As the applause rose to a crescendo, Vera found herself watching Samuel more than the final moments of the opera. His words lingered. He had offered her a glimpse into a world she only half-knew, a world she shouldn't know at all. Free from the rigid expectations and suffocating propriety.
Vera smiled, the edges of her lips tinged with both amusement and melancholy. There was something undeniably thrilling in his invitation, in the flirtation that sanglike the delicate notes of the opera’s final aria. It was improper, yes, but that was part of what made it so tempting. And Samuel... he saw through the gilded cage that was her life, saw her not as a pacified creature, as he so clearly disdained in others of her class, but as someone capable of making her own choices, even if she couldn't always act on them.
For a fleeting moment, she wished she could abandon it all—slip away from her sleeping grandmother, don a mask, and disappear into the night to Montparnasse. But alas. Paris might offer a taste of freedom, but her family, her responsibilities, her entire life were the shackles she could never fully escape. The indulgence of her parents and brother had allowed her to skirt the edges of rebellion, but this was different. Her grandmother was no fool, and if Vera were caught slipping away tonight, the consequences would ripple far beyond this moment.
Still, she let herself imagine it—the masquerade, the music, the chance to be someone else for a few hours. But, she knew, it would remain only a fantasy. "Thank you," she said softly, her voice barely audible beneath the applause, though her words were more for herself than for him. "I do appreciate it." Her eyes lingered on him, knowing that this moment, this flirtation, had likely reached its end.
She didn’t wave or call after him as he turned to leave for Montparnasse. Instead, she stood for a moment, watching him disappear into the crowd. As the applause died down and the crowd began to stir, Vera made her way back to her grandmother’s box, where the older woman stirred awake, none the wiser to her granddaughter’s brief escape. And as she resumed her seat beside her, Vera allowed herself one last indulgence—to wonder what might have been, had she accepted Samuel’s invitation.
But some fantasies, she knew, were best left unrealized.
![[Image: 2SyywhH.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/2SyywhH.jpg)
^ Look what Lady did ^
Vera smiled, the edges of her lips tinged with both amusement and melancholy. There was something undeniably thrilling in his invitation, in the flirtation that sanglike the delicate notes of the opera’s final aria. It was improper, yes, but that was part of what made it so tempting. And Samuel... he saw through the gilded cage that was her life, saw her not as a pacified creature, as he so clearly disdained in others of her class, but as someone capable of making her own choices, even if she couldn't always act on them.
For a fleeting moment, she wished she could abandon it all—slip away from her sleeping grandmother, don a mask, and disappear into the night to Montparnasse. But alas. Paris might offer a taste of freedom, but her family, her responsibilities, her entire life were the shackles she could never fully escape. The indulgence of her parents and brother had allowed her to skirt the edges of rebellion, but this was different. Her grandmother was no fool, and if Vera were caught slipping away tonight, the consequences would ripple far beyond this moment.
Still, she let herself imagine it—the masquerade, the music, the chance to be someone else for a few hours. But, she knew, it would remain only a fantasy. "Thank you," she said softly, her voice barely audible beneath the applause, though her words were more for herself than for him. "I do appreciate it." Her eyes lingered on him, knowing that this moment, this flirtation, had likely reached its end.
She didn’t wave or call after him as he turned to leave for Montparnasse. Instead, she stood for a moment, watching him disappear into the crowd. As the applause died down and the crowd began to stir, Vera made her way back to her grandmother’s box, where the older woman stirred awake, none the wiser to her granddaughter’s brief escape. And as she resumed her seat beside her, Vera allowed herself one last indulgence—to wonder what might have been, had she accepted Samuel’s invitation.
But some fantasies, she knew, were best left unrealized.
^ Look what Lady did ^