling me to turn back.

But I didn’t.

I stepped out, my heels sinking slightly into the wet carpet that had been rolled out for me, and I hurried into The Grand Oak, Nashville’s most exclusive restaurant.

The doorman, Harold, a stately gentleman with kind eyes, greeted me with a bow.

‘Good evening, Miss Ashford,’ he said, his voice carrying the practiced respect of decades in service.

‘Good evening, Harold,’ I replied, my own voice smooth as silk but hollow as a bell.

Inside, the restaurant was a cathedral of luxury.

Chandeliers hung like frozen fireworks, their golden light cascading over tables draped in ivory linen.

Every surface gleamed—the polished marble floors, the crystal glassware, the silverware arranged with precision.

The air was thick with the perfume of wealth: roasted garlic, seared beef, the faint sweetness of vanilla from a dessert cart being wheeled past.

I was led to my usual table in the corner, a spot half-hidden by a towering arrangement of white orchids, yet offering a perfect view of the room.

That was me—always watching, always guarded.

I ordered without glancing at the menu; I knew it by heart.

As I waited, I let my gaze drift over the other patrons.

Senator Whitfield was deep in conversation with a lobbyist, both of them laughing too loudly, their faces flushed with wine.

At another table, a famous actress pretended not to notice the stares, her practiced smile never reaching her eyes.

It was all so predictable, so safe.

And yet, as I sat there in a gown from my own new collection, diamonds glittering at my throat and wrists, I felt a hollowness that no luxury could fill.

I had built an empire from nothing—Victoria Ashford Designs now graced the covers of every magazine—but I had sacrificed nearly everything else.

No husband, no children, no true friends.

Just an endless parade of business meetings, fashion